Shelly Sigo

Less than two weeks into the 2016 fiscal year, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has ordered budget reductions and a hiring freeze.

Conditions in Jefferson County, Ala. are improving after its bankruptcy exit and the county is preparing for its first municipal bond market appearance since its 2013 exit from bankruptcy, said County Commission President Jimmie Stephens.

North Carolina joined several states this week entering extended legislative sessions to finish work on budgets for fiscal 2016, which began July 1.

Mary A. Packer, president of PK Securities in Boca Raton, Fla., died May 25 at the age of 63.

Steps to reform Jacksonville, Fla.'s public safety pension plans are a credit positive, Moody's Investors Service said in a special comment June 29.

The Georgia Supreme Court Monday ruled that $368 million of bonds to finance the Atlanta Braves' $672 million baseball stadium were properly validated by a lower court.

A federal judge in Alabama has ordered mediation in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play suit against two ex-JPMorgan bankers involved in Jefferson County sewer deals.

The Atlanta City Council approved a $1.9 billion budget for fiscal 2016 budget without tapping reserves.

The Florida-based law firm of Holland & Knight has added Michael Millett as an associate with the firm’s public finance team in Tampa.

The federal government extended All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion private activity bond allocation, relieving pressure on the private train owner to issue the bonds as legal challenges proceed.

A Virginia judge approved a mediated deal June 22 that will keep Virginia's Briar College open for another year and release endowment funds.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott quietly signed a $78.2 billion budget into law Tuesday, the third straight fiscal year of record spending for the Sunshine state.

The Florida Legislature ended a special session June 19 after adopting a $78.7 billion record budget for fiscal 2016 that is now being challenged in court by environmentalists.

Jacksonville, Fla., reached a deal with the Police and Fire Pension Fund trustees Friday to overhaul benefits and contribute catch-up payments to address a $1.7 billion unfunded liability.

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s bonds got a two notch upgrade to A1 from Moody’s Investors Service ahead of a planned $350 million refunding.

Standard & Poor's lowered the bond ratings of Virginia’s Sweet Briar College further into junk territory June 18 due to the legal efforts to keep the institution open.

Two days after a rating downgrade of a Kentucky agency’s bonds partly because of unfunded pensions, Gov. Steve Beshear ordered a study into the solvency of the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System.

Investors in the financing that enabled Jefferson County to exit bankruptcy should not have the “rug pulled out from under them,” the county’s attorneys argued to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

North Carolina reached agreement with conservation groups June 15 that will allow the state to replace the 50-year-old deteriorating Bonner Bridge.

The Florida Legislature plans to complete a special session Friday with a final vote on a budget for fiscal 2016 with no Medicaid expansion, avoiding a state government shutdown.