Florida

Former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux wants the U.S. Supreme Court to grant him immunity from a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that has attracted a lot of attention from issuer officials and attorneys.

Indian River County, Fla., plans to file a federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Transportation's private activity bond allocation for the All Aboard Florida passenger train project.

The Central Florida Expressway Authority will close on a $193.7 million TIFIA loan March 25 as part of the financing for the Wekiva Parkway.

Florida has saved $220 million on nine refundings so far this fiscal year, and more of such deals are on tap, according to the state’s bond director.

Florida Gulf Coast University's credit outlook stabilized Monday when two rating agencies found that recent modifications to the terms of a direct bank loan lessened the institution's contingent risk.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded Miami's general obligation bond ratings to A1 from A2 because of an improving economy and the city's strengthened financial position.

The Internal Revenue Service has advised several community development districts in Florida that they may not be political subdivisions that can issue tax-exempt bonds if they do not have public electors within five years of their bonds' issuance, a bond lawyer said.

Raymond James has hired public finance banker Matt Palumbo to work with the firm's mid-Atlantic team in Richmond, Va.

The Village Center Community Development District in Florida said Monday that it disagrees with two Internal Revenue Service notices that asserted that the district's bonds are taxable.

A group opposing C's planned passenger train service says its economic analysis questions the viability of the project.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating bonds issued in 2013 by the former scandal-ridden Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and underwritten by Citi.

Issuers in the Southeast sold $48.8 billion of municipal bonds in 2014, according to Thomson Reuters, down 14.3% from 2013 to decline for the second consecutive year.

Raymond James has hired banker Todd Barnes to join the firm's public finance group in Atlanta, and to focus on issuers in Georgia and South Carolina.

A long-running debate over how to cure Jacksonville's $1.62 billion police and fire pension liability has sparked a call for an audit and state investigation into the finances of Florida's largest city.

Miami-Dade County plans to use a public-private partnership to build and repair its court and jail facilities. Qualifications from firms will be sought soon.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott's lack of board appointments to the Florida Development Finance Corp. calls into question its authority to issue bonds, including billions in debt it has agreed to issue.

Standard & Poor's upgraded Miami's general obligation bond ratings to A-plus from BBB citing the city's improved financial management practices and budget flexibility.

The effort to resuscitate spring training on Florida's east coast advanced this week with the approval of a land swap for a bond-financed MLB ballpark.

Public power utilities in five southern states most likely face fiscal challenges in complying with the EPA's Clean Power Plan, a new index by Fitch Ratings shows.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott recommended a $77 billion budget and new tax cuts for the upcoming fiscal year.