Pennsylvania Takes an Important Step Forward on Public-Private Partnerships
By: Andrew L. Swope & R. Timothy Weston, K&L Gates, Harrisburg
On July 5, 2012, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett approved a key first step toward modernizing the procurement of infrastructure projects in Pennsylvania by signing legislation that expressly authorizes public-private partnerships (P3) for road, transit and other transportation related projects. The Pennsylvania legislation focuses on transportation projects for both new and existing infrastructure. The General Assembly viewed the P3 legislation as a means to fund and promote transportation projects to help provide the estimated $3.5 billion per year additional investment needed for transportation infrastructure without relying exclusively on tax revenue to fund those projects. Whether Pennsylvania’s P3 legislation stimulates new transportation infrastructure projects remains to be seen, but the law provides some interesting new options to private and public parties seeking to develop transportation infrastructure in Pennsylvania.
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