Florida

Miami-Dade County hopes retail investors will take interest in a $790.05 million offering this week to refund bonds sold for Miami International Airport.

Florida's Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, which is in default of more than $116 million of toll bonds, may lose insurance and board members. It is also unclear if bondholders will be paid Jan. 1.

Jacksonville, Fla., prices $245 million of refunding bonds on Thursday in search of big savings from low interest rates that provide opportunities for budgetary relief and portfolio restructuring.

The Miami-Dade County Commission last week made an exception in procurement regulations and added Drexel Hamilton LLC to the county’s qualified pool of underwriters.

An attorney representing the Florida Village Center Community Development District has sent a letter to the IRS office of chief counsel challenging its tentative decision that the authority is not a political subdivision.

Miami-Dade County will consider hiring special counsel to explore whether there's a tax issue with revenue bonds sold in 1996.

The IRS is auditing $80.2 million of capital improvement revenue bonds the Arborwood Community Development District, Florida issued in 2006.

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority in central Florida hopes to take advantage of low market rates for savings and reduce its variable-rate exposure in a $463 million refunding Nov. 15.

Sen. Bill Nelson is urging the head of the Treasury Department to carefully consider the Internal Revenue Service's tentative decision that the Village Center Community Development District in Florida is not a political subdivision, warning it contradicts state law and would chill investment in the state.

A federal judge has ordered Tampa Bay Water to pay $20 million in legal costs to an engineering firm the water supplier unsuccessfully sued this year.

The Internal Revenue Service's tentative decision that the Village Center Community Development District in Florida is not a political subdivision could have far-reaching effects on special purpose districts set up for municipal bond issues nationwide.

The IRS "tentatively" concluded that the Florida Village Community Development District is not a political subdivision, raising questions about the tax-exempt status of community development district bonds nationwide.

In a preliminary report on Florida’s debt capacity, the Division of Bond Finance said that the state’s outstanding debt decreased by $500 million in 2011 and $1.5 billion in 2012.

As the Southeast's economy slowly begins to thaw, measures on the Nov. 6 ballot reflect both fiscal conservatism and pent-up demand for education and transportation needs.

After weighing which financing was least likely to provoke a third investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Miami chose a limited public offering to refinance a bank loan.

Moody's Investors Service affirmed Florida's Aa1 implied general obligation bond rating, and said the state is unlikely to win a gilt-edged upgrade in the near future.

Miami-Dade County, Fla., this week prices the first of two deals that will bring nearly $1.5 billion of bonds to market within a month.

Some 113 of Florida's cities, counties, and special districts could be declared in a state of financial emergency, according to a recent assessment of fiscal 2011 audits.

PortMiami's "Deep Dredge" harbor project will be mostly financed with bonds to ready the port for the Panama Canal expansion in early 2015. Miami-Dade County will pick up the federal costs to get the project done.

The Miami City Commission is expected to consider refinancing a two-year, $45 million note that is near maturity using Wells Fargo Bank NA as underwriter. The note currently is held by Wells Fargo.