California

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating West Contra Costa, Calif. United School District and its general obligation bond financings dating back to 2009.

The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved AB 2235, creating a bond for $4.3 billion - less than half of the $9 billion in the original school facilities bill on Thursday.

Unable to recover from its financial woes, the Doctors Medical Center in Contra Costa County is being pressured to close or significantly downsize, which could impose a financial burden on the county, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Though New Jersey and California are on starkly different credit paths, municipal analysts said their recent trading patterns suggest equally-strong demand.

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday upgraded San Diego County's issuer rating to Aaa and bumped up its lease and pension obligation bond ratings a notch to Aa2.

After months of debate that stretched legislative deadlines, California lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown finally agreed on a $7.5 billion water bond measure to put on the November ballot.

The Far West Region mirrored the U.S. with municipal bond sales dropping 24.8% during the first half of 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Changes to California's school pension contribution laws will create budgetary challenges for the state's school districts after 2017, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The fate of a California state school facilities bond measure proposal, originally priced at $9 billion, could be decided during a Senate Appropriation Committee hearing on Thursday.

The 114-mile stretch of California's high speed rail project from Fresno to Bakersfield received approval from a federal railway oversight board on Tuesday.

A strike or work slowdown at U.S. West Coast ports could result in the loss of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy if goods are diverted to non-U.S. ports, a Fitch Ratings report said.

California lawmakers are considering a $7.2 billion water bond for the November ballot as the discussion goes into overtime.

California is off to a strong start for fiscal year 2014-15 as July revenues came in above estimates, according to State Controller John Chiang.

A recently announced increase in state-run health insurance rates is a positive for California's non-profit hospitals, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

The California Economic Summit is urging state lawmakers to enact a new law that would give local governments broader authority in creating infrastructure financing districts.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he is conducting his second annual review of every city department as part of his commitment to improve accountability and performance measurement in city government.

Orange County Transportation Authority, Calif., received a two-notch ratings bump on its senior lien toll road revenue bonds to AA-minus from Standard & Poor's on Tuesday.

After almost two years of preparation, an adverse ruling Monday on the hotel sales tax that would have funded the majority of San Diego's planned convention center expansion sends city leaders back to the drawing board.

California Governor Jerry Brown is pushing a scaled-down $6 billion water bond to go on the November ballot as other bond proposals in the state legislature remain stalled.

If the State of California wants to maximize refunding savings then the Legislature should authorize "oversight boards" to issue refunding bonds on behalf of successor agencies.