NJ Moves to Expand P3 Options While Baltimore Restricts Them
New Jersey is set to boost use of public-private partnerships, with Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signing a bipartisan bill on Aug. 15 that broadens permitted investments to infrastructure beyond colleges and universities if a project includes an expense of at least $10 million in public funds.
Projects will be managed by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
Baltimore’s city council, on the other hand, voted unanimously on Aug. 6 to add to its November ballot a measure that would make the city the first in the U.S. to amend its charter to preserve public ownership and control over its water and sewer systems, and the largest to ban any facility sale or lease.
Council President Bernard C. Young said he “was completely opposed to the privatization of Baltimore’s water system.”
But in an Aug. 20 editorial, The Baltimore Sun said “activists are driving a misinformation campaign in Baltimore that ignores hard data proving the strong performance of water companies.”
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