News and Information from Bond Buyer

The Florida Department of Transportation has launched plans for a series of Interstate express lanes to be built in the Tampa Bay area.

Municipal volume is forecasted to rise in the holiday-shortened week, with three of the four biggest deals tied to oil.

Newly installed Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's executive order halting new contracts puts a hold on some pending contracts planned by the state's tollway agency and planning work on the proposed Illiana toll road.

The recent rally in municipal bond prices stalled out a bit on Friday, traders said, as yields finished mixed on the day, with price strength on the short end balanced off by weakness on the long end. Trading will resume on Tuesday after the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday on Monday.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has proposed a $44.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2016, which is a 3.15% increase over the current spending plan.

A Rhode Island Superior Court judge dismissed a challenge by Oppenheimer Funds to the state's plan to sell nearly $600 million in tobacco revenue bonds.

Michigan officials said Friday they expect general fund revenues to be down by $857 million over the next two years, largely due to higher-than-expected use of business tax credits.

Former Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach officially announced his decision to run in a special election for the 37th State Senate District.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker touted tax cuts, the state's structural fiscal strides, and pledged to cuts costs by merging some agencies in a state of the state address that offering no additional specifics on how he plans to erase a looming budget deficit.

The Government Finance Officers Association is levelling strong criticism at Moody's Investors Service for failing to provide its credit ratings to EMMA and urging the agency to do so.

Syncora Investment Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Syncora Guarantee, Inc., has purchased a majority stake in the independent derivatives advisory firm, Swap Financial Group.

Sticking to his plan to cut income taxes, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is proposing higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco to cover a shortfall of more than $700 million over the current and coming fiscal years.

Flint officials said they would hire a consultant to help improve the city's poor water quality since it broke off from the Detroit water and sewer system last year.

California Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed 2015-16 budget is mostly positive for school districts, Fitch Ratings said.

After a record year of debt issuance, the Texas Transportation Commission expects a significant reduction in borrowing costs for its Central Texas Tollway System as it issues $1.8 billion of refunding bonds.

Municipal market participants applauded President Obama’s proposal on Friday to create a new type of tax-exempt municipal bond that could be used to help finance public-private infrastructure projects, but one questioned whether it will pass muster with Congress.

Lazard Freres, which represented retirees in the Detroit bankruptcy, said it agreed to a 37% fee reduction as part of court-ordered mediation.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its long-term rating on Abington Township Municipal Authority, Pa.'s series 2005B and 2005C revenue bonds and Pennsylvania Higher Education Facility Authority's series 2007 revenue bonds, both issued for Marywood University, to BB-plus from BBB-minus.

Municipal bond yields were mixed at mid-session, according to traders, as a recent rally in prices slowed slightly.