Bonds

Illinois’ Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on Thursday released its Special Pension Briefing on the state-funded retirement systems’ fiscal 2023 actuarial reports. The report said the five pension systems’ unfunded liability climbed to a market value of $142.2 billion at the end of fiscal 2023 on June 30 from $139.8 billion in 2022, with
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a new economic development plan that he says will guide the priorities when he releases his budget this week. The 10-year program is Pennsylvania’s first economic development plan in nearly two decades and targets areas including site readiness, workforce development and housing and community development. “For too long, Pennsylvania’s neighboring
Florida lawmakers are asking Congress to expand the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to include commercial spaceports. “The push for Congress to grant spaceport bonds tax-exempt status has been a conversation for many years,” said a spokesperson for Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority, which oversees the development of the Florida’s
The Oklahoma Senate will not take up an income tax cut during a special legislative session next week as it waits for more information about the state’s financial position. The Republican-controlled chamber will commence and immediately adjourn the session that starts Monday just like it did for an October special session on tax cuts Gov.
Dealer groups representing firms of all sizes are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s 2024 rate card for fear that reverting back to 2023 levels would cause significant disruption. That’s according to a joint letter signed by the Bond Dealers of America and the Securities Industry and Financial
Arizona should be able to tackle a growing shortfall given the state’s improved reserves, low debt burden, and budget flexibility, Moody’s Investors Service said this week.  The state’s general fund faces projected shortfalls of $835 million in fiscal 2024 and nearly $879 million in fiscal 2025, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s latest projections,
Louisiana’s largest and most complex public-private partnership that will replace an aging bridge over Interstate 10 appears back on track after the state’s new administration hammered out a revised agreement with the concessionaire to assuage political opposition. The modified agreement lowers tolls and includes a 15% equity contribution for local infrastructure, new Gov. Jeff Landry
A Congress that just narrowly avoided a government shutdown is getting a fresh wish list from a wide cross section of organizations of issuers, including calls for preserving the tax exemption on municipal bonds.   The letter originates from the Public Finance Network, which encompasses twenty-four issuer organizations including the Government Finance Officers Association, the National
The Illinois Supreme Court Friday upheld pension consolidation legislation championed by Gov. JB Pritzker that was challenged in court by more than a dozen suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds.  The case, Arlington Heights Police Pension Fund et al. v. JB Pritzker et al., had pitted the governor and General Assembly against a
Two public finance professionals helped craft legislation that added whole categories of residential care facilities to the list of borrowers eligible to issue debt through the California Health Facilities Financing Authority. Assembly Bill 839, authored by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October, allows nonprofits that operate independent living,
Republican lawmakers in Arizona pushed back on aspects of Gov. Katie Hobbs’ proposed fiscal 2025 budget, particularly its targeting of rising costs for the state’s universal school voucher program. The spending plan, which was unveiled by the Democratic governor Friday and had its first airing Tuesday before the Republican-controlled legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee, aims to