Ohio

The prestigious Cleveland Clinic announced Wednesday it plans to team up with another Ohio health provider, marking the latest merger transforming the Ohio hospital landscape.

For the first time in more than 40 years, Ohio will stop subsidizing property taxes for new levies, a move that could make voters more reluctant to approve borrowing requests.

Ohio is offering $1.1 billion of bonds backed by a new junior-lien credit pledge from the Ohio Turnpike Tuesday in a transaction key to the state's plan to shore up its long-term infrastructure spending.

Moody's hit Cincinnati School District's certificates of participation from a 2006 issue with a one-notch downgrade to Aa3 due to the credit's links to the recently downgraded city.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission plans to come to market the week of July 29 with $1.1 billion of turnpike bonds backed by a new credit pledge that is key to the state's future transportation funding plans.

With income taxes boosting state revenues across the Midwest, Ohio, Nebraska and North Dakota all expect to have record-high rainy day funds heading into a new fiscal year.

The Columbus City Council approved an $842 million bond measure for the November ballot, and the city's school district approved a $200 million request.

Ohio lawmakers last week sent a two-year $62 billion operating budget to Gov. John Kasich, who will sign the spending plan into law by Sunday, a day of the state's new fiscal year July 1.

University Hospitals, one of Cleveland's largest systems, wants to acquire nearby EMH Healthcare.

A pair of Summit County senators have introduced legislation that aims to restrict the ability of national conduit issuers to float bonds on behalf of local economic development projects.

Cincinnati-based Catholic Health Partners, Ohio's largest health care system, announced last week it is acquiring Kaiser Permanente Ohio, a northeast Ohio health plan.

The city of Massillon lost its investment-grade ratings last week when Moody's Investors Service knocked its rating down three notches to Ba1 from Baa1.

Top-rated Columbus Ohio will ask voters to approve $800M of new general obligation bonds in November to finance a five-year capital plan.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory reduced the number of layoffs in his proposed 2014-2015 budget, as the city continues to wait a ruling on the lawsuit that has delayed a plan to privatize its parking system.

Columbus, Ohio, will come to market May 29 to refund $368M of Build America Bonds into general obligation debt, taking advantage of flexible redemption provisions that were rare among early BABs issuers.

Columbus-based law firm Bricker & Eckler hired Christiane Schmenk, former director of the Ohio Development Services Agency, for the firm's public finance group and as part of its economic development consulting subsidiary.

Ohio Auditor David Yost warned local governments to tread carefully when talking about their financial conditions, calling this week's SEC charges against Harrisburg, Pa. a "watershed moment" for local politicians.

Cincinnati attorneys told a federal appeals court Monday that a legal challenge to the $197 million plan to privatize the city's parking system will force the city to lay off hundreds of employees to offset budget shortfalls.

Fitch Ratings last week affirmed its AA-minus on $1.8 billion of debt held by Catholic Health Partners, Ohio's largest health care system.

The Ohio House last week approved a $61.5 billion, two-year, general fund budget that leaves out Gov. John Kasich's plan to expand Medicaid under the new federal health care law.