Bonds

Illinois trimmed its revenue estimates for the current fiscal year and must absorb higher social services expenses next year, leaving less room to maneuver as lawmakers finalize a supplemental spending package and new budget. They’re entering the homestretch of their spring session that’s slated to end May 19 with passage of a fiscal 2024 budget

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said “no” to revenue anticipation notes and a tax increase, but “yes” to climate and mental health bond proposals in the May budget revisions he presented Friday. Newsom stressed emphatically that the state has no plans to issue revenue anticipation notes despite expectations that $49 billion in anticipated revenues won’t come

West Virginia’s general revenue collections came in $319 million above estimates for April, the single largest month surplus in state history. The state’s April personal income tax collections came in $192.8 million above estimates, also a record for a single month. Year-to-date income tax collections of more than $2.277 billion hit a record high coming

Recent California hospital bankruptcies and closures, and the threat of more on the way, motivated lawmakers to approve a $150 million low-interest loan fund for not-for-profit and government hospitals last week. One in five of California’s roughly 400 hospitals are at risk of closure, according to a Kaufman Hall report commissioned by the California Hospital

Banks and underwriters are beginning to respond to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent enforcement actions on limited offering disclosures by requiring investor letters and for some, forgoing the exemption even when they qualify. That’s according to panelists at the SEC’s Municipal Securities Disclosure Conference on Wednesday, where panelists took the time to discuss the

The Federal Reserve said that banks reported tighter standards and weaker demand for loans in the first quarter, extending a trend that began before recent stresses in the banking sector emerged. The proportion of US banks tightening terms on commercial and industrial loans for medium and large businesses rose to 46%, up from 44.8% in

Massachusetts state senators intend to leave Gov. Maura Healey’s $748 billion tax cut package intact in their redrafted budget proposal despite falling state revenues. The fate of Healey’s tax-relief plan, which features a mix of tax rate cuts and policy changes including an expanded child and family tax credit, and was a centerpiece of her

For the first time during the two-month-old banking crisis, the Federal Reserve has taken a public enforcement action against a bank that saw its equity turn negative as a result of underwater bond investments. But the question is: Is this a one-time thing, or more of a trend? “They should use hammers more often, like

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said he thinks the U.S. central bank can still achieve a soft landing, with inflation returning to the Fed’s 2% target without triggering a significant downturn. “Yes, the economy could go into recession, but that’s not the base case,” Bullard told the Economic Club of Minneapolis

The Oklahoma House gave final approval Tuesday to a bill that would give as much as $250 million a year in tax credits to parents or guardians of children attending private schools, but will be a big hit to the state budget. The House will not send the measure to the governor for enactment until

Looking at the market’s choppiness and heavy supply, Columbus decided last week to push of its new money and refunding to this week, but little did officials know that the U.S. Treasury would throw a curve ball by suspending the sale of State and Local Government Series securities. City Auditor Megan Kilgore said the city’s

The Florida Legislature is expected to give its final approval on Friday to the state’s $117 billion fiscal 2023-2025 budget. The state Senate on Tuesday gave a green light to SB 2500, the general appropriations act, which now goes into a constitutionally required 72-hour cooling off period. However, the agreement didn’t include any provisions that

The Virginia Public School Authority plans to issue $63.2 million of School Technology and Security Notes to support the state’s capital program for school rehabilitation. The five-year, tax-exempt Series XI notes are expected to be issued by competitive sale in denominations of $5,000 on or around May 9, according to the authority. The school authority anticipates

Maine has raised its tax revenue projections. The state legislature’s Revenue Forecasting Committee presented revised revenue projections to lawmakers on Friday, adding $233 million in revenue to the balance of the current fiscal year ending in June as well as a $71 million surplus expected for the $10 billion biennial budget passed at the end

The federal government’s draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Colorado River conditions isn’t likely to trigger significant rating changes, but it could spur the seven states that use the waterway to reach a consensus on additional supply cuts and the future of the watershed, S&P Global Ratings said. The federal government has encouraged the states

American Indian tribes being squeezed by inflation and legacy obstacles to bond issuance testified in front of the House Appropriations Committee on Friday, calling for increases in federal spending to meet critical needs on tribal land. The sympathetic hearing was chaired by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a member of the Chickasaw nation who acknowledged a

Record state spending on California’s K-12 education will enable schools to retain stable credit quality despite a several-year drop in enrollment, Fitch Ratings said. The state’s schools experienced their sixth year of declining enrollment in fiscal 2023, dropping below 6 million students for the first time in 20 years, said Fitch’s report, released Thursday. The

A California appellate court Thursday resurrected a lawsuit accusing prominent Wall Street banks of conspiring to manipulate the variable-rate debt market. The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court ruling less than two days after hearing arguments in the case, which dates back nearly 10 years. It’s the latest turn in a series

A bill prohibiting the use of environment, social, and governance criteria for government investments and contracts in Kansas became law this week without the signature of the governor, who raised concerns about the measure. Citing “reservations about the potential unforeseen consequences of House Bill 2100 for the state and for local governments,” Democratic Gov. Laura

As Congress and the White House engage in political brinkmanship over the debt ceiling debate, state governments are already bracing for a stoppage of federal funding and warning of the consequences of a failure to reach an agreement soon. “Without the borrowing authority to sell bonds, the federal government simply wouldn’t have any funds to