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Moody’s Ratings lifted Oklahoma’s issuer rating a notch to Aa1 with a stable outlook on Wednesday, citing the state’s strong fund balances, low leverage, and conservative budget management.  The upgrade is the first for Oklahoma since Moody’s, Fitch Ratings, and S&P Global Ratings  revised their outlooks for the state to positive from stable beginning last

On Tuesday, former President Trump announced support for lifting the cap on the State and Local Tax deduction, a move which has wide support from municipal bond issuers.  Trump made the announcement via his Truth Social network as part of a personal post saying, “I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your taxes,

A Major League Soccer stadium in Frisco, Texas, will undergo bond-financed renovations under an agreement approved Tuesday by the city council.  The Frisco Community Development Corp. will issue up to $182 million of sales tax revenue bonds for the Toyota Stadium project, which must commence by Dec. 31, 2025, and be completed by the end

Colorado’s metropolitan districts face constrained revenue growth due to flat or slightly falling property values, but their creditworthiness is likely to remain stable through 2025, according to Moody’s Ratings. The districts, which finance public infrastructure for housing developments through property taxes levied on the new tracts, enjoyed strong gains in their taxing headroom from the

An Oregon American Indian tribe is suing the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management over its approval of coastal leases for offshore wind projects. The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians filed the suit Friday in U.S. District Court in Eugene against the ocean energy bureau, accusing it of violating two federal

California’s massive size and tax structure has long given it municipal bond market protection against credit challenges like its well-known tax revenue volatility. The state government’s strengths, providing relatively liquid paper through high volume in a specialty state with high marginal tax rates, often outweigh its credit weaknesses for investors. But massive deficits during the

The muni bond market grew in the second quarter as ownership by household and exchange-traded funds grew, while U.S. banks and insurers continued to reduce their holdings, the latest Federal Reserve data shows. The face amount of munis outstanding ticked up to $4.129 trillion, a 1.1% increase from the first quarter of this year and

A $70 million bond issue for a central Arizona town is the target of a lawsuit that claims the debt’s approval last month violated the state constitution.   Council members in Payson, a town of about 16,680 in Gila County, passed a resolution for the sale of the tax-exempt, fixed-rate “pledged revenue obligations” in a 6-1

House Republicans are squabbling over legislation that ties keeping the government open past Sept. 30 to legislation that would strengthen voting rules, as state and local governments brace for a possible curtailment of federal funding.  The bill, labeled as the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” adds additional obstacles to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump shined no new light on the economic and tax policies important to the municipal bond market during their high-stakes debate Tuesday night, though brief mentions of housing, energy policy and tariffs carry modest interest to participants. “The debate was pretty light in general,” said Matt Fabian,

Texas public school districts launched a new school year based in some cases on shaky budgets with depleted reserves as they cope with increasing costs, a state per-pupil allotment that hasn’t risen since 2019, and the expiration of federal pandemic relief funding. Still, the overall credit quality for the more than 300 Texas school districts

Efforts by Muni Pride to align with other public finance affinity groups are reaping dividends for the group, which has grown to more than 100 individuals since its inception in 2019. The California-based national LGBTQ+ networking group will host its next event Oct. 1 in New York City. Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell will offer