Far West

A spending limit formula voters set in 1979, combined with surpluses in the tens of billions of dollars, put California lawmakers in a quandary.

The infrastructure package features $5.4 billion to fight wildfires. Issuers like California's Yuba Water Agency say the money is a game changer. 

States face a multi-trillion infrastructure gap, which they need to address with a sense of urgency, a speaker at the Milken Institute Global Conference said.

Total April volume was $34.329 billion in 729 deals versus $37.105 billion in 1,124 issues a year earlier.

An appeals court ruled the state won't have to pay $1.2 billion in total damages in a forest management lawsuit.

If state and local governments make progress on social problems with federal relief funds, it could be credit positive for them, Moody’s Investors Service said.

In the week ending April 13, investors pulled $5.526 billion from the funds, down from $7.227 billion of outflows in the previous week, ICI reported.

California expects to receive nearly $40 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Relative cheapness, wider spreads and underperformance in munis are providing better value, all set against a very solid and resilient credit background, analysts say, but supply is testing investor sentiment amid volatility.

Fitch affirmed the Los Angeles-area airport's A rating and raised its outlook to stable though a $1 billion terminal project stalled during the pandemic.