News
LA: Senate requires LSU to get legislative approval before privatizing hospitals. Without debate Tuesday, senators approved legislation that says the LSU Board of Supervisors needs the backing of the Senate Finance Committee to privatize the hospitals. There was no discussion of the resolution before it was adopted without objection. NOLA.com
OK: Office of Privatization. Oklahoma is getting ready to pass a law to allow a state agency to study the aspects of privatizing parts of state government. Senate Bill 1008, to create the Office of Privatization, has now passed the House and the Senate. With privatization supported by a majority of lawmakers it could easily move to the governor. Senator Greg Treat created the bill to have a one-stop shop for the issue of privatization under the control of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services. “It’s in order to have a repository of information and expertise on how to privatize state functions. Currently everything we do is on an ad hoc basis, so if we move to privatize something we have to recreate the wheel every time.” KOSU
IL: Illiana opponents out in force as officials narrow toll road’s footprint. Officials hope to develop the highway as a public-private partnership. Although commonly known as the Illiana Expressway, the project likely would be a toll road. The latest estimated cost is $1.25 billion for the 47-mile project. Gates-Hamann’s father-in-law, Will Township Road Commissioner Bruce Hamann, contends the “47-mile fence” would close county roads and many north-south township roads. He said that would hamper police, fire and ambulance responses, as well as lengthen the time children spend on school buses. Chicago Tribune
CA: California: Firm Rigs Data In Bid To Keep Red Light Cameras. Ever since November when voters in Murrieta, California rejected red light cameras at the ballot box, American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has been on a campaign to turn them back on. The strategy has been two-fold: use the courts to overturn the public’s decision, then convince the city council to reactivate the devices in the name of public safety. Anti-camera activists say they have caught the photo ticketing company manipulating data to achieve these ends. TheNewspaper.com
Role reversal: Obama talk of privatizing TVA upsets GOP lawmakers. Privatizing TVA has been proposed before “and been determined to be a very bad idea,” added Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn. Administration officials emphasized that privatization was just one option being considered. Jackson Clarion Ledger