{
  "id": "R43410",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43410",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 428611,
      "date": "2014-03-05",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:37:03.170048",
      "title": "Highway and Public Transportation Infrastructure Provision Using Public-Private Partnerships (P3s)",
      "summary": "Growing demands on the transportation system and constraints on public resources have led to calls for more private sector involvement in the provision of highway and transit infrastructure through what are known as \u201cpublic-private partnerships\u201d or \u201cP3s.\u201d A P3, broadly defined, is any arrangement whereby the private sector assumes more responsibility than is traditional for infrastructure planning, financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Some P3s involve the leasing by the public sector to the private sector of existing infrastructure, while others provide for a private role in designing, financing, building, and operating new infrastructure.\nP3 proponents argue that, in addition to injecting additional resources into surface transportation infrastructure, private sector involvement potentially reduces costs, project delivery time, and public sector risk, and may also improve project selection and project quality. Detractors, on the other hand, argue that the potential for P3s is limited, and that, unless carefully regulated, P3s will disrupt the operation of the surface transportation network, increase driving and other costs for the traveling public, and subvert the public planning process.\nEvidence suggests that there is significant private funding available for investment in surface transportation infrastructure, but that it is unlikely to amount to more than 10% of the ongoing needs of highways over the next 20 years or so, and probably a much smaller share of transit needs. With competing demands for public funds, there is also a concern that private funding will substitute for public resources with no net gain in transportation infrastructure. The effect of P3s on the planning and operation of the transportation system is a more open question because of the numerous forms they can take, and because they are dependent on the detailed agreements negotiated between the public and private partners. Many highway and bridge P3s involve tolling, raising questions about equity and traffic diversion and, more broadly, concerns about whether there is a national public interest justifying federal oversight of P3s.\nThis report discusses two broad policy options for Congress as it considers reauthorizing federal surface transportation programs. The first would be to actively encourage P3s with program incentives as has been done in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21; P.L. 112-141), but with relatively tight regulatory controls. This might include a requirement for an evaluation of the costs and benefits of the P3 against traditional public delivery methods, new requirements regarding public information and public involvement, and a prohibition against non-compete clauses in P3 agreements (which could prevent public authorities from providing new, competitive infrastructure near a privately controlled facility). The second broad option would be to aggressively encourage the use of P3s through program incentives and deregulation. This might include fewer restrictions on the tolling of Interstate Highways and the enhancement of existing financing programs that encourage P3s, such as the TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) program and private activity bonds, or new initiatives, such as the creation of a national infrastructure bank.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43410",
          "sha1": "cc761ef0d30fc565011ce7665974fe25279c866d",
          "filename": "files/20140305_R43410_cc761ef0d30fc565011ce7665974fe25279c866d.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43410",
          "sha1": "c2df9dffc0167b9d4bc8dfae3b76c5ff014d1c25",
          "filename": "files/20140305_R43410_c2df9dffc0167b9d4bc8dfae3b76c5ff014d1c25.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 3760,
          "name": "Surface Transportation"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Environmental Policy",
    "Transportation Policy"
  ]
}