Florida

Tampa Bay Water on Monday voted to issue bonds to finance some of the repairs to its cracked reservoir.

A Florida law allowing local governments to declare a "financial urgency" can be an effective strategy for budget relief, says Fitch. Miami has used it several times.

Standard & Poor's Tuesday affirmed its BBB rating on Miami's general obligation bonds in the wake of SEC actions.

Miami Beach voters Tuesday's agreed to increase the local tourist tax on hotel rooms by 1%.

A federal judge has denied Tampa Bay Water's motion for a new trial to seek repair costs for Florida’s largest reservoir. The agency will now press on with an appeal.

Attorneys for Miami have proposed a settlement to head off federal civil charges proposed by Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a similar case against the city in the 1990s.

Major environmental groups in Florida this week unveiled a campaign to ask the state's voters to approve a new bond program that could fund as much as $10 billion in conservation programs.

The Tampa Bay Rays will begin talks with Hillsborough and Pinellas counties about the team's future on Florida's west coast. Those discussions could include moving the team from its current homebase in St. Petersburg.

South Florida's Miami-Dade County School Board has agreed to ask voters to approve a $1.2 billion bond issue. The nation's fourth-largest school district wants to make systemwide infrastructure improvements and upgrade technology.

Fort Lauderdale is thinking about selling about $300 million of pension obligation bonds. While some people think they are too risky, bond market experts say taxable rates are at historic lows and that POBs could actually bring discipline to the city's finances.

Two high-profile local governmental entities in Florida last week agreed to accept settlements as part of the $65.5 million multi-state agreement over JPMorgan's alleged bid-rigging actions with regard to derivatives.

The Southeast's largest public water and sewer system needs $1.1 billion in repairs, according to a report to the Miami-Dade, Fla., County Commission this week.

Two ports in Florida and one each in Georgia and South Carolina will see expansion projects expedited thanks to the Obama administration's "We Can't Wait Initiative."

The SEC will be asked to allow federal civil charges to be filed against Miami for failing to disclose serious budget problems in its bond offerings.

Budget balances for states remain too low relative to annual expenditures, according to the National Governors Association and National Association of Budget Officers.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Tuesday asked the state's Congressional delegation to investigate the scandal involving the manipulation of the London interbank offered rate.

Standard & Poor's has downgraded $128 million of student housing revenue bonds sold by the Capital Projects Finance Authority, Fla., to D, the lowest junk rating possible.

Florida's most populous county, Miami-Dade County, plans to head to the bond market next week in search of investors for the county's transit bonds.

The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, Fla. missed its third bond payment on July 1 because toll revenues were insufficient to pay debt service, according to a market notice filed by Bank of New York Mellon.

Judson Freeman joined Florida-based Bryant Miller Olive PA on Monday. Freeman has 35 years of experience in public finance work, and will work in BMO's Jacksonville office.