Economy

As states decide whether to participate in the now-voluntary Medicaid expansion program under federal health care reform, analysts and other muni market experts say the decision will likely have little impact on states' bottom line.

An analysis of rating actions shows that public-private partnerships are highly exposed to the effects of downgrades and negatives outlooks applied to participants in the P3, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service released Thursday.

Aerostar Airport Holdings and Gruopo Aeuropuertos Avance submitted their proposals for a public-private partnership to run the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport this week.

Illinois-based Hospital Sisters Services, Inc. is gearing up to sell more than $400 million of new-money and refunding bonds this fall as it undertakes various upgrades to existing facilities and opens a replacement critical access hospital.

Florida's most populous county, Miami-Dade County, plans to head to the bond market next week in search of investors for the county's transit bonds.

Denver's Regional Transportation District will decide by the end of the month whether to proceed with a $350 million light rail line through the suburb of Aurora after winning positive comments at a public hearing this week.

Big bond commitments will be a major piece of the funding puzzle when it comes to constructing a national high-speed rail system, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood affirmed Wednesday.

A Federal appeals court refused a rehearing on its decision to reject federal permits for North Carolina's Monroe Connector toll road.

The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, Fla. missed its third bond payment on July 1 because toll revenues were insufficient to pay debt service, according to a market notice filed by Bank of New York Mellon.

A retired state judge has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Illinois law that overhauls the state's retiree healthcare program and shifting more of the funding burden for premiums to beneficiaries.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed several pieces of legislation authorizing $1.6 billion in new state borrowing to finance transportation and transit projects and extending an increase in the Regional Transportation Authority of Illinois' working cash notes limits.

The head of the non profit health care group at Standard & Poor's says the full impact of the federal reform law won't be known until after it is implemented in 2014.

The IRS is auditing $245.7 million of hospital revenue bonds issued by The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama in Birmingham in September 2006.

Two Virginia authorities will price a total of more than $200 million of bonds in separate negotiated deals over the next week. The Virginia Resources Authority will price $81 million of bonds in a pool deal on behalf of 13 local issuers on July 12. In addition, the Commonwealth Transportation Board will sell $125.5 million of grant anticipation revenue bonds less than a week later.

Moody's Investors Service upgraded to A2 from A3 its rating on Blanchard Valley Regional Health Center, located in Findlay, Ohio.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week signed into law legislation that will set aside a portion of sales tax revenues for the cash-strapped transportation fund.

Moody's Revised its Outlook to Stable from Negative on A1-rated Indianapolis Airport Authority, citing strong financial performance.

The Massachusetts Port Authority, which needs to shuffle gates at Boston's airport to accommodate the United-Continental merger and JetBlue expansion, plans to sell $285 million in new money and refunding.

Up to $140 million of transportation projects may be part of Austin's general obligation bond referendum in November, along with an expected $250 million of capital improvement projects.

A constitutional amendment authorizing up to $1.3 billion of state highway construction bonds will be Issue 1 on the Arkansas Nov. 6 ballot.