Principle 2: Separate the debates

Debates about the PPP approach should be distinct from issues such as tolling, taxes or specific deals.

Legislative decisions about whether or how a state is to pursue PPPs can be controversial. The process can become even more contentious if the question of passing PPP enabling legislation becomes entangled with related but conceptually distinct debates, either in the legislature or the public arena. These other issues could include tolling and pricing decisions; concerns about a specific deal or project that is the subject of or motivation for proposed legislation; or the state's plan for spending potential proceeds.133 For example, one Texas legislator has reported that the PPP debate in that state got "mixed up" with tolling options, plans for the Trans-Texas Corridor, and the gas tax.134

Why are these debates blended together in the first place? In some cases, confusion might arise due to misconceptions about PPPs-such as that all PPPs are large-scale brownfield concessions involving tolls. In such cases, education and outreach to stakeholders and the public-for example, about different pricing and payment arrangements-may help focus the debate (see also Principle 4).

Conversely, multiple issues could actually be relevant to a specific project or piece of proposed legislation. In that case, each may require careful consideration and discussion. In 2009, for example, the Michigan Legislature was discussing the possibility of authorizing PPPs for toll roads. Because the state had no existing toll roads, one legislative staff member described this as "taking two big steps at once" in terms of changes to state policy135

Foley Beach Express, Alabama (DBFO). This $44 million project provides an alternative route from the City of Foley to beach destinations in Alabama, and is the smallest scale transportation-related DBFO known to have been completed in the United States. (Photo: FHWA)

The 2008 Pew analysis advises, "[i]deally, the pros and cons of public-private partnerships should be weighed apart from the specifics of any particular deal."136 Specific to brownfield concessions, another recent report advises, "the public decision to extend and escalate tolls…has been rolled into the decision to lease the highway to the private sector. These are two separate decisions, each deserving analysis, and debate."137 Throughout the PPP process, both legislators and executive agencies can work to separate and clarify the debates-internally as well as for other stakeholders-and consider each on its merits, as relevant to their roles and tasks in a given policy environment.