National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit Talks Infrastructure
August 11th, 2016 | By: Maria Matthews
This week the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) held its annual Legislative Summit in Chicago. Approximately 5,000 state legislators, legislative staffers, federal officials and others gathered to gain invaluable knowledge from experts and fellow legislators to take back to their respective states. Attendees participated in an array of policy-producing committee meetings, issue forums and deep-dive sessions, including on infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers attended to lend our expertise and share the message of the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and the Failure to Act economic study during sessions and in conversation. One such session was on the “Multisector P3 Partnership,” which featured national experts and state leaders discussing emerging policy issues surrounding the expanding P3 industry and its potential role in helping strengthen public infrastructure assets in water, energy, transportation and others. Another session of note, titled “Crystal Clear? State Efforts to Improve Water Planning,” was a panel discussion on how states are working to bring together the agriculture industry, urban areas and clean water advocates to address efforts to maintain healthy water resources, and consider future demand and supply of this important resource. This session featured ASCE Past-President Greg DiLoreto P.E., P.LS., D. WRE, Pres.13.ASCE and fellow panelists Tom Curtis, former deputy executive director of American Water Works Association, John Covington from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Chris Kolb from the Michigan Environmental Council. The conversation included a discussion of the infrastructure investment gap, funding mechanisms including state revolving funds, and how to ensure drinking water quality. This session was one of eight session chosen to be live streamed and archived on the Summit’s website.Congress Looks to Learn Lessons from Canada’s P3 Experience
April 10th, 2014 | By: Infrastructure Report Card
This week the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee looked to our northern neighbor Canada for advice on the federal role for public-private partnerships (P3) holding a panel hearing on the International Experience with Public-Private Partnerships, chaired by U.S. Rep. John Duncan (R-TN). Experts from the Canadian financing market were brought in to share their perspective on how their 200+ P3 projects have gone and what they consider to be the best practices of their federal and state framework. Kicking off the discussion, however, was Rep. John Delaney (MD-06) who is sponsoring a bipartisan bill that is gaining support – The Partnership to Build America Act (H.R. 2084) relating directly to P3s. The Partnership to Build America Act would create an infrastructure fund using repatriated corporate earnings and then utilize financing tools like public-private partnerships. The bill has gained the support of 60 House co-sponsors (30 Republicans and 30 Democrats) in the House and a companion, bipartisan Senate bill by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Roy Blunt (R-MO). If this were passed, it’s estimated that at least 25% of the projects financed with the new fund would use a P3 model. The panel of expert witnesses had many suggestions for what made the Canadian model successful for structuring P3s. However, it was Dr. Larry Blain, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Partnerships British Columbia, who suggested the following four benefits of performance-based infrastructure that should inform the U.S. structure:- Planning discipline and preparation. Performance-based infrastructure projects require comprehensive and long-term definition, costing and risk assessment. Many pitfalls are avoided before a shovel hits the ground.
- Certainty. Projects are on or under budget, and on or ahead of schedule, and key risks are assumed by the private partners. This is a key benefit of performance-based, financially-motivated contracting.
- Life-cycle asset management. In a performance-based approach the private partners have to maintain and rehabilitate the asset over 15-30 years, and they have to leave the asset in the required condition or face financial penalties.
- Efficiencies and innovation. Competition and the profit motive can lead to startling results, where the winning proposal provides solutions that the public owner never contemplated.
Tags: Canada, congress, Delaney, hearing, House, infrastructure, P3, public-private partnership
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