Economy

WASHINGTON - The Bipartisan Policy Center released a new spending reform plan Thursday that calls for a near quadrupling of the U.S. Transportation Department's TIFIA program from a $122 million annual appropriation to $450 million.

BRADENTON, Fla. - South Miami is seeking a taxable bank loan to fund a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over impermissible uses of tax-exempt bond and bank loan proceeds to build a parking garage.

A detailed analysis of cost-saving measures for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project says at least $1.2 billion could be trimmed off the previously estimated $4.1 billion price tag.

CHICAGO - Debate was expected to began Wednesday in the Wisconsin Assembly on a new budget, one day after the state's high court reinstated Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill that raised employee pension payments and health care premiums and curbed most public unions' collective bargaining rights.

CHICAGO - While its issuance levels recently have reflected the national slowdown, the Illinois Finance Authority is seeing some pickup in health-care deal flow with four issues for nearly $800 million in the works, including $533 million for the state's largest health care system and three direct bank purchases.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has selected three consortiums to bid on a $1.5 billion replacement of the Goethals Bridge.

DALLAS - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Monday asked for consideration of an alternative, no-debt financial plan for a proposed $1.2 billion state hospital in New Orleans.

Standard & Poor’s last week lowered its rating on the Nevada Regional Medical Center into junk bond territory due to ongoing strains on the balance sheet.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard last week announced a plan to build a $15 million parking garage financed in part with proceeds from the $20 million the city received by leasing its parking meters for 50 years. The city last week announced the selection of a developer and operator of the new mixed-use parking development. The lot will have 350 spaces, retail space, and a police substation.

In the midst of a $1.9 billion renovation of its four original terminals, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport will refund $112 million of revenue bonds next week for total anticipated savings of $25 million.

The Department of Transportation is proposing high-speed rail projects be built with 100% American-made parts and equipment.

Kentucky plans to competitively sell $145.8 million of lease-revenue bonds Tuesday to complete work on a new state mental hospital. The deal precedes an estimated $362.3 million offering of lease-appropriation obligations.

The New York State Thruway Authority on Tuesday will sell $440 million of tax-exempt debt in a negotiated transaction to reimburse the state for expenses related to its multi-year highway and bridge capital program.

Connecticut is set to form a new bonding authority that will oversee six state airports, including the Bradley International Airport.

DALLAS - A proposal to scrap plans for a $1.2 billion state hospital in New Orleans in favor of a smaller, less-expensive project was outlined Thursday at a joint news conference by U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy, and House Speaker Jim Tucker.

A bill that would reduce the powers of the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority and strip it of its ability to issue bonds is headed to Gov. John Lynch.

The Massachusetts Port Authority has named chief legal counsel David Mackey as interim chief executive officer and executive director while it conducts a national search to replace Thomas Kinton, who retired June 1.

CHICAGO - Moody's Investors Service Thursday lowered its rating on Ohio-based Mercy Medical Center to its lowest investment-grade level — and revised its outlook to negative — warning that the facility is suffering from a sharp decline in its fiscal position.

DALLAS — The plan to balance Oklahoma's $6.5 billion budget with a diversion of highway tax revenues has been challenged as unconstitutional by an Oklahoma City attorney.

CHICAGO — Facing a funding crisis, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has adopted a five-year budget plan that eliminates more than 1,000 positions and shutters facilities to save $500 million for project funding as the agency recedes from the ranks of frequent issuers.