Headlines
TX: Texas lawmakers consider privatizing state programs
TX: Trinity Toll Road Doesn’t Add Up – column
NJ: State aims to improve higher education with privatization, bonds
NH: Private prison consultant hired
VA: Deadline for Va. port operation privatization proposals extended
PA: School District, blue-collar union reach tentative deal
Army privatizing base hotels
Wake Forest Law Review to host education privatization symposium
TX: Texas lawmakers consider privatizing state programs
Expecting another budget shortfall in the next session — perhaps as much as $15 billion — for most of this year, Texas Legislature committees have considered various cost-cutting measures. The latest possibility two House panels discussed Wednesday is privatizing some state services. But if the state decides to turn some services to the private sector, don’t expect it to happen right away,” said Rep. John Frullo, R-Lubbock. “I think the main thing we need to look at is kind of open our eyes to all the pluses and minuses not just of the items we are looking at implementing but of the process of privatizing,” said Frullo, a member of both committees holding the joint hearing: State Affairs and Government Efficiency & Reform. Amarillo.com
TX: Trinity Toll Road Doesn’t Add Up – column
From the beginning of the Trinity River toll road debate 14 years ago, one of the biggest hurdles faced by critics of the road has been the unwillingness of urban planners and other so-called experts to publicly speak ill of a project with so much money and power behind it. Apparently moral courage is not a part of anybody’s urban-planning curriculum. But that may not be all bad. It leaves it up to us. We ordinary citizens can tell whether the emperor is naked, can we not? Maybe the silence of the lambs in the urban planning community has tricked us into thinking we have to be lambs. Dallas Observer
NJ: State aims to improve higher education with privatization, bonds
Overshadowed by fights over the state budget and the merger of state colleges late last month were two bills that could have their own broad effects on New Jersey’s higher education system. Both seek to spur new construction on college campuses: one uses a privatization arrangement to encourage private organizations to pay for construction at public colleges; the other authorizes $750 million in bonds to pay for new buildings. The privatization bill, which the Legislature passed June 28 but the governor has not yet signed, seeks to encourage private entities – including for-profit companies – to pay for new construction on public college campuses. In exchange for financing the construction, the firms could lease existing dormitories or other revenue-producing buildings at the colleges. The companies would have to pay for the dorms’ management and maintenance but would receive the buildings’ revenue and could make a profit until their leases with the colleges expire. NorthJersey.com
NH: Private prison consultant hired
The Executive Council voted unanimously yesterday to pay a Florida company $171,350 to help state officials evaluate the eight proposals four companies have submitted to privatize the state’s prisons. Linda Hodgdon, commissioner of the state Department of Administrative Services, told councilors the contract with MGT of America Inc. does not commit the state to handing its prisons off to a private company. Instead, Hodgdon said, it will give policymakers more expertise when they decide whether to privatize. “We have put in thousands and thousands of additional hours in staff time already (reviewing the bids),” Hodgdon said. “I am actually comforted by another set of eyes coming in, a fresh set of eyes coming in, especially (a set) that has expertise in other states looking at this. I think you’re going to get better information when you try to make your public policy decisions.” Concord Monitor
VA: Deadline for Va. port operation privatization proposals extended
The state Department of Transportation issued a request for alternative proposals following an unsolicited one by APM Terminals Inc., a division of global shipping company Maersk. Ryan Pedraza, program manager for the Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships, said the deadline was extended because several groups said they needed more time to complete their submissions. So far, no other companies have submitted proposals. The APM Terminals proposal calls for a 48-year agreement to operate state ports in the Hampton Roads region as well as the Virginia Inland Port in Warren County. The proposal is valued between $3.2 billion and $3.9 billion.The Port of Virginia is currently the third-largest port on the East Coast, but state officials have been frustrated that it hasn’t rebounded from the recession as quickly as its competitors in New York and Savannah, Ga. have. Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell replaced 10 of the port authority’s 11 commissioners last year in an effort to spur growth. The Republic
PA: School District, blue-collar union reach tentative deal
A tentative deal has been struck between the Philadelphia School District and its blue-collar workers’ union, officials said late Wednesday. The deal – which must be ratified – appears to avert layoffs and the privatization of 2,700 jobs of members of SEIU 32BJ Local 1201: bus aides, mechanics, cleaners, building engineers, and other workers. Union officials confirmed the deal, but said they would release no specifics – including the number of layoffs averted – until members saw the terms. The potential agreement comes after months of negotiations and protests over the possible layoffs. About 500 employees were to have lost their jobs Sunday, with the rest laid off by the end of the year. Philly.com
Army privatizing base hotels
The Army is privatizing its hotels, turning their renovation, development and operations over to the private sector in an effort to improve their quality and consistency. The move — which began with a 2009 lease agreement and is to be ongoing for many years — is part of a broader Army effort to seek new ways to make use of its existing land and assets. The service has also privatized most of its U.S. housing and has allowed builders to construct commercial office space on some bases. Washington Post
Wake Forest Law Review to host education privatization symposium
The Wake Forest Law Review will host the symposium, “Privatizing the Public Good: Emerging Trends in K-16 Education,” on Friday, Oct. 26. The symposium assembles a range of perspectives and topics in order to explore privatization trends in education policy at both the K-12 and higher education levels. These privatization trends challenge the traditional view of education as a public good and raise interesting questions concerning the role and shape of education reform. For more information, click here.