Under certain circumstances, PLAs appear to make good economic sense. With taxpayers placing more and more pressure on government to control costs and spend less, public owners across the country are turning to PLAs to further insure the project gets completed on time and under budget. In fact, PLAs have become standards for public works projects under Republican Governors Edgar in Illinois, Whitman in New Jersey and Petaki in New York, each of whom have signed executive orders or bills into law that direct state agencies to work under PLAs when the economic circumstances allow. With PLAs making more and more economic sense to public owners concerned about total project costs and completing projects on time, it would be a mistake to simply prohibit their use in Wisconsin. In those circumstance when PLAs make sound economic sense, a public owner should have the same right as a private owner to enter into these agreements.
Taxpayers expect and deserve nothing less.