Southeast

DALLAS — Gov. Bobby Jindal outlined plans to legislative leaders Thursday that would generate revenue quickly as Louisiana faces a $1.6 billion hole in the fiscal 2012 general fund budget.

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.

Hoping to tap the same investor momentum seen in a recent oversubscribed offering, Atlanta has accelerated plans to market a $505 million refunding for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that was expected to sell next 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.

The Spartanburg Regional Health System was downgraded last week to A-plus from AA-minus by Fitch Ratings as a new facility has failed to fill beds as anticipated.

A random sample of 24 of 277 New Orleans hotels subject to the city's hotel tax found a total of $145,000 in unpaid taxes, including penalties and interest, over a three-month period in 2010.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said last week that he will not use new taxes or fees to balance the fiscal 2012 budget despite a projected revenue shortfall of $1.6 billion.

The nonprofit Atlanta BeltLine Partnership has created an organization called the Atlanta Land Trust Collaborative to protect neighborhoods at risk of displacement as the city's massive BeltLine project proceeds. The ALTC will be led by executive director Anthony Pickett, the partnership announced Monday.

An Alabama circuit court judge last week ruled unconstitutional an occupational and business license tax that provides a major source of income for Jefferson County's general fund budget. Commissioners are appealing the decision, the Birmingham News reported.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission continued its efforts Monday to allocate the state's remaining capacity of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds by awarding $91 million of the tax-exempt bonds at a special session.