Public Private Partnership Bill Passes
Posted in Codes & Regulations | Current Events | Politics | Transportation by Steve Muller (Manager of Client Development) on July 11, 2012

Last summer and into the fall, we heard about Governor Corbett’s Transportation Funding Advisory Council (TFAC) and their recommendations to fund the necessary transportation improvements in Pennsylvania. You can read my previous post regarding the TFAC here. Well, a foundational part of the TFAC report was approved two weeks ago by the PA Legislature, and on Thursday, July 5th, Governor Corbett signed this legislation into law.

The key bill, House Bill 3, allows public-private partnerships, or P3′s, to be formed where private equity is used to fund transportation improvements in PA. This private investment will fund roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure improvements, instead of using tax-payer dollars. The private investment group then gets a return on their investment through user fees or tolls that they are allowed to levy on the transportation element that is improved. This offers the investor a consistent revenue stream, and gets Pennsylvanians a roadway, bridge, railway or other transportation on a faster time table than can be done with public revenue streams.

The enacting of this legislation makes Pennsylvania the 33rd state in our nation with P3 legislation, and it may well revolutionize our ability to fund and improve our failing bridges and subpar roadways. For more information, see this article from Toll Road News.

We all need roads and bridges in Pennsylvania to get where we need to go – now we have a means of funding the improvement and growth of our transportation infrastructure for generations to come. Feel free to share thoughts and comments on the enacting of this legislation – we’d love to hear from you.

Comments (2) | Permalink | Tags: Governor Corbett, House Bill 3, legislation, P3, Pennsylvania, Public Private Partnership Bill, TFAC, Transportation Funding Advisory Council