Bonds

A court decision on Monday cleared the way for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to head to the municipal market with $500 million of bonds to start financing a controversial expansion program. The Oklahoma Supreme Court, which validated the bonds Aug. 1 in a 6-3 decision, denied a petition for a rehearing requested by property owners

Billions of dollars in tax incentives are under scrutiny in Georgia this legislative offseason. In the three months since the state legislature adjourned for 2023, the General Assembly’s Joint Tax Credit Review Panel has met three times in the city of Rome to evaluate the effectiveness of wide-ranging tax incentives that have helped fuel the

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said it’s possible for the U.S. to avoid a recession even as the central bank raises interest rates to cool inflation. “I’ve been calling that the golden path and I think it’s possible, but there are a lot of risks and the path is long and winding,”

Oklahoma lawmakers will meet in a special session next month called by Gov. Kevin Stitt, who wants to put the state on a path to zero income taxes and proposed a trigger law related to the state’s future ability to tax certain Native Americans.   In a post on X, the message platform formerly known as Twitter,

California State Controller Malia Cohen has agreed to chair a task force to establish audit criteria and best practices to detect and curtail charter school fraud following a case that cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Cohen said she stepped forward when she learned of the prosecution of the San Diego charter school

As high-speed rail project sponsors across the country compete for federal infrastructure funds, Republican lawmakers Wednesday urged U.S. transportation chief Pete Buttigieg to reject California’s request for its long-struggling project. “We should work together, you and I, to conduct a full audit of the project before any high-speed grant decisions are made,” Rep. Troy Nehls,

Voters will determine if Polk County, Iowa will issue up to $350 million of general obligation bonds to help fund a terminal project at the Des Moines International Airport. The county board of supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved placing a bond referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.  The Des Moines Airport Authority, which can issue

California’s revenues for August came in $1.3 billion above projections putting the state $75 million above the $21.9 billion expected for the first two months of the fiscal year, according to the Department of Finance. The revenues of $1.3 billion were 11.1% above the forecast of $12.16 billion, as receipts from nearly all revenue sources

An Iowa state law adopted this year means local governments and school districts will face a new hurdle in issuing municipal bonds. House File 718, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May, decreased the options for municipalities and school districts to hold bond elections. Until now, cities and school districts in Iowa had

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has suspended his state’s gasoline tax for one month as prices at the pump continue to increase. Kemp cited high fuel costs and persistent inflation when he declared a legal state of emergency last week and signed an executive order suspending Georgia’s 31.2 cents-per-gallon tax on gas and 35-cents-per-gallon tax on

Moody’s Investors Service rated the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s controversial issuance of initial debt for a $5 billion, 15-year expansion program Aa3 with a stable outlook.  The rating agency, which previously considered a debt increase for the ACCESS (Advancing and Connecting Communities and Economies Safely Statewide) Oklahoma program a negative credit factor for OTA, was the

City of Hope received approval Tuesday from the Illinois Finance Authority to refund up to $650 million of bonds sold last year to refinance a taxable bridge loan for its purchase of Cancer Treatment Centers of America facilities in Illinois, Arizona, and Georgia. The refunding was among $1.3 billion in conduit financings approved by the

Outstanding Illinois debt is now smoke-free after the state defeased the last $449 million of bonds backed by payments from a master settlement agreement with tobacco companies.  Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the move, which was included in Illinois’ fiscal 2024 budget, will save the state $50 million. “Today’s action reflects Illinois’ strong fiscal position and

Rural broadband firm Bug Tussel’s first bond deal was in 2012, when Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, issued $5.85 million of bonds and the company installed new broadband that ran at five megabytes per second. These figures seem quaint now. Bug Tussel, through Fond Du Lac County, has priced $220.9 million in bonds in partnerships

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority could be in the municipal market as early as next month after winning conditional approval for $500 million of revenue bonds from a state oversight board. Monday’s approval by the Oklahoma Council of Bond Oversight in a 3-1 vote is subject to the resolution or dismissal of a petition for a

Voters in Maine will have a lot of material to chew over before they decide later this year if a public agency should take over service provided by investor-owned electric utilities. What they won’t necessarily get is a slam-dunk yes or no recommendation. Maine’s Office of the Public Advocate, a state office created to represent

Officials in Polk County, Iowa, will decide later this month whether to place a referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot seeking voter approval for the issuance of up to $350 million of general obligation bonds for a terminal project at the Des Moines International Airport.  The Des Moines Airport Authority, which can issue debt on

Although the hospital sector has gained traction in recovering from the pandemic, smaller not-for-profit hospitals continue to struggle. With that in mind, California lawmakers took action by approving a zero-interest loan program in May to serve not-for-profit hospitals and public hospitals in significant financial distress. The two agencies charged with running the loan program announced

A bankrupt, bond-financed Texas hospital that opened for business in November 2021 will obtain $2.7 million for operating and other expenses under a federal judge’s interim order issued late last week. Sunland Medical Foundation, the nonprofit parent organization of Trinity Regional Hospital Sachse, is also seeking additional debtor-in-possession financing in an aggregate amount of up

California Attorney General Rob Bonta conditionally approved the $35.6 million sale of three northern California skilled nursing facilities owned by Eskaton. Eskaton, a Carmichael, California-based not-for-profit senior healthcare provider formed in 1968, had $102.8 million in revenue bonds and notes at the end of fiscal year 2022, according to combined audited financial statements for the