Bonds

How much the federal government can contribute to rebuilding the originally bond-financed Francis Scott Key Bridge is now a concern for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.  “Hours after the collapse, President Biden announced his intention for the federal government to pay for the entire cost of reconstructing the Key Bridge,” said Committee Chair

The Colorado Legislature ended its session last week after passing a fiscal 2025 budget, school funding changes, a property tax cut, and measures aimed at pushing multi-billion-dollar passenger rail projects and a bond-financed purchase of an historic hotel forward.  State officials celebrated a legislative session Senate President Steve Fenberg called “nothing short of transformational” at

The Turnpike Authority of Kentucky approved the sale of $128 million of revenue bonds, with the proceeds to be used to refund the authority’s Series 2010B Build America Bonds. TAK Treasurer Steve Starkweather said he expects the authority to price the bonds June 6 with an all-in true interest cost of 3.216%. They are to

Amid a major federal government push to get rid of lead in water service lines, many municipalities are struggling to keep up.  One city has been ahead of the curve: Pittsburgh, which recently celebrated removing 11,000 lead pipes. The Pennsylvania city has around 6,000 pipes to go, and estimates that it will finish around 2026. 

California budget watchers, who were bracing for another series of cuts to close the state’s now $44.9 billion deficit, saw those fears realized when the governor released his May budget revisions. The state needs to solve deficits projected for the next two years, not just this year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday during his

Current strategies to deploy public and private capital toward a green energy transition are experiencing mixed success, amid conflicting trends as both global oil demand and clean energy deployment rates rise together, according to panelists at the Milken Institute’s Global conference this week in Beverly Hills. “As many folks know, we aren’t doing that well

The Virginia General Assembly is set to pass a new budget next week after a saga that saw the state’s Republican governor and the Democratically controlled legislature clash over environmental issues, school funding, and pay-fors.     Although the budget deal still needs to be officially approved during the special session that begins Monday, Gov. Glenn

Florida would expand its already broad public-private partnership powers under a pair of bills, one that GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed and another that would allow for revenue-risk projects of up to 75 years. All of Florida’s P3s are currently based on the availability-payment model. The General Assembly has passed the revenue-risk bill,

While federal efforts to forgive student loans generate headlines and lawsuits, some states and municipalities are tying bond-financed mortgage programs to student loan forgiveness to boost home ownership.   “The Maryland SmartBuy program is designed to help first-time home buyers who have student loan obligations qualify for acquisition financing under the Maryland Mortgage Program,” said Sergei

A House Budget Committee hearing on Wednesday drew out two sides of thinking during a debate on the economic effects of immigration as the Republican majority hammered away on the costs. “The Federation for American Immigration Reform has done a great job,” said Committee Chairman, Jodey Arrington R- Texas. ”Studies suggest this cost is upwards of $400

The California Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a case brought by the state’s Democratic leaders that would block a sweeping anti-tax measure from November’s ballot. The initiative, called the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act (TPA), would amend the California constitutional rules governing how the state and local governments can impose taxes, fees and

Broker-dealer firms are stepping up in the primary market to fill the gap left by Citi’s dramatic exit from the municipal bond business last December, but a test of how secondary market liquidity stands up to the firm’s departure remains to be seen. That’s according to broker-dealer and financial advisor panelists speaking Monday at the

Illinois will issue $1.8 billion of general obligation bonds — $250 million taxable Series 2024A and $1.55 billion tax-exempt Series 2024B — to fund accelerated pension benefit payments and capital expenditures through the Rebuild Illinois program.  The fixed-rate bonds are expected to price this week. Jefferies, Siebert Williams Shank and Barclays are joint senior managers

Although New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams didn’t shed much light on the timing of federal interest rate cuts during a fireside chat at Milken Institute’s Global conference in Beverly Hills on Monday, he did offer some insight into his thinking. Amid stubbornly high inflation, the Federal Reserve reiterated in its post-meeting statement

When Oregon voters consider $1.23 billion in bond measures on the May 21 ballot, issuers will be hoping for a more favorable outcome than local issuers received in November. Only two bond measures totaling $19 million were approved in November out of the $474.95 million requested during the special election. “Historically, the November election has

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green failed to convince lawmakers to consider legislation that would have allowed struggling Hawaii Electric Co. to issue bonds backed by a rate increase. Senate Bill 2922, introduced by Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Chair Jarrett Keohokalole, would have allowed HECO to issue up to $2.5 billion in low-interest bonds, if it

Oklahoma’s list of investment banks determined to be “boycotting” the fossil fuel industry expanded with the addition of Barclays, making it ineligible for state and local government contracts, State Treasurer Todd Russ announced Friday.  Barclays joins Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo, which were placed on the list last year under the state’s

After a down year, healthcare issuance has rebounded as systems reenter the bond market to deal with pent-up needs. Despite this recovery, challenges still persist. Healthcare issuance is up 122.2% year-over-year through April, rising to $9.062 billion through the first four months of 2024 from $4.078 billion over the same time period in 2023, LSEG

Legislation that would pave the way for a Colorado bond authority to issue debt for its purchase of a hotel that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining cleared a state Senate committee this week ahead of the May 8 end of the legislative session.  The Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority (CECFA) is pursuing buying the

While there are thousands of municipal bonds sold in the marketplace each year, some require more care and attention than others to turn into successful offerings. Some require constant refinement and retuning right up to the point of sale before it can become a successful offering for issuer, underwriter and buyer. Such was the case