Transparency

A PPP is a partnership, not a wholesale transfer of ownership. Both public and private sector entities need to be involved at all stages, and that includes New Jersey residents. The government's main responsibility in the partnership is to ensure the public interest is heeded. Even under private control, new challenges - for example, around new tolling technology - may require the public sector to again act as a partner.

In Indiana, public opinion against the PPP was often articulated as a distrust of foreign companies and a fear that tolls would become very expensive. There were also equity concerns that residents near the privately-operated toll road would have to pay more while the money was spent on roads in other parts of the state. A lawsuit was filed claiming the lease was unconstitutional, but was defeated in the Indiana Supreme Court. Legislators had less than one month to vote on the Major Moves bill, and the vote was held 10 days after the $3.85 billion bid was announced.12 Governor Mitch Daniels boasted that the bid process only took 117 days13, while opponent legislators claimed more time was needed to fully understand the implications of the lease, which was for 75 years.

New Jersey will need to pass enabling legislation prior to adopting a PPP, and there should be substantial public input and debate on this legislation.14 Enabling legislation can establish what information must be publicly disclosed. The State should not rush a decision, nor should it boast about speediness in making the deal. The public should have sufficient time to analyze and understand the details of the PPP, and to ensure its best interests are being met by its government signing the contract. Legislative hearings and town hall meetings could be an important part of this process.

The State must embrace a policy of procedural and substantive transparency as it pursues a PPP. The public should be privy to the implementation process and the details of the agreement before a PPP is adopted. Full transparency will also require public knowledge of how toll road revenue is being spent today, so that the public can assess what changes might occur under a PPP. The Governor should, as a first step toward transparency, make public recent financial statements for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority specifically detailing how much the Turnpike has supported the State General Fund and Transportation Trust Fund in recent years, and other uses of interfund transfers.

This cartoon by Brian Garvey illustrates the perception that those in favor of the 'Major Moves' campaign to privatize the Indiana Toll Road did not adequately listen to public concerns.

Specific elements of a PPP that the public should know about early - affecting tolls, land use, asset maintenance, risk and expenditure - are detailed below.