By Kevin Pula

Emerging policy issues related to public private partnerships (P3) will be the focus of a yearlong NCSL Foundation Partnership on Multi-Sector Public-Private Partnerships beginning in 2016. This initiative will bring together legislators, legislative staff, national experts and the private sector to explore P3 issues across a variety of sectors. NCSL Foundation Partnerships establish a unique forum for key stakeholders to study and develop policy options for specific emerging issues.

Similar to NCSL’s past Foundation Partnership on Transportation P3s, which produced the NCSL P3 Toolkit, this new project will provide legislators and legislative staff with one-of-a-kind educational experiences and policy research on P3s. An information scoping meeting for this project will be hosted from 10-11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the NCSL Capitol Forum.

The U.S. is in the midst of a well-documented public infrastructure crisis, and time is not on our side. Primarily because of the rapidly rising costs of infrastructure-specific materials and services, real purchasing power of infrastructure spending has decreased by 9 percent since 2003.

Increasing revenues is not the only solution to solving our infrastructure issues. Better use of funds and innovative financing are key aspects of a multifaceted approach. While P3s are commonly associated with large-scale transportation projects, this alternative procurement method has proven beneficial for states and localities for a variety of infrastructure needs including water/wastewater, telecomm, public buildings, university housing, energy production and more.

Later this month, NCSL will publish a new Webbrief on multi-sector P3s, which will examine the policy implications of public-private partnerships and present case-studies focusing on how states are currently using the approach to deliver new public infrastructure.

NCSL is not alone in the effort to provide education on the potential benefits of P3s. NCSL has worked closely with the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) in the past to provide educational opportunities for legislators and state stakeholders. On Dec. 7, NCPPP will host the Sustainable Stormwater Infrastructure Summit to explore the use of P3s for water infrastructure. For more information or NCSL member registration to this event, contact Kevin Pula with NCSL.

Kevin Pula is a policy associate in NCSL’s Environment, Energy and Transportation Program. Doug Shinkle contributed to this article.

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