Thursday, July 26, 2007

[IWS] ANNUAL PRIVATIZATION REPORT 2007 [26 July 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Reason Foundation

ANNUAL PRIVATIZATION REPORT 2007 [26 July 2007]
http://reason.org/apr2007/
or
http://reason.org/apr2007/apr2007.pdf
[full-text, 122 pages]

Press Release [26 July 2007]
Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report
Long-term toll road leases and global airport privatization among the top trends
http://www.reason.org/news/annual_privatization_report_072607.shtml


Los Angeles (July 26, 2007) ­ Reason Foundation's Annual Privatization Report finds states are increasingly partnering with the private sector to build roads and reduce traffic jams that have become one of the biggest complaints among taxpayers living in nearly every mid- to large-sized city in the country. The report analyzes the latest developments in privatization and government reform in the areas of transportation, aviation, education, local government services, telecommunications, and eminent domain.

The Annual Privatization Report finds the most important trend of the last year is the rising tide of long-term toll road leases. Over 21 states have now passed laws enabling public-private partnerships that can be utilized to build much-needed roads and reduce gridlock.

"The congestion crisis is at a tipping point," said Leonard Gilroy, editor of the Reason report. "By 2030, 11 cities will have traffic that is worse than the gridlock in today's Los Angeles. States are awakening to the fact that if they don't do something soon, it will be too late."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry summed up the feelings of many state leaders in a recent letter to Congress, writing, "I encourage you to examine the fundamental question of why states are looking to engage the private sector in the first place. I will tell you the answer in Texas is that we could no longer wait for anyone else to solve our problemsÂ…congestion doesn't wait for Congress to make up its mind."

Reason catalogs the increasing number of states using public-private partnerships to battle the growing congestion crisis and gives detailed answers to many of the most common objections to these arrangements.

The report also finds it was a historic year for airport privatization. Globally, 15 major airports were privatized in 2006, the second-highest annual total ever (there were 21 airport privatization deals in 1998).

In its review of the federal government, the Annual Privatization Report finds existing federal employees and the private sector competed for contracts in 183 instances last year. These competitions produced a savings of $1.3 billion. Since 2002, 12 percent of the federal workforce has faced competition from the private sector and taxpayers have saved $6.9 billion as a result.

Streamlining efforts, based on the President's Management Agenda, resulted in 91 unnecessary federal programs being eliminated in fiscal 2008, saving $5 billion. And another $7 billion of taxpayer money will be saved through major cutbacks to 50 other non-essential programs.

When it comes to local governments, the report highlights Chicago, where Mayor Richard Daley has privatized more than two dozen functions and assets. Chicago recently privatized two parking garages, generating $563 million that is being used to pay off debt, improve city parks, and create a reserve fund for future projects.

In education, Reason finds over 4,000 charter schools are serving more than one million children across the country. Charters, which are privately operated schools under contract with government agencies, are proving very popular with families in places like Michigan, New York, and Wisconsin. In New Orleans, charter schools are playing a vital role in getting kids back to school after Hurricane Katrina: nearly 70 percent of the city's children are currently attending charters.

The Reason Foundation report flags the privatization of state lotteries as something to keep an eye on in coming years. Texas, Illinois and Indiana were among the states that looked into the concept this year.

CONTENTS
Federal Update...
...................................................................................................... 1
A. Update on the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART): PART Nears Full Cycle
Assessing All Federal Programs............................................................................... 1
B. Program Performance Evaluation Continues......................................................... 7
C. Federal Competitive Sourcing Slows, But Continues to Demonstrate Results..........8
Local and State Update. .......................................................................................... 10
A. Local Privatization Update................................................................................. 10
B. State Privatization Update................................................................................ 12
C. State Budget Outlook.........................................................................................17
D. State and Local Tax Burdens Hit 25-Year High..................................................... 19
E. New Accounting Rule Shines Light on Government Liabilities..............................20
Surface Transportation. ..........................................................................................22
A. Building Roads to Reduce Traffic Congestion in America's Cities:
How Much and at What Cost?................................................................................ 22
B. Long-Term Toll Road Concessions: An Overview.................................................. 25
C. Privatization of Existing Toll Roads..................................................................... 29
D. New PPP Toll Roads & Toll Lanes.........................................................................31
E. International Toll Road Developments................................................................ 35
F. Answers to the Most Common Objections to PPPs............................................... 39
Air Transportation... ................................................................................................44
A. Global Airport Privatization...............................................................................44
B. U.S. Airport Privatization...................................................................................46
C. U.S. Airport Security.........................................................................................48
D. Global Air Traffic Control................................................................................... 49
E. U.S. Air Traffic Control........................................................................................51
Education and Child Welfare ................................................................................... 55
A. School Choice Update....................................................................................... 55
B. No Choices Left Behind: Restructuring California's Lowest-Performing Schools....62
C. Experimenting With School Choice: A Tale of Two California Districts................... 63
D. Child Welfare Privatization Update....................................................................66
E. The Case for Privatizing University Housing........................................................ 72
Emerging Issues ..................................................................................................... 75
A. State Lottery Privatization................................................................................. 75
B. Government Transparency................................................................................. 77
Water & Wastewater....... ........................................................................................81
A. Public Works Financing Issues 11th Annual Water Privatization Report................. 81
B. U.S. House of Representatives Passes Water Funds............................................ 81
C. World Bank: New Generation of Privatization?....................................................82
Telecommunications.. .............................................................................................84
A. States Push for Video Franchise Reform.............................................................84
B. Push for Network Neutrality Regulation Loses Momentum ................................. 87
C. Problems Emerging with Municipal WiFi.............................................................88
D. Lessons Learned from Provo's Municipal Broadband..........................................89
E. A Dynamic Perspective on Government Broadband............................................. 92
Land Use and Property Rights.. ...............................................................................95
A. Eminent Domain Reform Update........................................................................ 95
B. Measure 37 Rewrite Sent to Voters....................................................................102
C. Arizona's Proposition 207: The New Standard for Regulatory Takings Reform......104
D. Sustainable Development in Urban Planning: The Case for a Market-Based Approach...... 108
Public Health and Safety.. ......................................................................................110
A. Corrections Update.......................................................................................... 110
B. Journal Releases 200-City EMS Survey.............................................................. 112
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                            
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?