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Preserving the Public Interest in Highway Public–Private Partnerships: A Case Study of the State of Texas
Author(s) -
BUNCH BEVERLY
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
public budgeting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.694
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1540-5850
pISSN - 0275-1100
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-5850.2011.01001.x
Subject(s) - toll , lease , toll road , revenue , finance , public interest , business , government (linguistics) , state (computer science) , private enterprise , public–private partnership , public administration , general partnership , political science , linguistics , philosophy , genetics , algorithm , computer science , law , biology
Faced with existing revenues sources that are insufficient to finance highway maintenance and construction needs, some state and local governments are using or considering highway public–private partnerships. These partnerships may be attractive as a way for a government to obtain upfront revenues from the long‐term lease of a road and to shift some of the construction and operations risks to a private firm. However, with these benefits, comes the need to preserve the public interest. This paper discusses issues related to preserving the public interest in highway public–private partnerships and presents a case study of the S tate of T exas. The case study focuses on an analysis of the strengths and limitations of T exas’ policies and procedures to protect the public interest in the use of long‐term leases for the financing, construction, and operation of new toll roads. The case study also discusses what other governments may be able to learn from Texas’ experiences.