Florida

Florida Gov. Rick Scott quietly signed a $78.2 billion budget into law Tuesday, the third straight fiscal year of record spending for the Sunshine state.

A technical advice memorandum concluding that the Village Center Community Development District in Florida was not a political subdivision that could issue tax-exempt bonds will not apply retroactively, the Internal Revenue Service chief counsel’s office said.

The Florida Legislature ended a special session June 19 after adopting a $78.7 billion record budget for fiscal 2016 that is now being challenged in court by environmentalists.

Jacksonville, Fla., reached a deal with the Police and Fire Pension Fund trustees Friday to overhaul benefits and contribute catch-up payments to address a $1.7 billion unfunded liability.

The Florida Legislature plans to complete a special session Friday with a final vote on a budget for fiscal 2016 with no Medicaid expansion, avoiding a state government shutdown.

Many utilities in Florida’s exhibit strong financial performance though funding challenges lie ahead in replacing aged infrastructure and dealing with climate change, according to Fitch Ratings.

A federal judge denied requests by two Florida counties seeking to block the issuance of $1.75 billion in private activity bonds for a private passenger train project.

The South Florida Water Management District is preparing to issue the largest certificate of participation deal this year to refund $470 million in COPs sold in 2006 to buy land that protects the famed Everglades.

The United States Supreme Court is poised to decide whether or not to hear the case of former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux, whose attorneys told the nation's top court it should accept the case to decide an important question of how exposed municipal officials should be to federal government lawsuits.

A Florida attorney who says his property will be devalued by a private passenger train wants to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging tax-exempt financing for the project.

The Florida Development Finance Corp. postponed a June 10 meeting that was scheduled to consider the bond resolution for All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion of private activity bonds.

Miami-Dade County hired Kroll Bond Rating Agency, believing its analysis can help attract investors to next week's $534 million bond issue for Miami International Airport.

The Florida Development Finance Corp. will meet June 10 to consider All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion bond resolution, though project opponents have questioned if the meeting would be legal.

Sponsors of a high-speed passenger rail train project in Florida want an authority to issue $1.75 billion of private-activity bonds for it as soon as June 22, while a U.S. District Court considers requests from two counties to enjoin or stop the Transportation Dept.’s allocation of the PABs to the project.

Standard & Poor's said Friday that it would be “unprecedented and significant” if triple-A rated Florida failed, for the first time ever, to adopt a state budget on time.

A federal judge hears arguments Friday on whether the private All Aboard Florida passenger train project can issue $1.75 billion in private activity bonds.

The Florida Legislature will attempt to bridge an impasse over low income healthcare funding that has left the state without a fiscal 2016 budget and facing a government shutdown.

Orange County, Fla., plans to competitively price a $170 million tourist tax refunding deal Thursday that comes to market with three rating upgrades due to substantial growth in hotel revenues.

New service and a rebound in passengers at Orlando International Airport have expedited planning for a new $1 billion terminal.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority plans to issue $193 million in bond anticipation notes to provide interim financing for work on the Wekiva Parkway.