Southeast

A year ago, Florida Division of Bond Finance director Ben Watkins was one of the biggest skeptics of Build America Bonds, mostly because the taxable debt structure didn’t fit into the tax-exempt mold.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Miami will close out fiscal 2009 with a $53.6 million deficit and faces a projected deficit of $28 million by the end of the current fiscal year if actions are not taken to cut the budget, commissioners learned late last week.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Florida’s largest ever public-private partnership — a $1.8 billion, limited-access toll road in Jacksonville — will begin moving forward soon.

DALLAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday ordered state agencies and departments under his control to halt nonessential spending in light of a looming revenue shortfall in fiscal 2010.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Three Louisiana issuers have seen movement in their federal lawsuits against insurers and underwriters that were involved with their failed variable- and auction-rate securities.

BRADENTON, Fla. — A biomedical institute on Florida’s east coast is exploring replacing its planned conduit issuer in hopes of lowering the cost of selling $70 million of bonds to finance the construction of a research ­facility.

DALLAS — Louisiana’s 14 state colleges and universities were advised at a legislative budget hearing on Tuesday to begin preparing now for a loss of almost $300 million in federal stimulus funds after fiscal 2011.

BRADENTON, Fla. — With President Obama’s signature barely dry on the massive health care reform bill, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, alleging that the bill is unconstitutional.

WASHINGTON — South Carolina this week will competitively sell $324 million of new-money and $336.5 million of refunding general obligation bonds, foregoing Build America Bonds partly because of a growing concern that federal lawmakers or regulators could lower the subsidy rate or actual payments.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission gave its approval Thursday for a general obligation refunding that could total up to $600 million.