Bonds

The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved three bond issues totaling more than $3 billion on Wednesday. The commission approved a $1.33 billion to $2 billion bond to be backed by tolls on the I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge, a state general obligation bond of up to $1 billion, and gave preliminary approval to a state gas

The Texas Water Development Board approved an up to $1.8 billion State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT) bond issue on Tuesday, along with nearly $3 billion in requests to use the fund to finance local water projects, including seawater desalination in Corpus Christie and a reservoir and pump station expansion in Brazoria County

Costly plans to tackle climate and water supply challenges in the Southwest may be stalling amid concerns over funding.  Austin, Texas, officials tapped the brakes last week on seeking voter approval for general obligation bonds that would help finance a comprehensive climate implementation program, pushing a potential ballot measure for the debt beyond this November’s

Tejon Ranch, the largest stretch of private land in California, is tapping the municipal bond market for $61.6 million to expand the commercial center roughly 83 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Encompassing roughly 270,000 acres, or about 420 square miles, the mixed-use property owned by the publicly traded Tejon Ranch Co. has long been

Erlanger Health of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was upgraded by Moody’s Ratings to Baa1 from Baa2 and by Fitch Ratings to A-minus from BBB-plus. Both ratings agencies have positive outlooks on their rating. The Chattanooga Health, Educational and Housing Facility Board will issue $322 million of bonds on behalf of Erlanger, in a negotiated deal the week

Texas general fund revenue so far in fiscal 2024 remains on target with the state’s October estimate forgoing the need for a July revision in the forecast, while a projection for the yearend balance could fluctuate, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported Wednesday. An $18.3 balance projected in October for the end of the triple-A-rated state’s

An Oklahoma court has canceled an election next month on a proposition to create two tax increment financing districts in Norman to help finance a University of Oklahoma sports arena as part of a $1 billion proposed entertainment development. Cleveland County District Court Judge Jeff Virgin issued a temporary restraining order last week enjoining the

Pennsylvania became the final state in the country to pass its 2024-2025 budget last week, as the commonwealth’s divided legislature wrapped up its $47.6 billion spending plan two weeks past its July 1 deadline, with several new initiatives.  The budget spends big on economic development and education, but provides only one-time funding for transit. And

U.S. states are expected to cut their budgets, marking a return to more modest levels of spending after years of stimulus-fueled growth and tax cuts.  Total general-fund spending is expected to fall to $1.2 trillion in fiscal 2025, according to an analysis by the The Pew Charitable Trusts. That’s a roughly 6% decline from estimates of

Hurricane Beryl’s battering of parts of Texas is not deterring next week’s bond pricing for Galveston Wharves. The port said the $160 million revenue bond sale will proceed on Tuesday despite an operational interruption caused by the once-Category 5 storm that ravaged the Caribbean and made landfall Monday 100 miles south of Galveston in Matagorda

Hamilton County, Tennessee, has taken steps to approve two bonds totaling $630 million. County commissioners gave preliminary approval to $260 million of general obligation bonds the county will issue for Hamilton County Schools and final approval to a $370 million bond for Erlanger Health System. The proposed school bond is to be advertised so residents

The state-managed earthquake insurer for homeowners in California is borrowing in the public debt markets in lieu of paying for additional coverage that would shield it against risks. The California Earthquake Authority plans to price $250 million of short-term debt Tuesday, according to an online investor presentation. The notes, maturing in November, are backed by

The Biden administration awarded $504 million in grants last week to a dozen tech hubs across the country to scale up the production of critical technologies and create jobs in innovative industries. The tech hubs are part of a push by the administration to accelerate domestic growth in industries such as biomanufacturing, clean energy, artificial

California’s presidential election ballot in November will include $20 billion dollars of statewide bond measures, with $20 billion more in one regional bond election. At the state level, lawmakers reached agreements last week on two $10 billion general obligation bond measures that were heading toward approval in floor votes this week. The measures were put

The Illinois state comptroller reported a 55% year-over-year increase in the end-of-year general revenue fund cash balance as her office paid the state’s bills in a timely manner, a departure from recent years when the state’s unpaid bill backlogs topped $10 billion. Illinois ended the fiscal year with a $1.7 billion balance in the general

States continue to chip away at income taxes by lowering rates or adopting tax credits, with Arkansas and Kansas enacting reductions last month that will reduce collections by hundreds of millions of dollars in fiscal 2025. But the overall trend of large tax cuts, which reached a peak in 2022, has slowed considerably, according to

Davis Polk has hired infrastructure finance lawyer Elena Millerman to join the firm in New York as a co-leader as it builds out its infrastructure practice. Millerman joins as partner and co-head of the infrastructure finance group. She was previously at White & Case LLP, where most recently she served as the global head of

As California grapples with tax revenue shortfalls that threaten his state policy ambitions, Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an unusual State of the State speech that critics said barely touched on the state’s challenges. Thea pre-recorded speech released Tuesday focused on national politics over state policy. The speech came after the governor and the legislature’s leaders,

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has advanced the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, a biennial bipartisan bill that funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, invests in ports harbors and inland waterways and advances some of President Biden’s key environmental and resiliency goals. “As the Committee advances the Water Resources Development Act

Some horse-trading occurred on two initiatives Tuesday as the California governor reached deals to pull them from the ballot if he signed off on legislation that would resolve the issues. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sunday to sign the budget, which has resulted in some 11th hour changes, leading up to the deadline, even though