West Virginia

Southeast issuers sold $37.63 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2016, a decline of 10.9% from the same period last year, even as new money deals increased.

West Virginia has passed a law giving the governor the power to pay debt service if a budget has not been enacted on time.

Hoping to avoid a state government shutdown July 1, the GOP-led West Virginia Legislature approved a new 2017 budget Tuesday that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is expected to sign.

West Virginia is closer to a state government shutdown after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the fiscal 2017 state budget, saying the spending plan lawmakers approved unwisely draws on the state reserves and threatens its bond ratings.

West Virginia lawmakers sent Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin a budget for fiscal 2017 that relies on reserves, cuts and one-time measures that the governor had already threatened to reject.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has called West Virginia lawmakers back to Charleston on Monday to finish the fiscal 2017 budget, after failing to reach a consensus during the regular session.

West Virginia took a one-notch Standard & Poor’s downgrade, stemming largely from sharply reduced demand for coal products. Its GO bond rating is now AA-minus.

West Virginia’s legislators ended their session unable to reach a compromise on a fiscal 2017 budget, as revenue estimates tumbled even lower than anticipated.

In the Southeast, pent-up need for capital and low interest rates translated into a five-year high for bond issuance in 2015.

State governors and other public officials who warned that new Environmental Protection Agency regulations could cause significant economic harm to their states and localities are hailing the Supreme Court’s decision to place a stay on the EPA’s plan.