Shelly Sigo

BRADENTON, Fla. — Tennessee has instituted some of the strictest guidelines ever imposed for issuing municipal debt by establishing a model requiring that all ­issuers adopt debt-management policies by Jan. 1, 2012.

Tennessee Governor-elect Bill Haslam has selected Mark Emkes as commissioner of the Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the state budget and health care program.

Standard & Poor's revised its outlook to positive from stable on Orange County's AA general obligation credit rating Tuesday based on continuing improvement in the county's financial position.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Coral Gables' issuer rating to Aa1 from Aaa on Tuesday due to the city's historically narrow financial reserve position. Its total general fund balance as a percentage of operating revenues historically has been around 8% and "well below" the median for a Aaa-rated credit, said Moody's analyst John Nichols.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Jefferson County can continue to collect an occupational and business license tax while appealing a lower court decision that it's unconstitutional.

Florida economists are now predicting a bigger budget shortfall than they projected just three months ago in a change that could translate into less bonding power for the state in fiscal 2012.

The Tennessee State Funding Board is expected to approve a new model debt policy Wednesday establishing minimum requirements for all issuers selling debt, including state and local borrowers.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Cullman ­Regional Medical Center in Alabama, has had its ratings dropped to below investment grade by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service about a year after refinancing all its bonds.

Hoping to tap the same investor momentum seen in a recent oversubscribed offering, Atlanta has accelerated plans to market a $505 million refunding for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that was expected to sell next year.

The nonprofit Atlanta BeltLine Partnership has created an organization called the Atlanta Land Trust Collaborative to protect neighborhoods at risk of displacement as the city's massive BeltLine project proceeds. The ALTC will be led by executive director Anthony Pickett, the partnership announced Monday.

An Alabama circuit court judge last week ruled unconstitutional an occupational and business license tax that provides a major source of income for Jefferson County's general fund budget. Commissioners are appealing the decision, the Birmingham News reported.

Outgoing Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has called a special session of the Legislature to deal with ethics reform that he has sought, but failed to pass, during his eight years in office when Democrats were in the majority.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Georgia Department of Transportation has issued a request for proposals for a master developer to undertake a complex multi-modal passenger terminal in downtown Atlanta that will help shape future city ­development.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in north Florida has received a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission inquiring about “disclosure issues,” the board’s attorney, Roy Andrews, said during a special meeting late Wednesday.

Tennessee’s revenue collections for October rose 4.95% to $732.8 million from the same month last year.

Standard & Poor’s Monday revised its rating outlook on Jones County general obligation bonds to negative from stable ahead of an upcoming issue, citing a deteriorating financial position while also affirming its A-plus rating on the county’s debt.

Moody’s Investors Service placed the Baa3 rating it assigns to Citrus Memorial Hospital’s debt on watch for possible downgrade last week.

Moody’s Investors Service has revised its outlook for Alabama State University’s A2 rating to negative from stable due to concerns about its increasingly leveraged balance sheet and limited growth in financial resources as the current economic climate undermines its traditional level of state support.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Birmingham Airport Authority, which operates the largest airport in Alabama, expects to be in the municipal market next week to offer new-money bonds for the first time in several years.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Although Florida Governor-elect Rick Scott has yet to take a position on the fate of high-speed rail, the state agency overseeing the project is moving toward seeking qualified consortiums to build the $2.6 billion Tampa-to-Orlando line.