Maryland

WASHINGTON — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Friday released a pension reform plan to halt the state’s declining pension funding level, which is the lowest among triple-A rated states and has become a concern for rating agencies and investors.

Kimberly Betterton, a municipal bond and tax lawyer, has joined Ballard Spahr LLP in Baltimore, the firm announced Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Washington County has been the only local government in Maryland to issue all of its allocated recovery zone facility bonds, and now it wants to squeeze the leftover RZFB juice from its neighbors too, just before the program expires at the end of the year.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A-rated Prince George’s County, Md., postponed a $25 million qualified school construction bond transaction scheduled for Tuesday because of the need to disclose to investors last week’s arrest of County Executive Jack Johnson and whether it would impact the deal.

WASHINGTON — Baltimore County on Tuesday expects to competitively sell $371 million of general obligation bonds plus $20 million of qualified school construction bonds.

WASHINGTON — As Maryland’s treasurer, Nancy K. Kopp has steered the state through the recession from her position on a financial oversight board, ­wielding the knife for spending cuts with a greater authority than other state treasurers.

States and municipalities in the Northeast sold $58.9 billion of debt in 1,062 issues during the first six months of 2010, eking out a 2% increase over the first half of 2009.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A rated Maryland Friday will begin selling $489.8 million of general obligation bonds, including Build America Bonds and other school-related bonds created by the stimulus act.

WASHINGTON — The Maryland Transportation Authority this week expects to price $299 million of revenue bonds for construction projects, the bulk of which will finance continuing construction of the InterCounty Connector.

WASHINGTON — The Maryland Department of Transportation on Wednesday expects to competitively sell $140 million of bonds, including what could be MDOT’s first Build America Bonds.

WASHINGTON — A critique of two proposed hospital projects in Montgomery County, Md., echoes warnings that the enactment of health care reform will make it more challenging for nonprofit health providers to finance projects through the municipal bond market.

WASHINGTON — Maryland has become the first state to disclose that a portion of its Build America Bond subsidy payment was reduced so that it could pay the federal government outstanding payroll taxes, state officials said this week. The offset could affect BAB issuance in the future, they said.

WASHINGTON — Montgomery County, Md., officials are to meet today with analysts from the three major rating agencies to discuss recent budget cuts they made in an effort to secure the county’s ratings.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A rated Montgomery County, Md., the state’s most populous county, on Monday was put on review for a possible downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service, affecting $1.8 billion of outstanding debt.

WASHINGTON — Anne Arundel ­County, Md., today expects to competitively price $185.7 million of general obligation bonds, including its first Build America Bonds, as it faces negative credit pressures stemming from the housing market.

WASHINGTON — In an effort to take advantage of the 35% subsidy rate for Build America Bonds while it lasts, Maryland plans to competitively sell its largest BAB issue to date — $400 million — as well as $200 million of advance refunding bonds on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley yesterday released a proposal for the state’s fiscal 2011 budget that would reduce reserve fund contributions and increase public debt by 7.1% over fiscal 2010.

WASHINGTON — Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon will resign and be sentenced Feb. 4 as part of a plea agreement negotiated with prosecutors after being convicted on one criminal count last year for using gift cards donated to the city.

Construction of Linden Ponds, an ­Erickson Retirement Communities development in the Boston area, will resume late next year, and investors in the project’s $156 million of tax-exempt bonds will be paid, Erickson executive staff told bondholders and market participants last week in an investor call.

WASHINGTON — The Montgomery County Council in Maryland Tuesday unanimously voted against proposed toll rate hikes for the InterCounty Connector, the $2.4 billion toll road currently under construction, and also cut $30 million from the county’s fiscal 2010 budget.