§ 2–271.01. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1) “Administrative Procedure Act” means subchapter I of Chapter 5 of this title [§ 2-501 et seq.].
(2) “Freedom of Information Act” means subchapter II of Chapter 5 of this title [§ 2-531 et seq.].
(3) “Material default” means the failure of an operator to perform a duty under a public-private partnership agreement that jeopardizes the delivery of adequate service to the public and the duty remains unsatisfied after a reasonable period of time and after the operator has received a written notice from the Office of the failure.
(4) “Office” means the Office of Public-Private Partnerships established by § 2-272.01.
(5) “Open Meetings Act” means subchapter IV of Chapter 5 of this title [§ 2-571 et seq.].
(6) “Operator” means a private entity that has entered into a public-private partnership agreement under § 2-273.06.
(7) “Private entity” means a natural person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, or other private business entity.
(8) “Proposer” means a private entity submitting a proposal to a request for proposals issued by the Office or an unsolicited proposal for a public-private partnership.
(9) “Public entity” means a District government agency, department, board, commission, or instrumentality.
(10) “Public notice” means the distribution or dissemination of information to interested parties using methods that are reasonably available, which shall include publication in the District of Columbia Register, the website of the Office or a public entity, and by mail to all Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in which the public-private partnership project will be located.
(11) “Public-private partnership” means the method in the District for delivering a qualified project using a long-term, performance-based agreement between a public entity and a private entity or entities where appropriate risks and benefits can be allocated in a cost-effective manner between the public and private entities in which:
(A) A private entity performs functions normally undertaken by the government, but the public entity remains ultimately accountable for the qualified project and its public function; and
(B) The District may retain ownership or control in the project asset and the private entity may be given additional decision-making rights in determining how the asset is financed, developed, constructed, operated, and maintained over its life cycle.
(12) “Public sector comparator” means a risk-adjusted estimate of the total cost for the lifetime of a project, including all capital, operating, financing, and ancillary costs, if a public-private partnership project were to be financed, built, and operated through a traditional government procurement method.
(13) “Qualified project” means the planning, acquisition, financing, development, design, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, replacement, improvement, maintenance, management, operation, repair, leasing, or ownership of:
(A) Education facilities;
(B) Transportation facilities, including streets, roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, parking lots or garages, public transit systems, and airports;
(C) Cultural or recreational facilities, including parks, libraries, theaters, museums, convention centers, community centers, stadia, athletic facilities, golf courses, or similar facilities;
(D) A building or other facility that is beneficial to the public interest and is developed or operated by or for a public entity;
(E) Utility facilities, including sewer, water treatment, stormwater management, energy producing or transmission, telecommunications, information technology, recycling, and solid waste management facilities;
(F) Improvements necessary or desirable to any District-owned real estate;
(G) Any other facility, the construction of which shall be beneficial to the public interest as determined by the Office.
(14) “Request for information” means the document issued pursuant to § 2-273.01 to obtain information from potential proposers about how a public-private partnership project and its associated request for proposals should be structured before a request for proposal is issued.
(15) “Request for proposal” means the document used in the competitive proposal process pursuant to § 2-273.03 in which proposals are evaluated on the basis of technical standards, price, and other criteria and in which negotiations with proposers before final selection and entering into a public-private partnership agreement is permissible.
(16) “Request for qualification” means the document issued pursuant to § 2-273.02 used to obtain proof of a private entity's skills, resources, capabilities, and experience before submitting a response to a request for proposals.
(17) “Value-for-money analysis” means a comparison of the risk-adjusted cost estimates over the lifetime of a proposed public-private partnership project, including all capital, operating, financing, and ancillary costs, with a public cost comparator.
