Headlines
KS: House blocks tax credits for private school tuition
MD: Legislation to privatize Maryland’s workers comp fund moves forward
‎OH: Faculty challenges parking privatization option at Ohio State

KS: House blocks tax credits for private school tuition
A bill that would have provided tax credits for those who contributed to scholarships to send students to private schools was rejected by the House on Monday…State Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, tried to eliminate the bill and replace it with one that would raise public school funding by $150 million over two years to restore a portion of the cuts made to schools in recent years. “I have a scholarship program for every child that enters public schools. I’m going to call it state aid,” Ward said. His amendment failed. Other opponents said giving tax credits would drain tax revenue to the state general fund that goes to public schools. State Rep. Bob Brookens, R-Marion, said the measure was in conflict with the duty of the Legislature concerning public education. “Is it our duty to use tax dollars and tax policy to send Kansas money to private schools? Kansas was built on and Kansas will live or die on its public education,” Brookens said. State Rep. Bill Otto, R-LeRoy, said he feared that “schools that may not agree with your values or my values,” could benefit from the proposal. The Lawrence Journal-World

MD: Legislation to privatize Maryland’s workers comp fund moves forward
‎S.B. 745 would require Maryland’s Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund to restructure itself into a private workers comp insurer named Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Co. The fund has been Maryland’s workers comp insurer of last resort since 1914, according to a draft of the legislation. The bill asks the Maryland Insurance Administration to conduct an independent study to determine what financial benefits the fund has gained from the state. Based on the study results, the state fund would need to pay at least $50 million to Maryland’s general revenue fund, plus any additional money determined by the insurance administration review.  Business Insurance

OH: Faculty challenges parking privatization option at Ohio State
The university’s plan to lease the parking assets to an outside vendor could bring in big money for the academic core, but some faculty members say it comes at a price..Paul Beck, an OSU professor in the political science department and member of the faculty council, said one reason many faculty members oppose the change is due to the private operator being permitted to raise parking prices by 7.5 percent each year for the first 10 years, or the price of inflation, whichever is higher. This rate is much higher than the average 4.8 increase for an ‘A’ permit from 2003 to 2012, according to the resolution. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought this is unfair,” Beck said. “Not only to faculty and staff, but for students as well because they are paying double. First they are paying for their tuition, but then they’re being hit again by increasing parking prices.”..Enrico Bonello, an OSU professor in plant pathology and member of faculty council, said faculty council members want the administration to make them more involved in the process and informed of actions being taken…“We teach our students to be open and objective and I think the university should do the same,” he said. “We just wanted to get information that we need to have to be able to make this decision and they’re not giving us that information.”..Beck said he understands the university’s efforts to try to profit from parking, but the profitable benefits are nonexistent.  “As I began to dig more deeply and listen to the administration talk about what it’s going to do with the money, I realized they are trying to spend the proceeds twice and they can’t do that of course,” he said. The Lantern

Headlines
MD: Bill would let Maryland seek out private partners for public projects
AZ: Arizona lawmakers push to take over federal land
UT: Public-Lands bill giving Utah control to become law
WA: State weighs more private contracts for services
ME: Federal judge says Gov’s decision to remove mural was ‘government speech’
Lobbyists, guns and money – Paul Krugman

MD: Bill would let Maryland seek out private partners for public projects
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has joined a little-noticed wave of Democratic governors gravitating toward the privatization of government facilities — a practice once anathema to blue states and their often-powerful public employee unions. A bill proposed by O’Malley and being shepherded through the legislature by Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D) follows laws approved recently in California and Illinois and under consideration in a half-dozen other Democratic-controlled states. In the name of job creation, it would make it Maryland’s policy to seek out private partners to build, operate and maintain roads, bridges, schools, government buildings and most any other public asset…But Maryland’s methods would make the process ripe for corruption, critics say, and even upend an existing lawsuit challenging one of the state’s biggest plans.  To appease labor, the shift would come in a distinctly Democratic mold. Under legislation expected to come to a vote Monday in the House of Delegates, any jobs generated as the state hands off public assets would carry requirements that private enterprises pay living wages, ensure minority business involvement and put in place other labor-friendly protections.  With that, the legislation has gained unlikely allies. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and nearly every other major public employee union in Maryland has lined up in support of the bill. The Washington Post

AZ: Arizona lawmakers push to take over federal land
Another “sagebrush rebellion” is spreading through legislatures in Arizona and other Western states with a series of formal demands that the federal government hand over title to tens of millions of acres of forests, ranges and other public lands. Arizona could claim as much as 25 million acres — all federal land in the state except military bases, Indian reservations, national parks and some wilderness areas. If the federal government fails to comply by the end of 2014, the states say they will begin sending property-tax bills to Washington, D.C. While the original sagebrush rebellion grew out of conflicts over management of federal lands, often as specific as keeping a forest road open, the new takeover movement owes more to “tea party” politics, with a strong focus on reducing the scope of federal influence and opening land to more users…Legal experts say the movement is based on a misreading of federal law and the U.S. Constitution and will almost certainly fail to survive court challenges. Conservation groups and other critics say the takeover would threaten iconic landscapes now protected by federal rules. States, those critics say, are ill-prepared to oversee so much land, with the roads, recreation areas and management needs that go along with it.  “In an era of apparent fiscal responsibility, why would the state seek billions of dollars of liability and management responsibility to assume ownership over the (25 million) acres or so of parks, forests and public lands in Arizona?” said Matt Skroch, executive director of the Arizona Wilderness Coalition. “It is ill-conceived, it is irresponsible and it makes absolutely no sense.”  Arizona Republic

UT: Public-Lands bill giving Utah control to become law
Gov. Gary Herbert will sign a bill Friday that demands the federal government relinquish control of public lands in Utah by 2014, setting the table for a potential legal battle over millions of acres in the state.
House Bill 148, which easily passed the Legislature, is saddled with a warning from legislative attorneys that there is a high probability it will be found unconstitutional. But Republican lawmakers and Herbert are optimistic about their chances in court…Opponents, including Utah Democrats and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, said the bill is not only unconstitutional but bad public policy. If implemented, they said it could eliminate important protections from development and vehicle use for wildlife refuges, forests and other sensitive areas. At the core of the issue is limited access to about 28 million acres of federal land, which hurts energy development, recreation and grazing. State lawmakers claim the federal lands cost the state millions of dollars every year, although no comprehensive studies have been done to quantify those losses. The bill exempts national parks, military installations, Native American reservations and congressionally approved wilderness areas and monuments. It primarily focuses on lands controlled by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The Associated Press.

WA: State weighs more private contracts for services
A decision is due by October on whether to roughly double the amount of central state-government printing that is farmed out to private companies. That will follow other potential boons to the private sector this summer, when state officials are to decide if companies should be tapped to replace public employees as Web designers and as couriers for state mail. It’s all part of the authority lawmakers gave the governor last year to put back-office work out to bid in search of cost savings. The targeted work at the state printer alone accounts for more than $8 million in spending on bulk printing of forms, business cards, stationery and other big orders, plus storage and delivery of printed materials…A decision on whether it makes sense to contract out each of those services will come from Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget office, as long as the process wraps up as scheduled before she leaves office. The Olympian

ME: Federal judge says Gov’s decision to remove mural was ‘government speech’
A federal judge on Friday ruled in favor of Gov. Paul LePage in a lawsuit concerning the governor’s controversial removal of a Department of Labor mural, saying LePage’s action amounted to “government speech.” …LePage’s decision to remove the mural, which contains 11 panels depicting the history of Maine’s labor movement, gained national attention, including a disapproving editorial in The New York Times and sendups by political comedians such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. LePage initially stated that the mural displayed a one-sided view of Maine’s labor history, but said later during an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams that his objection stemmed from where the money used to pay for the mural was obtained. “Regardless of Judge Woodcock’s opinion, while we may not have yet prevailed in the court of law, we already have prevailed in the court of public opinion,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jeffrey Neil Young, said in a statement. “Mainers recognize what the court has failed to appreciate, that the removal of the mural is nothing less than government censorship of artistic speech in violation of the First Amendment.” Bangor Daily News

Lobbyists, guns and money – Paul Krugman
Florida’s now-infamous Stand Your Ground law, which lets you shoot someone you consider threatening without facing arrest, let alone prosecution, sounds crazy — and it is. And it’s tempting to dismiss this law as the work of ignorant yahoos. But similar laws have been pushed across the nation, not by ignorant yahoos but by big corporations. Specifically, language virtually identical to Florida’s law is featured in a template supplied to legislators in other states by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate-backed organization that has managed to keep a low profile even as it exerts vast influence (only recently, thanks to yeoman work by the Center for Media and Democracy, has a clear picture of ALEC’s activities emerged). And if there is any silver lining to Trayvon Martin’s killing, it is that it might finally place a spotlight on what ALEC is doing to our society — and our democracy….ALEC seems, however, to have a special interest in privatization — that is, on turning the provision of public services, from schools to prisons, over to for-profit corporations. And some of the most prominent beneficiaries of privatization, such as the online education company K12 Inc. and the prison operator Corrections Corporation of America, are, not surprisingly, very much involved with the organization. What this tells us, in turn, is that ALEC’s claim to stand for limited government and free markets is deeply misleading. To a large extent the organization seeks not limited government but privatized government, in which corporations get their profits from taxpayer dollars, dollars steered their way by friendly politicians. In short, ALEC isn’t so much about promoting free markets as it is about expanding crony capitalism. And in case you were wondering, no, the kind of privatization ALEC promotes isn’t in the public interest; instead of success stories, what we’re getting is a series of scandals. Private charter schools, for example, appear to deliver a lot of profits but little in the way of educational achievement…Now, ALEC isn’t single-handedly responsible for the corporatization of our political life; its influence is as much a symptom as a cause. But shining a light on ALEC and its supporters — a roster that includes many companies, from AT&T and Coca-Cola to UPS, that have so far managed to avoid being publicly associated with the hard-right agenda — is one good way to highlight what’s going on. And that kind of knowledge is what we need to start taking our country back. The New York Times

Headlines
NY: Cuomo seeks law for private investment in new Tappan Zee Bridge
CA: Whistle-blower says city jobs sent to India
MI: Michigan symposium to explore privatization
LA: Jindal’s education proposal basics expected to pass the House
NY: Viewpoint: Outsourcing nursing home jobs hurts residents
OH: Ohio Gov’s budget could force town to privatize fire and EMS services

NY: Cuomo seeks law for private investment in new Tappan Zee Bridge
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking legislation that would allow private-equity firms to help finance construction of public-works projects, including a new $5.2 billion Tappan Zee Bridge. The bill would authorize the state to lease bridges, roads and state buildings to help pay for construction, maintenance and operations of infrastructure…Carlyle Group LP (CG) and Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG) are among companies expressing interest in the Tappan Zee…Last year, the state Senate approved a measure that would create a nine-member commission to determine which projects are best suited for private financing. It would then execute and oversee the contracts. The bill, which covered only transportation projects, stalled in the Assembly. Rae said Cuomo is interested in a measure that would include state buildings and possibly parks…As public funding for infrastructure projects has dried up, New York needs to look for other sources, Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a Senate hearing on Fuschillo’s bill..New York is ripe for investment because it already has tolls on bridges and tunnels leading in and out of New York City as well as on more than 500 miles of highway from Buffalo to Manhattan, said D.J. Gribbin, managing director of Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., who helped advise Puerto Rico on its public- private partnership law. Macquarie Capital is a division of Australia’s biggest investment bank. Bloomberg

CA: Whistle-blower says city jobs sent to India
A whistle-blower lawsuit claims that the firm hired to take over the computer help desk for San Diego city operations — saving money for taxpayers — did it by outsourcing the jobs to India in violation of its contract. The employee accuses the company of an elaborate cover-up to hide the offshore work from city officials and says sensitive information, such as police records, may have been vulnerable to abuse.  The city conducted an investigation and found no evidence to back up the allegations…The contract with Gardena-based En Pointe was the city’s first foray into outsourcing under Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has pushed privatization of certain services as a way to reduce the costs of city government. The work had been performed for 30 years by the San Diego Data Processing Corp., a nonprofit city agency, but had never been competitively bid until Sanders took office. ..Dominguez, an account manager, also says En Pointe had Allied Digital workers put fake name plates on their cubicles for a site visit by city officials to the Gardena offices and had them use dummy “enpointe.com” emails for any communications with the city. He said he was fired Oct. 3 after he raised concerns that the firm might be violating its contract. UTSandDiego.com

MI: Michigan symposium to explore privatization
Organizers of a Friday event at Wayne State University in Detroit say state lawmakers have responded to the recent wave of economic hardship facing Michigan cities and schools with a controversial agenda that has transformed local governments and allowed for the transfer of public assets into private hands. The nature and impact of these changes will be explored Friday at a symposium at Wayne State’s Law School called “Michigan in Transition: The Restructuring of Governance Through Privatization and Corporatization.” The event is sponsored by the the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and the “Journal of Law In Society,” a publication put together by Wayne State law students. U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) will provide the symposium’s morning keynote address and will focus on the transition of governments under emergency managers. Columbia University Professor Elliott Sclar, author of the book “You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For: The Economics of Privatization,” will give the afternoon keynote address.Conference-goers will also tackle the consequences of the privatization of Detroit’s water system and health care system. Huffington Post

LA: Jindal’s education proposal basics expected to pass the House
The anchor measures of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed restructuring of primary and secondary education are expected to pass the Louisiana House of Representatives on Thursday, but not without significant debate over how to structure a statewide program that uses taxpayer money for private-school tuition aid. Leading lawmakers said they do not expect fundamental changes to Jindal’s proposals to expand publicly financed charter schools, curtail teacher tenure protections and tie teacher pay to formulas driven by student performance. But Capitol hallways and the House floor were a flurry of activity Wednesday, as lawmakers huddled in small groups to hash out details over, among other things, who should be eligible for the tuition assistance and what kind of accountability provisions should be imposed on private schools that accept the public money.  The Times-Picayune

NY: Viewpoint: Outsourcing nursing home jobs hurts residents
..To say that I am worried for our residents is an understatement. Our residents are people who have had many children, worked their entire lives, lived through the Depression, lived through war and drafts of both their children and themselves, and now they are facing the possible sale of the home they live in. They have already given up so much; many have lost their spouses, some have lost children and none of them have the home they worked their entire lives for. Instead, they have us, the people who work at the Steuben County Health Care Facility. If we were outsourced, meaning they would hire different companies to come in and do the work at the lowest bid, there would be different people coming and going all the time. The maintenance people they are used to could be switched with a grumpy worker who could very well hire by the minute. Many of our residents know our maintenance crew by name and have good relationships with them…Outsourcing is just the tip of the iceberg. If they decide to sell, many or all of us could be out of jobs. I know there is a public worker stereotype; many people think county workers receive humongous paychecks and have time to take an afternoon nap. Last year, I made less than $35,000. Yes, the benefits are excellent, but we’re not all stuffed shirts. We are regular people like you, trying to get by. Where are we going to go when we are out of jobs? The unemployment line. Social services. Medicaid. The end result of 100-plus workers out of jobs could be astronomical to the area. I invite anyone to come and see our level of commitment, see how happy our residents are — because it is you, the taxpayers, who own this facility. Be the judge of whether our residents deserve to have a wonderful place to live, and I hope you are as committed to caring as we are. I also invite our legislators to come and take a look, meet our people and make an informed decision. Elmira Star-Gazette

OH: Ohio Gov’s budget could force town to privatize fire and EMS services
This year, cuts in Kasich’s budget are again causing ripple effects in the area of public safety — this time by forcing one town near Cincinnati to choose between raising taxes or privatizing its fire and EMS services. According to a video released by Township Trustee Tom Weidman at the beginning of the process, the Township’s financial problems can be tied directly to Kasich’s budget. Local officials were shocked and amazed when Kasich and the legislature “abruptly ended” the “important source of income” from the Local Government Fund, the Tangible Personal Property Tax and the Estate Tax…And while towns like Sycamore are forced to sell off public safety, Kasich’s latest economic plan provides a break for the richest Ohioans. Under his proposed income tax cuts, the state’s top one percent would receive a quarter of the benefits. The middle class, meanwhile, wouldn’t receive enough to pay for a tank of gas.ThinkProgress

Headlines
NY: Albany boosts private schools
GA: Senate passes charter school amendment
IL: Skeptical Chicago eyes P3s
LA: Report deplores La. group homes
SC: Privatization of school bus system poor decision

NY: Albany boosts private schools
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers have proposed increasing public funding for religious and private schools, potentially reversing years of cuts and handing the Roman Catholic Church a political victory. Under Mr. Cuomo’s budget plan, nonpublic schools would get about $117 million, or a 13% increase, to carry out administrative duties the state requires, such as taking attendance, giving standardized tests and running immunization programs. The Assembly’s plan puts such spending at about $118 million, while the Senate sets aside $133 million….The New York State Catholic Conference led the push for money for 1,800 nonpublic schools with 416,000 students…The reimbursements sit in a cozy area of legally allowable government funding for religious organizations. Courts have ruled that the state can pay private schools back for expenses such as textbooks, busing and test-taking, but not for actually providing instruction to students. The Wall Street Journal

GA: Senate passes charter school amendment
The state Senate passed the controversial charter school amendment this afternoon, enabling a constitutional amendment on the question in November. The amendment passed 40-16, which represents the two-thirds majority required. The amendment already had passed the House…However, skeptics argue that the language is fuzzy enough that the state will still be able to divert money from local school districts to pay for state-approved charter schools. The bill has become one of the most promoted pieces of legislation in the General Assembly this year, in part because of the assistance of the influential for-profit charter school industry, including online providers , which is looking to expand its foothold and profits in Georgia. The research on charter schools remains mixed, as noted in a detailed Education Week review this month. A new state Department of Education study found that Georgia charter schools do not outperform traditional schools. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

IL: Skeptical Chicago eyes P3s
With public ire over the former mayor’s flawed $1.15 billion lease of Chicago’s parking meter system still clouding the local political landscape for public private partnerships, the city is turning to a next-generation model as it eyes private dollars to fund infrastructure and lower the cost of some city services. Skepticism runs deep in the veins of Chicagoans when discussing the P3 model most familiar to a local crowd – leasing an existing revenue-generating asset to private investors and operators who capture future asset revenues in exchange for a hefty upfront cash payment…But the parking meter privatization in late 2008 turned the public against such deals. The private operators were unprepared initially to manage the system, adding to the public’s anger over skyrocketing rates…With state and federal funding lagging and international investment interest in P3s rising, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the city’s sister agencies are looking to tap private dollars and panelists at the conference outlined some of the opportunities…One lease deal that stalled, but John Schmidt, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP  Chicago, said could now be resurrected, is the city’s proposed $2.5 billion lease of Midway Airport. Struck in 2008, it fell apart in 2009 when the private consortium couldn’t raise financing due to the international credit crunch. The city had banked on the Midway deal to help shore up its pension funding and to fund infrastructure, because of restrictions imposed in state legislation…With investment interest building internationally, Schmidt said Chicago could pull off a successful Midway privatization, although the question remains “whether the city wants to do it.” Bond Buyer

LA: Report deplores La. group homes
A new Advocacy Center investigation released Tuesday criticized continuing deplorable conditions at 16 state-funded, privately operated group homes for the developmentally disabled despite numerous state citations since 2008. “We want people to understand that their (tax) money is funding something that’s all about the provider making money. It’s not about treatment and care,” said Lois Simpson, executive director of the non-profit organization that advocates for citizens with disabilities. The homes surveyed were deemed the worst in their regions by state ombudsmen who advocate for the rights of home residents, Simpson said…The report — “When a House is not a Home” — is the result of an investigation that began in 2008 into homes where ombudsmen identified what the Advocacy Center called “a clear pattern of neglect” that was allowed to continue, despite repeated complaints and citations in state surveys. The Advocate

SC: Privatization of school bus system poor decision
The South Carolina Legislature has proposed a bill that has angered a large portion of residents likely to receive an increase in their property taxes in order to privatize the school bus system. If passed, the bill would require school systems to fork out millions, which would in turn be handed to the taxpayers…Some school districts, however, have done the math and have concluded that the budget is just not there for a privatized bus system to be enacted. With the ever-increasing cost of vehicles and fuel, privatizing school bus systems in South Carolina would seem to be a difficult feat for school districts, which already receive meager funding from the state. The privatization’s effects would be felt not only by the South Carolina school districts, but taxpayers as well. The amount of property taxes residents are already paying is exorbitant, and the economy has been, and will likely remain, impecunious. The burden privatization will have will be detrimental to many families who are already having difficulty choosing between whether to fill up their gas tanks or put food on the table. The Gamecock

Headline
Condi Rice-Joel Klein report: Not the new ‘A Nation at Risk’
WA: Judge upholds Washington state liquor initiative
CA: Privatizing scholarship at Santa Monica College
NE: Neb. bill would increase state contract scrutiny
NY: Nassau to select private vendor to run sewers
OR: State weighs more private contracts for services

Condi Rice-Joel Klein report: Not the new ‘A Nation at Risk’
A new report being officially released today — by a Council of Foreign Relations task force chaired by Joel Klein and Condoleezza Rice — seems to want very much to be seen as the new “A Nation at Risk,” the seminal 1983 report that warned that America’s future was threatened by a “rising tide of mediocrity” in the country’s public schools.  It’s a pale imitation…The report cites lots of statistics that paint public schools in the worst possible light, and continues the trend of comparing America’s educational system with that of high-achieving countries — but doesn’t note that these countries generally don’t do the kinds of things these reformers endorse. Its recommendations would lead to further privatization of public schools and even more emphasis on standardized testing…Klein was chancellor of of New York City public schools for eight years, running it under the general notion that public education should be run like a business. He closed schools, pushed the expansion of charter schools and launched other initiatives before resigning in 2010 after it was revealed that the standardized test scores that he kept pointing to as proof of the success of his reforms were based on exams that got increasingly easy for students to take. Now he works for Rupert Murdoch…Rice was secretary of state under president George W. Bush. She has expressed her admiration for Bush’s key education initiative No Child Left Behind, which ushered in the current era of high-stakes testing but has now been called a failure by both Republicans and Democrats. Washington Post

WA: Judge upholds Washington state liquor initiative
A Cowlitz County judge on Monday upheld a voter-approved initiative privatizing liquor sales in Washington state, reversing an earlier decision that had left the measure’s fate in question. Initiative opponents said they would appeal the ruling directly to the state Supreme Court, but the decision enables the state to continue to move forward with implementing it…Voters approved Initiative 1183 last fall to privatize liquor sales and dismantle Washington’s state-run liquor system, which was formed in the 1930s in the aftermath of Prohibition. The measure, backed by retailing giant Costco, allows stores larger than 10,000 square feet to sell liquor, though it could allow smaller stores to sell liquor if there are no other outlets in a trade area. The Seattle Times

CA: Privatizing scholarship at Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College, a community college in California, recently proposed charging different tuition rates for different courses. Students taking high-demand courses would pay more money. Less popular courses would be cheaper. The two-tiered policy has drawn criticism, in part because it’s probably illegal….Santa Monica College’s plan to offer some high-demand classes at a premium cost received a boost Thursday with the announcement of a $250,000 donation to support scholarships for students who qualify…..How many more colleges are going to deal with declining state funding by charging students more money to take required courses? All the colleges can’t count on the largess of the Electro Rent man. The real policy solution to this problem is for California to just have higher taxes on rich people like, well, Daniel Greenberg. California needs these higher taxes in order to provide necessary support for higher education, making this questionable dual pricing system (and voluntary private donations) unnecessary.
Through the middle of the 1980’s community colleges in California were free. Washington Monthly

NE: Neb. bill would increase state contract scrutiny
…The bill by Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln was inspired by oversight problems with Nebraska’s child welfare privatization effort, which has led to ballooning costs and prompted four of five private agencies to back out of their child welfare contracts. Nebraska has reclaimed case management duties for children statewide, except in two Omaha-area counties, since the privatization move began in 2009.  “I believe there was conviction and genuine belief in the efficacy of privatization,” Avery said. “I don’t believe anybody was prepared for the outcome that we’ve witnessed since we actually started the privatization process.” The bill is part of the state’s broader effort to change Nebraska’s child welfare services. Lawmakers are on the verge of passing child welfare measures this session that would scale back caseloads for social workers, create a child welfare watchdog that reports to the Legislature and end the state’s experiment with privatized services in all of Nebraska except for Douglas and Sarpy counties. CBS News

NY: Nassau to select private vendor to run sewers
Nassau County is poised to pick a private operator for its sprawling sewer system in a nearly $1 billion deal that would represent the largest and most complex financial transaction in county history…Nassau will maintain ownership of the system and the contract will stipulate that the county will continue to set usage rates, Deputy County Executive Rob Walker said…The Mangano administration says that after a separate bidding process, the county will select a private investor who will provide the county with the funds. The investor will then be repaid by the private operator. The operator, meanwhile, makes its profit through operating efficiencies that it institutes…Some lawmakers and civic activists also have expressed concern that the deal will lead to less government oversight of the treatment system and possible environmental problems. They question the wisdom of relinquishing control of one of the county’s most vital assets for a one-shot budget fix. They also complain that they have not received enough details about the changeover. “We should not be the incubator for privatizing a public necessity,” said Nassau Legis. David Denenberg (D-Merrick), who also is skeptical of the county’s promises not to raise sewer rates. Newsday

OR: State weighs more private contracts for services
A decision is due by October on whether to roughly double the amount of central state-government printing that is farmed out to private companies…It’s all part of the authority lawmakers gave the governor last year to put back-office work out to bid in search of cost savings…A decision on whether it makes sense to contract out each of those services will come from Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget office, as long as the process wraps up as scheduled before she leaves office…A process set in union contracts allows state employees to bid on work. But that doesn’t apply to the new process that is targeting printing, mail and Web design, because of the law passed last year. It allows governors to contract out six government functions every two years. The Olympian

Headlines
OH: Privatizing government assets a growing trend
MI: Leasing of city assets could bring quick cash to Detroit
PA: Gov Corbett: I’d understand if Pitt wants to become private
FL: Move to privatize public libraries makes inroads in Florida
NY: Another battle in the war against public schools
ME: School choice, public money for private religious schools draw public to hearings
TX: DPS outsourced border security to private firm via no-bid contracts
SC: Proposal aims to privatize school buses
UK PM unveils plan to sell off the roads

OH: Privatizing government assets a growing trend
…“That big pot of money is very attractive,” said Richard Little, a senior fellow at the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. “The problem is, sometimes it’s like going to the pawn shop. You get what you can, not necessarily what it’s worth.” That is the fault that Hartmann and Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes find with the controversial Drake deal, under which UC Health paid the county $15 million for the Hartwell rehabilitation hospital’s buildings and land. Rhodes argues that the county sold “a valuable asset at a bargain basement price,” and Hartmann agrees the deal – which will help pay for the Bengals’ and Reds’ stadiums and restore a property tax credit for homeowners – was not a good one for taxpayers. “Even putting price aside, selling a valuable asset for what amounts to a one-year fix of the (stadiums’ funding) problem is poor policy,” Hartmann said. “It’s shortsighted.” Cincinnatti.com

MI: Leasing of city assets could bring quick cash to Detroit
… For the city of Detroit, leasing municipal assets could be a way to bring in cash while moving the costs of operations, maintenance and investment off the books. Two versions of draft consent agreements include the possibility of selling or disposing of city assets, and would bypass the anti-privatization ordinance…No matter who pulls the strings, experts say, private investment in municipal assets is increasingly popular for investors who see infrastructure as a safe market. Asset sales, according to Detroit’s City Charter, require approval by popular vote. Long-term leases, called concessions, are less problematic, though they are still constrained by the city’s anti-privatization ordinance, which restricts outsourcing work that could be done in-house, barring extensive documentation as to cost savings. Crain’s Detroit Business

PA: Gov Corbett: I’d understand if Pitt wants to become private
Gov. Tom Corbett told a University of Pittsburgh audience on Friday that he would be disappointed if the school became a private university in the face of continuing state budget cuts. “But I would understand if they had to do it,” Corbett told about 300 Pitt students and faculty members, many of whom questioned his proposal to reduce state subsidies to the school from $136.1 million this year to $95.2 million next year. Shortly before Corbett arrived, police escorted about two dozen protesters out of the university’s William Pitt Union as they chanted, “Stop the cuts!” to the beat of a bass drum..His proposed budget reductions, about 30 percent for Pitt, Penn State and Temple universities and 20 percent for the 14 State System of Higher Education universities, have prompted speculation that Pitt and Penn State could become private universities. Officials at Pitt and Penn State insist they want to maintain their state affiliations but are struggling, given reductions in state subsidies…The governor defended his reluctance to raise taxes to balance the budget. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

FL: Move to privatize public libraries makes inroads in Florida
..The contract stipulates that LSSI keep all library staff at their current salaries for at least 6 months. Benefits however, are a different matter because those workers are no longer county employees…“There are many people who were in the Florida Retirement System and they’ve no longer in it so they lose that vesting.” Klroy said. “And some of the families have been unable to afford the new insurance packages they’ve been offered.” He said…He and other public library advocates worry that private companies, responsible primarily to their shareholders, don’t have an incentive to invest in new materials and technology. They’re also concerned that the company may cut back on library hours and services such as computer, art and adult literacy classes and kid’s reading programs. Faye Roberts, President of the Florida Library Association said the statewide group is also concerned about issues of accountability and transparency. “Who’s in charge?” Roberts asked. “Is it an elected official or is it someone whose primary focus, as a private company, would need to be on making a profit.”…Still some opponents, like Ed Kilroy, worry that the move toward private libraries fundamentally endangers one of America’s oldest public institutions. “It’s different in Europe and in parts of South America. They have more of a paid library where you have to pay to use the library.” Kilroy said. “So the public library is truly an American institution and community control of the library is part of that institution.”  WMFE

NY: Another battle in the war against public schools
The “parent trigger” must be understood within the current context of vilifying public education. Today, there is a national effort to privatize public schools by turning them over to privately managed charters. This movement is financed by some of the nation’s richest foundations — the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Collaboration — not hostile takeovers — is the most effective way to improve their public schools…A parent trigger — a phrase that is inherently menacing — enables 51percent of parents in any school to close the school or hand it over to private management. This is inherently a terrible idea. Why should 51 percent of people using a public service have the power to privatize it? Should 51 percent of the people in Central Park on any given day have the power to transfer it to private management? Should 51 percent of those riding a public bus have the power to privatize it? Public schools don’t belong to the 51 percent of the parents whose children are enrolled this year. They don’t belong to the teachers or administrators. They belong to the public. They were built with public funds. The only legitimate reason to close a neighborhood public school is under-enrollment. If a school is struggling, it needs help from district leaders, not a closure notice. Parents in Florida got it right earlier this month. By organizing, they stopped a parent trigger law. No Florida-based parent group supported it. By their actions, they recognized that collaboration — not hostile takeovers — is the most effective way to improve their public schools. New York Times

ME: School choice, public money for private religious schools draw public to hearings
One bill proposes an open enrollment program, in which schools can decide to become “schools of choice” and accept students from outside their districts. Students and families could enroll their students in these “schools of choice” without needing permission from the district in which they reside. The second bill removes a sentence from current state law that says public dollars cannot be used to fund private, religious schools. Currently any students can attend a religious school, but they must pay tuition. Opponents, including several high school students, told lawmakers on the Legislature’s Education Committee the school choice proposal would hurt public schools, particularly those in rural Maine and could lead to some closing as state aid is shifted from public to private schools.  Bangor Daily News

TX: DPS outsourced border security to private firm via no-bid contracts
A little-known private defense contractor from Virginia has quietly received about $20 million under a series of no-bid contracts with the State of Texas to develop its border security strategies, an effort that included shaping the state’s public message on the increasingly controversial nature and extent of violence spilling into Texas from Mexico. According to an internal Department of Public Safety memo, the role of Abrams Learning and Information Systems Inc. expanded dramatically after Gov. Rick Perry, then in the midst of a campaign for governor, ordered an acceleration of border security operations that the state wasn’t equipped to handle on its own….State Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, said he plans to call for an investigation into the state’s relationship with ALIS, saying that the state had outsourced vital security operations to a firm with “less accountability and less transparency than I would expect from state agencies.”   The Austin American-Statesman

SC: Proposal aims to privatize school buses
Currently, South Carolina is the only state in the nation that owns and operates its own school bus fleet. That fleet, all agree, is in pitiful shape. The average bus is about 14 years old and has more than 200,000 miles. Advocates say getting the state out of the school bus business will benefit both the state – in over its head, running a massive bus system – as well as the local school districts, who will gain control over bus routes, bus stops and get new buses. It also will get the state out of business that it has no business being in. The State

UK PM unveils plan to sell off the roads
David Cameron will clear the way for a multibillion-pound semi-privatisation of trunk roads and motorways as he announces plans to allow sovereign wealth funds from countries such as China to lease roads in England. Just 48 hours before the budget, the prime minister will give a speech calling for radical action to improve Britain’s infrastructure, which is falling behind those of key competitors in Europe…The prime minister’s plan, modelled on the funding of the mains water and sewage network, would see sovereign wealth funds and pension funds given the right to lease roads over a long period. They would be set a series of targets to, for example, reduce congestion and carry out improvements. George Osborne recently travelled to China to persuade the world’s largest fiscal-surplus country to invest in Britain’s infrastructure…There will be no tolls on the existing road network. But if the road companies create new capacity – by adding lanes to existing roads or building new roads altogether – then they would be entitled to charge for their use. The Guardian

PA: Penn State denies privatization, despite talk
Though Penn State insists it is not looking to become a private institution, education experts aren’t surprised the school is considering its options in light of state funding cuts that have led other public universities to the same types of discussions…Penn State’s public financial support has been steadily eroding. Most recently, Gov. Tom Corbett proposed cutting $64 million in aid to the university next year, which would come on top of a $68 million cut this year…Going private would be complicated, said Tanner, of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. One major issue is ownership of facilities, since public money bought the land on which such colleges sit and paid for many of the buildings and infrastructure, he said. But perhaps the bigger question is about mission, said Tanner. Land-grant schools have a commitment to providing educational opportunities for a broader range of students, including those with the most financial need….” No state has formally privatized its public higher education system, but some have been given more autonomy in the face of declining public support, said Julie Bell, education program director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. Gary Fethke, a professor of management sciences and economics at the University of Iowa, said that higher funding levels are never coming back. Public universities would be better off accepting that and planning accordingly, he said.
“We are evolving toward privatization whether we want to or not,” Fethke said. The Tribune-Democrat

LA: House panel clears school charter, voucher bill as teachers pack Capitol
After a marathon hearing amid a circuslike atmosphere at the Louisiana Capitol, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s allies on the House Education Committee gave their blessing Wednesday to a sweeping proposal that would expand charter schools and launch a statewide program that directs taxpayer money for schools to private school tuition vouchers. The Times-Picayune

ID: Idaho bill on education company oversight dies
Legislation aimed at bringing more oversight to private education companies receiving Idaho tax dollars failed Wednesday amid concerns it was too broad and that adequate transparency measures were already in place. The Idaho Statesman

ME: School choice, public money for private religious schools draw public to hearings
Bills on school choice and government funding of private, religious schools that are part of Gov. Paul LePage’s education package proved to be controversial for the public, which had its first chance to comment on the measures Thursday. Bangor Daily News

Headlines  
Senate passes US highway bill penalizing privatization
Sunshine laws need an upgrade – opinion
National parks for sale?
IL: Plans to privatize Midway airport may fly again
PA: For Penn State, going private an option
FL: Florida parents push back against for-profit schools
CA: Public college charging students extra for mandatory classes
NJ: Englewood school outsourcing plan leads to protest at meeting
FL: Feds question Florida’s Medicaid privatization plans
LA: Some lawmakers oppose plan to close, sell prisons
CT: Bristol council’s question: Would it be cheaper to privatize city jobs?

Senate passes US highway bill penalizing privatization
…An amendment by Senator Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat, [would] discourage states from leasing roads to private operators. The amendment, which passed 50-47, added to language already in the bill that would limit tax breaks for companies such as Macquarie Infrastructure Co. (MIC) that operate highways for states. Bingaman’s amendment excludes privately operated toll roads from the formula that calculates U.S. highway aid to states. Those proposals counter other parts of the bill and President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget that encourage states to attract investment in  infrastructure… Indiana, Illinois and Colorado are the three states directly affected by the amendment, according to Bingaman’s office. States without private roads would get more U.S. highway money. Indiana in 2006 leased its turnpike for 75 years to Cintra, a unit of Madrid-based Ferrovial SA (FER), and Sydney-based Macquarie Infrastructure, in the largest U.S. public-private road lease deal to date. Lawmakers and Obama are looking to companies and investors to help pay for toll roads and other projects as the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for infrastructure from U.S. fuel taxes, faces insolvency as soon as October. The Bingaman amendment was backed by the American Trucking Associations and AAA, the former American Automobile Association. It was opposed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business lobbying group, and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, a construction trade group. Bloomberg

Sunshine laws need an upgrade – opinion
..Almost 40 years ago, lawmakers began passing transparency laws across the country to ensure the public would have “sunshine” and access to information about the way public services and tax dollars are managed. This week, In The Public Interest released a new report detailing how private contractors are evading oversight by exploiting loopholes in current state sunshine and open record laws.  Most state laws do not address the new practice of privatizing government services. The explosion of government contracting in the last decade has exposed a key weakness: companies now use a strategy that rests on re-classifying once public information as proprietary and private. A pattern of cases detailed in the report illustrate how claims are challenged and dismissed by invoking the corporate shield of “work product.” When municipalities shift control from public institutions to private sector companies — they risk losing access to the most basic information needed to govern and steward public funds…First, the federal, state and local governments should strengthen existing open records laws to expand the reach to government contractors and tax subsidized work. Next, they should repeal laws that intentionally reduce transparency and cloak contracts in secrecy. Finally, government agencies should increase and expand online disclosure of contracting-related information. – By Donald Cohen, In the Public Interest
Taunton Daily Gazette

National parks for sale?
A powerful Republican chairman in the House of Representatives just shared with his constituents his desire to begin selling our national parks. Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida was caught on video in a local town meeting. Here is what he said: “I got attacked in a previous town meeting for not supporting another national park in this country, a 200-mile trailway. And I told the man that we don’t need more national parks in this country, we need to actually sell off some of our national parks.” He went on to compare national parks to owning a Cadillac — nice to have, but something you should sell when times get tight. That’s right — apparently he thinks of the Grand Canyon as a car…Unfortunately, Rep. Stearns isn’t the only prominent politician who thinks of the conservation legacy of Theodore Roosevelt as just so much surplus property. Some of the current candidates for leader of the free world have also mused about putting America’s national heritage on the chopping block, and the House of Representatives has actually passed or considered favorably a series of radical bills in this Congress that amount to an all-out war on the concept of holding public lands in trust for future generations. Huffington Post

IL: Plans to privatize Midway airport may fly again
Chicago attorney John Schmidt, a key adviser to the city on the ultimately unsuccessful push several years ago to privatize Midway Airport, says such a deal would be viable now, given that the financial markets have stabilized. “It can be done, and the question is whether the city wants to do it at this point,” Schmidt said Wednesday…His comments come as the city faces a March 31 deadline to decide whether to retain a slot for Midway in the Federal Aviation Administration’s airport privatization pilot program…Former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s original deal to lease Midway for 99 years for $2.5 billion collapsed in 2009 when investors could not securing financing during the financial turmoil at that time. And leasing public assets in return for an upfront windfall has become a political sore spot since the city leased its parking meter operations, starting in 2009. Rising rates for street parking, the city’s use of proceeds to plug budget gaps and a sense that the city could have cut a more lucrative deal have soured public opinion. Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been noncommittal toward the idea of privatizing Midway. But he also is touting public-private partnerships as a way to bolster the city’s aging infrastructure and to take on major new projects the city cannot afford in an era of dwindling federal and state funding. On Wednesday, Emanuel formally introduced an ordinance to create an infrastructure trust, a structure aimed at fostering public-private projects. The City Council could vote on the proposal as early as next month. Chicago Tribune

PA: For Penn State, going private an option
For years, lawmakers have groused that Penn State walks, talks and spends like a private school. As state support continues to slide, university officials say that idea may not be so far-fetched.  In response to a question Tuesday about the possibility of the university’s “becoming more private,” board of trustees Chairwoman Karen Peetz said all options are on the table. Peetz said she’s talked with representatives from Cornell, a fellow land-grant university that receives some government support but remains private. Cornell’s structure could give Penn State guidance in moving past its state-related status, she said….
Her statement drew an immediate response from the administration. University press officers, updating Penn State’s website to clarify her comments, firmly deny that Penn State would give up its public status. “Penn State is not exploring how to become private,” spokeswoman Lisa Powers said. “Penn State is exploring how to remain public in the face of declining public funds.” But other university trustees acknowledge they’ve discussed looking at other colleges for guidance, with Cornell attracting attention. Gov. Tom Corbett’s latest budget, which cuts Penn State’s funding by 30 percent, has forced the board to consider other avenues to keep tuition affordable and quality high, some said…Experts say Cornell is not a good model to follow, noting that the private college’s land-grant status was conferred long after it was founded as a private school. No single land-grant university has successfully gone from public school to private, said Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities spokesman Paul Hassen. The Morning Call

FL: Florida parents push back against for-profit schools
The controversial “parent trigger” bill has been a hot topic in discussions over education policy in Florida recently. The Florida Senate blocked a piece of legislation last Friday that would give parents – and likely private business interests – significantly more influence over the state school system…Modeled after education policy in California, the bill would have allowed parents to vote on what to do with ‘persistently failing schools’ within their respective school districts. This bill demonstrated the continued influence of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who was heavily involved in drafting the legislation. Bush’s organization, Foundation for Florida’s Future, sponsored the bill, which raised the ire of many lawmakers and parent groups.. The bill died in large part due to the opposition of Senate minority leader, Democrat Nan Rich, who said that “the legislation was billed as a ‘parent empowerment’ legislation, and I think it has nothing to do with empowering parents – it has everything to do with laying the groundwork for a takeover of our public schools by private, for-profit, charter-management companies.”..”This is not about charter schools; we have many good charter schools. This is about private for-profit charter management companies,” she said. “This is about people who want to make their way into the pipeline of the billions of dollars in annual state funding and property tax creditors. It’s about a direct attack on public education and one that dismantles and de-funds public education in favour of the private management companies.” “Why don’t we fund our public schools properly, and then maybe we can focus more on those failing schools and provide them with the resources they need?” she asked. Huffington Post

CA: Public college charging students extra for mandatory classes
…Santa Monica College is pursuing a plan to offer a selection of higher-cost classes to students who need them, provoking protests from some who question the fairness of such a two-tiered education system. Under the plan, approved by the governing board and believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the two-year college would create a nonprofit foundation to offer such in-demand classes as English and math at a cost of about $200 per unit. Currently, fees are $36 per unit, set by the Legislature for California community college students. That fee will rise to $46 this summer….But some say higher-priced classes are tantamount to privatizing the public institution. Administrators say the plan is a reaction to drastic state funding cuts, which have forced the campus to pare more than 1,000 class sections since 2008. In the current year, funding was reduced by $11 million. Business Insider

NJ: Englewood school outsourcing plan leads to protest at meeting
Wearing yellow stop signs proclaiming “no outsourcing,” concerned residents and Englewood employees came out in droves to a Feb. 23 Board of Education meeting to protest a decision to examine proposals for outsourcing positions in the school district…Among positions that could be effected include nurses, paraprofessionals, substitutes, secretaries, occupational therapists and the Child Study Team.
…Anita Shemesh, co-president of the Englewood Teachers Association, argued that these positions involve direct interaction with students, parents and the community. A connection of loyalty and trust has been established with these professionals, who often deal with essential details related to safety and security of students. This connection would be broken if outsourced employees, who have no relationship with the students, are brought into the district, Shemesh said. “If they’re not district employees, their primary loyalty and accountability will not be to EPSD [Englewood Public School District], nor to its students and the community,” said Shemesh. “Their principal relationship will be to an outside firm. Outsourcing interferes with the chain of responsibility within the school.” Northern Valley Suburbanite

FL: Feds question Florida’s Medicaid privatization plans
Months after the state of Florida submitted its plans to privatize most of its Medicaid program, the federal government is still asking the state to explain the feasibility of those plans…    Questions touched on a wide range of issues, including safeguards that the state will put in place as it contracts with HMOs.  Already, the federal government has shot down the state’s plans to charge all Medicaid beneficiaries $10 a month for the program, as well as a request to charge a $100 copayment for receiving non-emergency medical care in a hospital. Feds told state officials that they could not impose premiums on families whose income is “at or below 150 percent” of the federal poverty level.  Florida Independent

LA: Some lawmakers oppose plan to close, sell prisons
The Louisiana Department of Corrections is counting on privatizing the state prison in Avoyelles Parish, closing facilities in Rapides and Caddo parishes and increasing employee retirement contributions to balance its budget. But the plan is running into some legislative resistance…Rep. James Armes, D-Leesville, the only Central Louisiana lawmaker on the Appropriations Committee, said he could not support the proposal impacting Dabadie and Avoyelles Correctional Center. “I’m strictly against privatization,” Armes said, “and I’m trying to keep everything open in Central Louisiana. “I’m not for selling more of the state,” he said. “It’s a quick fix for the budget, but down the road it’s going to cost us a lot of money when it comes to renegotiating contracts.”  Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, who is not on Appropriations, said he also can’t support the administration plan for prisons because it is “hitting our area pretty hard, and that’s somebody’s kid in that prison. “I feel like our Department of Corrections is doing a good job,” Harris said, but “I’m not for closing Avoyelles. I’m for keeping it open. There are some things that the state does well, and one of them is running prisons. I’m not for privatization.”
Alexandria Town Talk

CT: Bristol council’s question: Would it be cheaper to privatize city jobs?
In a move certain to get the attention of municipal unions, the Republican-dominated council on Wednesday agreed to research whether Bristol could save money by privatizing trash pickup, parks maintenance and information technology operations…“We’re facing a financial crisis,” said Czenczelewski, who also called on his colleagues to order municipal department heads to prepare austerity budgets as a contingency in case severe spending cuts become necessary… All five Republicans voted together to direct city hall staff to find out what Bristol would save — or lose — if it hires contractors to take over most duties of the parks, recreation and public works agencies. Ward, who cast the only “no” vote, cautioned that the responsibilities of a city are different from those of private businesses, citing snowplowing as an example. Fast work by a large crew of snowplow drivers is essential, and contractors can’t be relied on to come through in every storm, he said. “The [department] budgets that have been presented to the finance board are mean and lean, to say the least,” Ward said. Hartford Courant

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