Six governors joined other state officials and private-sector stakeholders to explore partnerships to finance and maintain vital infrastructure, during the final stakeholder summit in support of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s National Governors Association 2019-20 Chair’s Initiative.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Montana Governor Steve Bullock, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam joined Gov. Hogan during the virtual meeting that served as the fourth regional stakeholder summit for his NGA Chair’s Initiative, Infrastructure: Foundation for Success.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has reshaped state budget outlooks and project pipelines, underscoring the role of infrastructure investment in accelerating the nation’s economic recovery. 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.
“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.
“This investment will put people back to work immediately and improve our long-term economic recovery by ensuring that America has the best infrastructure in the world to support businesses and economic growth.”
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.
Each of the stakeholder summits explored one of the four pillars of Gov. Hogan’s NGA Chair’s Initiative:
- Relieving congestion to boost economic competitiveness
- Protecting America’s critical infrastructure
- Eliminating red tape and integrating smart technology to boost efficiency, and
- Leveraging private sector investments.
