Legislative changes & resource changes
Fourth, because of past barriers placed in the law, the government may need to seek legislative changes to facilitate or even to permit competitive sourcing of government programs. The following questions will assist in determining the proper course of action.
- Are there statutory or regulatory barriers to private sector performance of the activity? That is:
- Are there laws, tax policies, regulations, or grant requirements that either mandate or constrain who can perform the activity?
- What are the implications of these legal and regulatory requirements for a potential privatization?
- Will there need to be a change in the statutory or regulatory requirements in order to ensure a successful privatization for a particular activity?
- Is there support for such a change?
- Are changes to laws or regulations feasible in the current political and economic environment?
- Are there relationships with other state or federal programs prescribed by law that could inhibit or prohibit a change in service providers (for example, interservice support agreements or intergovernmental agreements)?
- What incentives are most appropriate for improving performance and maximizing savings through privatization (for example, using savings to improve other agency activities)?
- If there are savings from the privatization, either initially or over the long term, how will they be distributed (for example, would the savings be applied to tax reductions or deficit reduction, or reinvested through service improvements)?
- Under what conditions would the private sector provide needed equipment or facilities that are not owned by the government?
Peggy.Robertson@dpb.virginia.gov
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