"There's not a confidence level yet in this country that toll roads can be operated in a safe and secure and efficient manner by private companies," said Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D., Union), the sponsor of a bill to lease New Jersey's toll roads and allow the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to match any private bidder's offer.
Legislators - and their constituents - are asking a fundamental question: If toll roads are so valuable, why don't states act like companies and make all that money themselves?
So discussions about "privatization" have become talks about "monetization."
Corzine wants to create a public agency that could borrow money more cheaply than a private company and use that money to help pay off the state's considerable debt. The money would be repaid by increasing tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.
In Pennsylvania, Rendell has continued to call for a private lease, arguing that it could produce more money. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and several influential state legislators are pushing proposals to raise money by having the Turnpike Commission borrow against future toll increases and new tolls on other highways.
New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said last week that the Corzine administration would come up with its monetization proposal "in the next several weeks," although there have been reports that Corzine won't release his plan until after the November election.
Kolluri acknowledged that it had taken longer than expected to unveil a plan: "Every two weeks, we say it will be two more weeks."
