California

The West Contra Costa Unified School District’s settlement of a lawsuit over parcel tax revenues is a potential credit hit for parcel tax levying school districts in California and a boost for charter school credits, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Fitch Ratings says that California school general obligation bonds meet its “high bar” to determine if the revenue backing bonds would be considered special revenues in a bankruptcy, and therefore more secure.

A Los Angeles utility rate increase aimed at reducing the city’s dependence on coal was deemed a credit positive by Moody’s Investors Service.

Californians are gearing up for election season in what may prove to be “the year of the initiative,” with two explicitly bond-related questions already qualified for the November ballot and several more of interest to public finance likely to follow.

An employee group at KNN Public Finance has bought back the California municipal advisory firm from its parent company, Zions Bank, citing the regulatory environment and its emphasis on duty of care to clients.

Increasing disclosure requirements for bond issuers is high on California Treasurer John Chiang’s list of priorities for the state legislature.

Westlands Water District, Calif. is on Fitch Ratings' rating watch negative after it was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors.

California priced an additional $500 million in refunding bonds during this week’s GO bond sale at yields that resulted in $294 million in net present value savings.

After dipping in January, California state government’s revenues returned in February to a pattern of beating budget projections.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday charged California's largest agricultural water district and two officials with misleading investors about its financial condition when it issued $77 million of bonds in 2012.