New York State Outlook Revised to Positive by S&P

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it revised its outlook to positive from stable on New York State's general obligation (GO) and state appropriation secured debt.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its AA rating on New York State's state GO debt and its AA-minus rating on the state's appropriation secured debt rating.

"We base the outlook revision on what we view as the state's movement toward structurally balanced budgets in the past two years," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst David Hitchcock.

New York State has lowered projected future year general fund budget gaps due largely to recent restraint in school aid and Medicaid expenditure growth. Spending restraint will also be aided in the long term by the recent establishment of a new pension tier for new employees that will slow growth in pension costs. Should New York State continue to maintain largely structurally balanced budgets in the next two years, Standard & Poor's said it could raise the rating.

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