Like TURF
Follow TURFColorado Governor Vetoes Toll Road Accountability Bill
Just when the grassroots make progress, the special interests swoop down and overturn any effort at transparency and accountability with our tax dollars. The big money wants these P3 rip-offs and they know public scrutiny will KILL them.
Colorado Governor Vetoes Toll Road Accountability Bill
Veto by Colorado governor preserves secrecy when negotiating long-term toll road contracts.
The Newspaper.com
June 9, 2014
Critics of long-term toll road contracts complain that they are often negotiated in secrecy by unaccountable bureaucrats, cutting the public out of the process entirely. Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D) is not among those who see any problem with the way things are done. On Wednesday he put his veto pen to Senate Bill 14-197, the Transportation Enterprise Transparency Act, ensuring the status quo.
"We firmly believe that government should always strive to be transparent and accountable," Hickenlooper wrote in his veto message. "Unfortunately, SB 14-197 is not just a transparency bill -- it also inappropriately constrains the business terms of future P3 [public-private partnership] agreements."
Last month, the General Assembly gave overwhelming approval to a measure passed in response to a fifty-year tolling deal on Interstate 36. The administration that signed the deal is limited by the state constitution to no more than eight years in office, yet the terms are binding on the next seven individuals to hold the state's highest office. In other states, freeways have been leased to private foreign companies for as long as 99 years.
The Colorado legislation would have required public meetings disclosing the state's intentions at each relevant phase of the contract development process, from concept through execution. The General Assembly would have to approve any deal that contains potentially objectionable features. This includes any contract lasting longer than thirty-five years; non-compete clauses that drive up toll road usage by hobbling development of nearby general purpose roads; and any requirement that the public assume risk on behalf of the private companies involved.
Lawmakers also included language to encourage more mass transit and buses. The state would have to submit an annual report detailing projections and costs for all tolling enterprises. The state auditor would then check the books of the tolling enterprise on a routine basis.
Hickenlooper said he vetoed on behalf of groups such as the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, Associated General Contractors of Colorado, Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association, Portland Cement Association, Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure, and Parsons Brinckerhoff -- all of whom stand to lose money with a slowing of toll road development.
"We are also concerned that private sector and local government stakeholders were not adequately involved in SB 14-197's development," Hickenlooper wrote.
As a gesture to lawmakers, Hickenlooper signed an executive order, which is binding until rescinded, establishing five reforms drawn from the legislation. First, the state will hold three town hall meetings to advertise the benefits of the toll road. Second, before building any roads, the State Transportation Commission must consider spending transportation tax dollars on mass transit options instead. Third, the state website will post a scrubbed summary of the contract outline. Fourth, the order establishes that the only information that the public is entitled to in advance is any change to high-occupancy vehicle lane requirements. Finally, the General Assembly may be given additional information "with reasonable safeguards protecting proprietary information and the negotiating process."
A copy of the vetoed bill is available in a 60k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: Senate Bill 14-197 (Colorado General Assembly, 5/12/2014)
________________________________________________
Link to article here.
Hickenlooper vetoes Democratic bill aimed at transparency in future road projects
Fox 31 News, Denver
By Eli Stokols
June 4, 2014
Work is already underway on U.S. Highway 36 as part of a public-private partnership deal that will allow the companies paying for repairs to control the road for the next 50 years.
DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper Wednesday vetoed his third bill of the 2014 legislation session, Senate Bill 197, which sought to ensure greater transparency and accountability in public-private transportation projects.
Like the other two bills vetoed so far this year, S.B. 197 was sponsored by lawmakers within the governor’s own Democratic party.
The legislation grew out of frustration with the U.S. 36 overhaul and a 50-year contract, finalized during the legislative session, between the state and Plenary Roads, which is investing $20 million up front but will manage the road and collect tolls from the new lane for the next five decades.
Many residents were angry that they didn’t hear about the deal sooner and believed it was agreed to in private without adequate public input.
S.B. 197, sponsored by Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, would have required the disclosure of clear information on the costs and alternatives of such deals, public participation at three key stages in the development of any deal and more communication with state lawmakers.
It also would have banned non-compete clauses that undermine local decision-making and allowed for no deals longer than 35 years without legislative approval.
Hickenlooper, in his veto message, said that those mandates were too restrictive.
“We firmly believe that government should always strive to be transparent and accountable,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter to the Colorado Senate. “We support SB 14-197’s provisions that improve transparency, accountability, and openness in public-private partnerships.
“Unfortunately, SB 14-197 is not just a transparency bill — it also inappropriately constrains the business terms of future P3 agreements. These constraints on business terms would create a chilling component on future transactions, making investors unlikely or unwilling to bid on Colorado projects due to the increased risks this process would generate.”
Jones released a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“I respect the governor’s opinion on this, but those of us elected now will not be around when our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will have to live with these agreements,” said Jones. “Taxpayers have a right to know. It’s disappointing when we seemingly trust Wall Street more than the people, and those they elect to represent them, to protect taxpayer dollars.”
Jones also said he’s already working on drafting a revised version of the bill for next year’s legislative session and working with the governor’s office to reach an acceptable compromise.
In a state where TABOR prevents the legislature from raising taxes and most of the general fund budget is spent on K-12 education, public-private partnerships offer the state a new way to upgrade its infrastructure.
Hickenlooper also announced an executive order to increase transparency around such projects.
“Colorado’s transportation needs remain underfunded, and we must do more with less,” Hickenlooper’s executive order says. “P3s are a necessary tool the state can leverage to deliver important transportation projects.”
As part of the order, Hickenlooper is urging lawmakers to discuss creating a “Center for Excellence” to determine best practices around future P3 projects.