Virginia

WASHINGTON — The Capital Beltway Funding Corporation of Virginia, the issuer for $589 million for the Capital Beltway expansion project, on Monday will sell refunding bonds to convert its debt to tax-exempt bonds not subject to the alternative minimum tax, taking advantage of the stimulus law provision ­before it expires at the end of the year.

The Virginia-based Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority expects to competitively sell $84.7 million of revenue bonds on Tuesday for an expansion project to comply with Chesapeake Bay restoration requirements.

WASHINGTON — The Virginia Resources Authority on Wednesday and Thursday will sell $167.7 million of bonds to help 13 local issuers finance infrastructure projects and refund previously issued bonds.

WASHINGTON — Virginia is preparing to competitively issue $168.4 million of general obligations bonds for seven universities at a time when the Pentagon’s proposal to close a major military base in the Hampton Roads area is raising concerns about the state’s credit.

WASHINGTON — The Virginia College Building Authority expects on Tuesday to competitively price $337.5 million of bonds for higher education projects, beginning a season of heavy issuance for the state.

WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell on Thursday released an audit of the state’s Department of Transportation that showed $1.45 billion could be freed up for projects and that these new funds could possibly accelerate VDOT’s bond issuances, sources said.

WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is pushing for the creation of a state transportation infrastructure bank that would be funded with revenue from the privatization of state-owned liquor stores and provide an array of financing tools for road construction and other projects.

WASHINGTON — Three firms have submitted conceptual proposals to the Virginia Department of Transportation for a public-private partnership that would develop a new tolled highway in the southern part of the state.

WASHINGTON — A northern Virginia county suing federal and state transportation authorities over certain environmental exemptions for planned high-occupancy toll lanes on two interstate highways has asked the court to add another federal official as a defendant.

The Buena Vista, Va., City Council plans to meet Thursday to discuss the possibility of hiring a financial adviser to help it devise a workout solution for a troubled $9.2 million bond issue that could force it to lose its city hall, police station, and other municipal buildings.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Boosted by the popularity of Build America Bonds and refunding opportunities, issuers in the 11 states that comprise the Southeast region sold $34.5 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2010, up 7.4% over the same period last year.

WASHINGTON — Virginia posted a preliminary fiscal 2010 surplus of at least $220 million as income and corporate taxes rebounded, reversing a $1.8 billion budget shortfall the state faced six months ago.

WASHINGTON — The Virginia Public School Authority on Wednesday expects to competitively sell $73.2 million of direct-pay, qualified school construction bonds, using them for the first time under the new federal subsidy interest-rate option designed to open the securities to a larger pool of buyers.

WASHINGTON — Virginia is reviewing its public-private partnership program to ensure the state can most efficiently leverage private funds as its transportation revenues have dwindled amid the economic recession.

Two bond-issuing authorities in Virginia entered into a voluntary closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to preserve the status of $74.3 million of bonds after one of them sold its waste-to-energy facilities, which were financed with the bonds, to Wheelabrator Portsmouth Inc.

WASHINGTON — Virginia on Wednesday expects to competitively price $492.7 million of transportation bonds — the state’s first bond offering from a $3 billion debt program approved in 2007.

A U.S. district court judge last week dismissed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that contested its right to collect toll revenues that secure more than $900 million of MWAA's outstanding bonds. The bond proceeds are helping to finance the system's expansion of rail service to Washington Dulles International Airport.

The Virginia Resources Authority expects to price $109.9 million of new-money clean water bonds next week.

Two of Virginia’s triple-A counties, Arlington and Fairfax, have released manager-proposed fiscal 2011 budgets that address revenue shortfalls and seek to maintain top-tier credit ratings.

Standard & Poor's last week downgraded Hampton University to A-minus from A-plus based on increasing debt and business risk related to the university's Proton Therapy Institute.