Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam have joined Gov. Hogan to explore partnerships to finance and maintain vital infrastructure, during the National Governors Association 2019-20 Chair’s Initiative, the association announced on Friday.
“The commonwealth of Virginia went into COVID-19 with a very strong outlook; however, the pandemic has devastated the state… We are doing everything we can to get the health crisis behind us so that we can address the economic crisis,” said Northam.
The governors discussed how the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped state budget outlooks and project pipelines, focusing on the role of infrastructure investment. The attendees noted that the funds will accelerate the nation's economic recovery.
“Governors of both parties are calling for large-scale federal investments in our nation’s traditional infrastructure systems, including not only roads, bridges, transit, and aviation systems, but also substantial investment in our energy, water, broadband, and cybersecurity infrastructure,” said Gov. Hogan.
Infrastructure stabilization and investment will improve the country’s long-term economic outlook and support recovery from a pandemic recession by putting people back to work. The investments will help remediate the economic effects of the virus. The governors discussed how the states could put people back to work immediately and improve the long-term economic recovery by ensuring infrastructure.
“Our public sector partnerships, or P3s, have allowed us to do many amazing projects across the state. We have a 3.8 billion dollar project in Hampton Roads to increase infrastructure, and have relied on these relationships to do so,” Northam added.
During the stakeholder summit, governors led a pair of panel discussions on leveraging private sector investments and how governors can help ensure that their states have access to the full range of infrastructure financing options.
The meeting followed stakeholder summits led by Gov. Hogan in San Francisco in January, in Detroit in October and in Boston in September. Gov. Hogan also led an infrastructure study tour in Australia in September.
