Economy

It’s time to get serious about completing Interstate 49 South in Louisiana, and a public-private partnership might be part of the financial solution to the $5.2 billion effort, Treasurer John Kennedy said last week in Lafayette.

Kentucky Senate President David Williams last week expressed concern over the divided work and funding plans that were recently proposed for the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project.

In speaking engagements around Alabama last week, Gov. Robert Bentley announced that he plans to ask the Legislature to make major changes in the state budget, and to issue $2 billion of bonds for transportation projects.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton last week announced the creation of an advisory task force charged with coming up with ideas to raise revenue for road, highway and bridge projects.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority meets Wednesday to continue working toward a resolution on its $115.9 million of defaulted bonds, which were sold to build a toll bridge in north Florida.

CHICAGO — The trustee on $113 million of bonds that financed construction of the privately owned Branson, Mo., Airport opted not to nearly drain remaining reserves to make a Jan. 1 debt-service payment as airport operators struggle to bolster operations and stave off future bondholder enforcement actions.

CHICAGO – Illinois nonprofit hospitals say they provided $4.6 billion in charity care and community benefits in 2010, a number that has risen 26% in five years and is at the center of a debate that could lead to a legislative mandate on uncompensated services hospitals must provide to retain their tax-exempt perks.

WASHINGTON — Despite the financial struggles and criticism faced by prominent fast-rail projects in California and Florida, high-speed and regional rail is likely to proceed out of necessity, according to an analysis by Fitch Ratings.

Republican lawmakers in California have introduced a bill that would block the state from selling bonds for a planned high-speed rail system.

With the Jan. 31 expiration date of the latest Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization law coming up fast, hopes for a long-awaited multi-year bill are giving way to pessimism as airport lobbyists fear that deep partisan divides and a limited number of congressional work days may wind up producing another short-term measure or FAA shutdown.

WASHINGTON — Increased reliance on public-private partnerships to fund construction of roads, rail, water, sewers, public buildings and other projects could save Maryland millions of dollars annually and create thousands of jobs, according to a state legislative commission report.

A recently abandoned plan to build a light-rail line in Detroit won new life last week when the federal government agreed to give local officials 90 days to refine a less costly plan.

With one of its two hub airlines in bankruptcy, Chicago officials breathed a bit easier last month when Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its ratings on Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s $5.6 billion of general airport revenue debt.

Dire warnings about the future of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission based on a $450 million-per-year infrastructure payment requirement are overstated, according to a research report.

The New York Senate on Monday confirmed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's nomination of Joseph Lhota as chairman and chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City's transit system.

WASHINGTON — Public-private partnerships do not necessarily supply more funds for highway construction than traditional government financing, and spending by the private party must be restricted by budget caps or legal limits for states and localities to see benefits from P3s, a Congressional Budget Office study concluded Monday.

The Indiana Finance Authority has issued a request for qualifications from legal firms interested in serving as transaction counsel on the state's portion of the $2.6 billion bi-state Ohio River Bridges project.

Standard & Poor's has placed the Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority's grant anticipation revenue bonds on credit watch with negative implications.

Connecticut and Jackson Laboratory finalized their agreement for the Bar Harbor, Maine, company to build a $1.1 billion personalized-medicine laboratory at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie LLP has hired a trio of public finance attorneys who will work out of the firm's Chicago office to help expand its health care business.