Earlier this month, White House Infrastructure Advisor Mitch Landrieu sent a letter to the nation’s governors, asking them to designate a single point of contact to coordinate with his office on Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act implementation.
The primary purpose of establishing a single point of contact is to create coordinated two-way communication between the federal government and states about changes in policies and procedures, or any difficulties states may face. It will also allow states to communicate directly with each other, exchange best practices, and explore options to collaborate. Importantly, Federal agencies will have a single place to send new guidance.
On January 4th, a CNN report noted that two governors had already set up advisory groups to recommend the best use of IIJA funds. New Mexico’s Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham tapped former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez to serve as the state’s new infrastructure advisor and planned to hold a summit with the state’s mayors to get their input on infrastructure priorities. Meanwhile, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson created the Infrastructure Planning Advisory Committee by executive order in December, naming 17 state government officials as members. Energy and Environment Secretary Becky Keogh will chair Arkansas’ committee. The governors of Alaska and Oregon have also selected infrastructure coordinators.
Route Fifty reporter Dan Vock wrote that this move revives a structure put in place as part of the 2009 response to the Great Recession:
“Landrieu said the system of having state-level point people had worked well when the Obama administration rolled out its stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For that effort, the National Governors Association helped develop a network of state recovery coordinators, Landrieu noted.”
G. Edward DeSeve, an Academy Fellow who led the Recovery Implementation Office under President Obama, agrees. DeSeve believes, “The network of single points of contact at the state level is a good example of the kind of networking that worked well during the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional effort on networking could feature the White House formally interacting with major public interest groups such as the National Association of Counties, the National Governors Association, and others. This interaction would reach out to thousands of governmental units through the organizations they routinely look to for assistance in implementing federal programs.”
In the fall of 2021, the National Academy of Public Administration established the Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships (Center/CIP) to facilitate collaboration at all levels of government. The Center stands ready to assist the development of good governance through intergovernmental relationships in any way possible.