The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s panel on public-private partnerships (colloquially referred to as P3) has released its report and recommendations, after being tasked with examining the country’s infrastructure needs and the innovation necessary to fulfill them, according to Shelby Hagenauer of Nossaman.
Here are some of the top recommendations from the report:
- Public-sector capacity: The main suggestion in this area was to create a transportation procurement office within the U.S. Department of Transportation. This entity would work with the recipients of federal funding to ensure that best practices are used, explains Hagenauer, as well as to encourage standardization of P3 contracts.
- Legislation: The panel is encouraging the continued use of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, said Hagenauer. It also recommends clarifying the statutory authority, which allows states to use federal funds in the P3 procurement process.
- Transparency and accountability: Several recommendations were made to increase the transparency and accountability surrounding P3 projects and the procurements associated with them, such as a public “value for money” analysis and detailed summaries of the projects and reviews.
