Although the governor has consistently said that he would reject a Turnpike deal that does not sufficiently protect the public, he has never specified what that means. NJPIRG has six simple principles for judging a monetization deal, which we have placed in our Pledge. Violate any one of them, and the deal will be clearly against the public interest. Unless Governor Corzine is willing to take the Pledge, it’s hard to see how his plan—to be announced in June—will be in the public interest.

Background
Whether you’re from Haddonfield, Patterson, just off exit 7a, or just about anywhere else in New Jersey, the Turnpike is probably a big part of your life. Most of us take for granted that Turnpike and Parkway will be operated in the best interest of the public, and that the tolls we pay go to maintaining these critical roadways. But plans are afoot that could sell the Turnpike and Parkway to powerful investors, who would operate this public asset as a for-profit venture.

Managing the Turnpike and Parkway for private profit presents many dangers for New Jersey. Private operators make a profit by cutting costs and maximizing revenue with the least possible investment. They hike tolls repeatedly, and they don’t use state-of-the-art safety and maintenance standards. And they don’t care about the impacts on nearby local roads of all the cars and trucks trying to avoid the newly high tolls.

The Governor has been advocating “monetizing” assets like our Turnpike because the state faces another serious budget shortfall. Short-sighted budget gimmicks in the past have pushed financial problems onto the future. New Jerseyans must prevent yet another deal that fixes today’s problems by sacrificing tomorrow.

Solution
We need to ensure that New Jersey citizens retain control of our Turnpike and Parkway for all future planning, management and development. We need to make sure that if a deal occurs, New Jerseyans get fair value for our roads instead of our budget crisis leading New Jersey to sell at a discount. The process of making a deal must be transparent and accountable. And above all, the people of New Jersey should have the final say in the Turnpike’s future safety standards. If a monetization deal can’t meet these conditions, embodied in our six principles, a deal must not be done

To learn more about why these six principles are so crucial, read our position paper. For a financially-focused view, read our advocate’s speech to the National Public-Private Partnership Symposium in Washington, D.C. Here is a press release from our December, 2006 press conference. For a more national view, here are is a letter to the Governer from the Chairs of the House Transportation and Infrastructure, discouraging the privatization plan, along with their Press Release.