Florida

Southeast issuers sold $37.63 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2016, a decline of 10.9% from the same period last year, even as new money deals increased.

Lawsuits by two Florida counties challenging the $1.75 billion private activity bond award for the All Aboard Florida passenger train project can proceed, after a federal judge ruled in the counties' favor.

Merrett Stierheim, a former south Florida public administrator, will determine if Opa-locka is solvent for the state-appointed panel overseeing the city’s finances.

HJ Sims has named Jonathan Jarow as managing director and senior vice president in its office in Boca Raton, Florida.

Municipal bonds issued for Tennessee-based Global Ministries Foundation housing projects were placed on S&P Global Ratings' CreditWatch and could face rating downgrades because of uncertainty related to a federal investigation.

Petersburg, Va., and Opa-locka, Fla., turned to their respective states for help resolving serious financial problems and both are getting professional help, although no state funding.

A CDC warning advising pregnant women against traveling to a south Florida neighborhood because of Zika is a negative credit factor for both Miami and Miami-Dade County, said Moody's Investors Service.

Jacksonville, Florida, is asking voters for a half-cent sales tax to help pay down nearly $3 billion in pension liabilities, but a recent lawsuit threatens to derail the referendum.

Miami-Dade County will price $365 million of tax exempt non-AMT refunding bonds and $377 million of taxable bonds on Wednesday.

The small Florida city of Opa-locka is on the verge of bankruptcy, according to the head of a state-appointed oversight board.

Leon County, Fla., home of the state capital in Tallahassee, will offer a new countywide residential and commercial PACE programs after years of planning and legal setbacks.

The Federal Housing Administration said it will begin insuring mortgages on certain properties that include PACE assessments if the obligation is treated like a property tax and it does not have priority status over the FHA mortgage lien.

The Internal Revenue Service has closed audits and left the tax-exempt status unchanged for $311.28 million of community development district bonds in Florida that started the whole debate about political subdivisions and led the tax agency to propose controversial rules for such districts earlier this year.

Miami Beach will begin preliminary negotiations with a group led by France-based Alstom to build a modern light rail streetcar estimated to cost $400 million in its famed South Beach district.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is battling with Miami and former budget director Michael Boudreaux over whether they can defend themselves against securities fraud charges by saying they relied on advice from auditors.

The small south Florida city of Opa-locka, recently designated by the state to be in a financial emergency, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Miami Herald.

In a first-of-its-kind case, a federal judge hears arguments June 30 on motions to dismiss a challenge by two Florida counties of $1.75 billion in private activity bonds for the All Aboard Florida passenger train.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has appointed nine people, including six top level state employees, to take charge of Opa-locka’s finances while the city is in a state of financial emergency.

A Florida court has denied Indian River County’s quest to block a state-created conduit issuer from selling $1.75 billion of tax exempt bonds for All Aboard Florida’s planned private passenger rail project.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared the small city of Opa-locka to be in a financial emergency late Wednesday, authorizing the state to take control of the city’s finances and debts.