Rep. Terri Austin to help lead Washington transportation summit

ANDERSON — State Rep. Terri Austin will help lead a Washington summit Friday designed to help U.S. governments learn from British officials how to work out agreements that encourage private investment in public infrastructure.

The summit, titled “The Promises and Risks of Public-Private Partnerships,” will be co-sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures — for which Austin is vice chairwoman of its Transportation Committee — and UK Trade and Investment, the economic development arm of the British government.

“Public-private partnerships are something that every state has begun to take a look at as a way to help close some of their infrastructure gaps,” said Austin, who represents parts of Anderson and Madison County in the Indiana General Assembly. “There’s been a lack of education and knowledge about how to effectively use P3s and decide what projects are appropriate. (Britain) is many years ahead of us in using this kind of approach.”

Public-private partnerships involve combining both private dollars and government involvement, whether in the form of funding, negotiations or an agreement to build, maintain or finance a piece of infrastructure, Austin said. One example is the Indiana Toll Road, for which the state received $3.8 billion in 2006 from the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company — made up of Spanish and Australian companies — in exchange for the business’s right to maintain, operate and collect tolls on the road.

Another example of a public-private partnership, Austin said, is the 1982 restoration of the Statue of Liberty, an $87 million partnership between the National Park Service and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

Although the United States has had some experience with public-private partnerships, it is well behind that of countries such as Britain and Australia, Austin said.

“In England, they are actually using this in health care and transportation,” she said. “We want to figure out what we can do to use those more in the U.S. They’ve not been used as widely as I would say they have been in other countries. We’re still in our infancy in using this approach and even exploring it.”

For the last 18 months, the NCSL has been looking into what type of legislation could motivate transparency and public interest in public-private partnerships, Austin said. As co-chairwoman of the task force formed to explore the issue, Austin wants to find out the lessons Americans need to learn about these partnerships, which have been highly debated in the past.

“We’re going to get together with (the UKTI) to talk about what kind of things are successful,” she said. “We need to look at how we can use this approach, when it’s appropriate to use it and how to do it in a way that not only protects the public but minimizes risk to the state or others who choose to use it.”

Public-private partnerships have been a volatile issue in the past, in some states more than others, Austin said.

“There has been a lot of confusion and misunderstanding and a fair amount of unrealistic expectations surrounding these partnerships,” she said. “Rather than rely upon the sound and fury generated by the most vocal supporters and opponents of PPPs, we want to create a national dialogue where the merits of the program can be discussed and interested parties can objectively determine when partnerships offer the best option for addressing serious policy needs, as well as those situations where they simply do not work.”

In the end, public-private partnerships could be a tool to help cash-strapped governments build the infrastructure they need without stretching their budgets, Austin said.

“It’s not going to be a total solution,” she said. “We still need more transportation and infrastructure funding. It’s one approach that I think we can use to capture the private investment dollars that are available to help relieve some of the burden that’s on the states.”

Also participating in Friday’s summit will be representatives from the National Governors Association, the National League of Cities, the American Public Transportation Association, the American Associated of State Highway and Transportation Officials and various states.