Florida

Florida bond director Ben Watkins does not believe public-private partnerships that include private financing benefit the public sector, but P3 proponents disagree.

California is the least prepared to weather a recession of the four most populous states, according to a Moody’s Investors Service fiscal stress test.

Bond attorney Kareem Spratling, whose career was boosted by timely mentoring, wants to assist the careers of lawyers of diverse backgrounds as chairman of the Diversity Committee for the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Monday creating the Florida Department of Transportation Financing Corp., to issue tax-exempt bonds for agency projects that will include public-private partnerships.

A federal judge approved a $20 billion settlement with BP to resolve litigation brought by five Gulf coast states over the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport launched a $6 billion, 20-year capital plan; the world’s busiest airport is part of a wave of U.S. airports spending money on infrastructure as traffic booms.

Some investors holding millions of dollars of bonds in default in the Florida panhandle are upset by what they see as inaction by trustee Bank of Oklahoma Financial and a fired employee with links to accused fraudster Christopher Brogdon.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill that would have created an independent authority to take over Gainesville Regional Utilities.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the Utility Cost Containment Bond Act into law.

A Florida bill that an industry association believes could increase borrowing costs for Gainesville Regional Utilities has been sent to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the $82.3 billion budget for 2017 law late Thursday night, vetoing $256 million in line-item expenses sought by the Legislature.

The collapse of the Port St. Lucie, Fla.-based Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute prompted Moody's Investors Service to review the city’s bond ratings for possible downgrade.

House Bill 347 received final passage Thursday in the Florida senate allowing certain entities to issue securitized bonds to finance water and sewer projects.

For the first time in five years, Florida lawmakers have included bond financing for school projects in their proposed $82.35 billion budget for fiscal 2017.

Local and state government leaders are tapping sales taxes for new revenue to help close budget gaps, pay for infrastructure, fund pension liabilities, and finance basics such as teachers’ raises.

The trustee for Port St. Lucie, Fla.’s $64 million of bonds to finance the defunct Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute questioned whether the city will honor its guarantee to pay debt service, although the city attorney said it will make good on the promise.

An investment banker hired as an expert witness in lawsuits challenging All Aboard Florida’s passenger train service said tax-exempt financing is critical to funding the $3.5 billion project, although the private company says that’s not true.

Florida lawmakers are close to an agreement that would establish a new bond financing program that allows certain municipal utilities to securitize customer charges.

The North Broward Hospital District in Florida saw Moody’s Investors Service drop its bond ratings three notches to Baa2 amid a severe decline in revenue and new probes into its operations.

In the Southeast, pent-up need for capital and low interest rates translated into a five-year high for bond issuance in 2015.