By Ben Husch
Continuing a string of announcements in the build up to the President’s State of the Union address on Jan. 20, the White House announced on Jan. 16, a number of efforts and proposals, across a range of federal agencies, aimed at further increasing the amount of private sector investment and expertise for an array of infrastructure projects.
These projects would not just be limited to roads and bridges, but would also be focused on ports, broadband networks, drinking water and wastewater systems and energy efficiency projects.
A few of those projects include:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The Water Finance Center
EPA will launch a new hub of support, the Water Finance Center, for innovative financing focused on the construction and management of drinking water and waste water systems. Specifically, the center will bring together investors and project sponsors; highlight potential investments; provide peer-to-peer learning and workshops; and develop case studies and toolkits. Additionally, the Center will seek to partner with rural communities, which sometimes lack the resources to fully explore financing alternatives, in order to provide financial training and technical assistance.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): Rural Opportunity Investment Initiative
USDA will leverage its staff throughout the country to connect rural investment opportunities with the private sector. In particular, the initiative will aim to highlight existing USDA credit programs that could serve to further entice private sector funding.
Department of Transportation: Expanding the Transportation Investment Center
Launched in July 2014 (See NCSL Blog), the DOT’s Transportation Investment Center, which aims to spur private sector investment in transportation infrastructure, will expand to provide hands-on technical assistance for project delivery as well as targeted assistance for project planning. The center will also be releasing a number of products including model contracts for public-private partnerships (P3s) toll concession and guidance on incorporating federal aid for P3 projects.
Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds
As part of President Obama’s FY 2016 budget proposal, expected to be released on Feb. 2, the administration will propose a new type of investment, Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds
(QPIBs), which will seek to provide the benefits of both municipal bonds and Private Activity Bonds (PABs). QPIBs will extend the benefits of municipal bonds to public-private partnerships while also increasing the types of projects that can utilize PABs. The proposal notes that QPIBs would have no expiration date, no issuance cap and would not be subject to the alternative minimum tax.
Aligning Federal Funding for Project Planning and Predevelopment
President Obama will sign a Presidential Memorandum aimed at improving the design and planning of infrastructure projects by better aligning federal funding from the Departments of Commerce, Transportation, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture.
Ben Husch is Committee Director for the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee in the Washington, D.C. office. Email Ben.