Bill Prohibits Sale or Lease of State Turnpikes to Foreign Companies

With several states turning to plans to sell or lease their turnpikes to private companies in an effort to raise capital, a measure that passed today out of the House General Government and Transportation Committee would prevent the same thing from happening in Oklahoma.

House Bill 3182, by state Rep. Sally Kern, would
prohibit the Oklahoma Transportation Commission
and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority from entering
into any contract or lease agreement with a foreign
company or any majority-owned subsidiary of a
foreign company to operate or maintain any
state-owned turnpike.

Recently, the privatization of state assets has become
a hotly debated issue throughout the nation, and Kern
said that should worry citizens. Kern said such
privatization plans harm citizens because private
companies can raise fees and neglect maintenance
without reprisal from citizens in the voting booth.

"These companies are concerned only with profit
margin; they're not concerned with providing low
costs, access and basic services to citizens," said
Kern, R-Oklahoma City. "Oklahoma citizens count
on our toll roads to take them back and forth to
work, to shop and to bring them goods and services.
Focusing solely on short-term cash flow problems
could create severe long-term consequences for our
state.

"Our toll road system is a multi-billion dollar public
asset. Giving up control of it could result in excessively
increased tolls and higher prices for consumer goods
because shipping costs will be passed on at the register.
The cost is far too great to even consider."

In 2004, the City of Chicago leased its eight-mile Chicago
Skyway to Spanish corporation Cintra for $1.82 billion.
In 2006, Indiana leased its 157-mile Indiana Tollroad to
Cintra for $3.8 billion.

The measure now moves to the House floor for a vote by
the full body.