An Act To Improve Public-private Transportation Partnerships
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0506
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: CHAPMAN, DAVIS
Amends: 23 MRSA §4251

Legislative Document 
No. 506 
H.P. 345 
House of Representatives, February 24, 2015 
An Act To Improve Public-private Transportation Partnerships 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CHAPMAN of Brooksville. 
Cosponsored by Senator DAVIS of Piscataquis. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §4251, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 648, Pt. A, §1, is 
amended to read: 
3.  Authorization.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the department is 
authorized only to receive or solicit proposals to form a public-private partnership with 
respect to a transportation facility in accordance with section 73.  Proposals must be 
reviewed in accordance with this subchapter.  Upon approval of the Legislature as 
provided in this subchapter, the department may enter into an agreement. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §4251, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 648, Pt. A, §1, is 
amended to read: 
5.  Proposal and selection processes. The department may request proposals from 
private entities for a public-private partnership for a transportation facility or may accept 
unsolicited proposals pursuant to this subsection. 
A.  If the department receives an unsolicited proposal and determines that it meets the 
standards in this subchapter, the department shall publish a notice of the receipt of the 
proposal on the department's publicly accessible website or through advertisements in 
newspapers.  If a notice is published exclusively in newspapers, the notice must 
appear in 2 or more public newspapers circulated wholly or in part in the State and in 
one public newspaper circulated wholly or in part in the county where the proposed 
transportation facility is to be located if any such newspaper is circulated in that 
county.  The notice must provide that the department will accept, for 120 days after 
the initial date of publication, proposals meeting the standards in subsection 4 from 
other private entities for transportation facilities that satisfy the same basic purpose 
and need.  A copy of the notice must be mailed to each local government in the area 
affected by the proposal. 
B.  After the proposal or proposals have been received, and any public notification 
period has expired, the department shall rank the proposals in order of preference. In 
ranking the proposals, the department may consider factors that include, but are not 
limited to, professional qualifications, general business terms, innovative engineering 
or cost-reduction terms, finance plans and the need for state funds to deliver the 
project and discharge the agreement.  The department shall undertake negotiations 
with the private entity submitting the 1st-ranked proposal.  If the department is not 
satisfied with the results of the negotiations, the department may, at its sole 
discretion, terminate negotiations with that entity and the department may negotiate 
with the other entities in order of the ranking of their proposals.  If only one proposal 
is received, the department shall negotiate in good faith and, if the department is not 
satisfied with the results of the negotiations, the department may, at its sole 
discretion, terminate negotiations. 
C.  The department may require that the private entity assume responsibility for all 
costs incurred by the State or local governments before execution of the agreement, 
including costs of retaining independent experts to review, analyze and advise the 
department with respect to the proposal. 
SUMMARY 
This bill changes the law governing public-private partnerships to develop 
transportation facilities by removing the Department of Transportation's authority to 
receive unsolicited proposals and to limit those proposals solicited by the department to 
those in accordance with the Sensible Transportation Policy Act.