Gov. Jennifer Granholm said more budget cuts could be expected next year but that overall, Michigan is on a more solid fiscal footing after the recent, tumultuous legislative sessions that resulted in a series of spending cuts and tax increases to balance the 2007 budget. Speaking of her goals in 2008 at a press conference last week, the governor also said she is “not interested” in raising any more taxes next year, including a gas-tax hike that has been proposed by various business groups. Granholm said the state will likely have to make more budget cuts next year, but the process will not be as difficult as in fiscal 2007, when political quarrelling over cuts and tax increases nearly resulted in a full government shutdown. The budget was balanced with more than $440 million in cuts and $1.3 billion in tax increases.“There’s still some shakeout that has to occur in the manufacturing industry, and 2008 will be a year of transition. This will not be cured overnight,” she said. “We will have to do more cuts and more reforms.”To finance badly needed road repairs across the state, Granholm said she wants to secure a greater portion of federal gas-tax dollars and has also formed a new state task force to study alternative funding solutions. “I think raising a gas tax now is impossible,” she said. “I think we have to look at other ways to fund transportation.” The Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association has proposed raising the state’s current 19-cent gas tax by three cents a year over the next three years.
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"Bond market investors are all wishing that April was behind us as they are anxious to hear the Fed's statement at its next FOMC meeting," noted BofA Global Research. "The statement should be no surprise as the market consensus has converged to 'higher for longer' rates.
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CDIAC's revamped website, which launches May 1, will offer accessibility to state and local debt from issuance through maturity; and the ability to create summary reports based on search features.
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The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is looking for feedback on disclosure requirements related to infrastructure projects.
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The MSRB is warning investors that the redemption of Build America Bonds under an extraordinary redemption provision could result in losses, especially for those purchased at a premium.
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With billions of federal funding available from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, one observer says it could be limiting the amount of municipal bonds issued by the sector.
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Teague, most recently an executive director of the municipal securities department at Morgan Stanley, will focus on surface transportation.
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