Economy

BRADENTON, Fla. — Less than 30 days remain before an expected payment default on the bonds issued by the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority to build the tolled 3.5-mile-long Garcon Point Bridge in northern Florida.

Fitch Ratings last week revised the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority’s outlook to negative ahead of a planned refunding.

After years of delays, the $1.8 billion, 26-mile toll road known as the Wekiva Parkway is finally getting a jump-start.

DALLAS — The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, the first toll road agency of its kind in Texas, is looking for yield-hungry investors willing to take a risk on $374 million of revenue bonds at or below investment grade next week.

San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee Tuesday unveiled a proposed charter amendment to reform city employee pension and health benefits.

CHICAGO — The financial toll of the tornado that ripped through Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, killing more than 100 and destroying a local hospital, remains unknown, but Moody’s Investors Service expects the health care system’s rating will weather the impact and Missouri said it stands ready with aid.

CHICAGO — A Wisconsin judge on Thursday struck down the state’s controversial law that curtailed the collective bargaining powers of most public unions and raised pension contributions and health care premiums, concluding that lawmakers violated state open-meetings rules in their haste to pass the legislation.

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica wants to take the Northeast rail corridor away from Amtrak and privatize most of it to get true high-speed rail service — trains that can travel at 220 miles per hour.

Senate transportation committee leaders have agreed to fund the TIFIA program at $1 billion per year as part of a six-year highway and transit funding bill that they plan to introduce in two weeks.

The Louisiana House Ways and Means Committee adopted a $4.8 billion construction bill this week, but yanked the authorization for $900 million of revenue bonds for the proposed new state hospital in New Orleans.

The Illinois General Assembly recently passed legislation to establish a commission charged with recommending the best way to implement a public-private partnership to aid in financing, construction and operation of a high-speed rail system.

DALLAS — The University of Colorado Hospital Authority plans to issue $200.8 million of variable-rate revenue bonds this week for a new medical tower on its rapidly expanding Anschutz Campus in Aurora.

Oklahoma Lawmakers revived a bill authorizing a $70 million state road bond issue last week just 24 hours after the proposal was narrowly defeated.

The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority within the next three weeks will receive bids from private operators on a concession agreement for the island’s busiest toll road.

New Jersey needs to create new revenue streams to help support the state’s transportation infrastructure needs, according to a report released last week by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is looking for a new source of revenue to help pay for transportation projects.

WASHINGTON — Loudoun County, Va., is looking at the possible impact of withdrawing its funding for the Washington, D.C., Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

With health care reform and the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the industry faces increasing uncertainty over how an organization will be able to manage with less robust revenue and accelerating consolidation, according to a new study by National Public Finance Guarantee Corp.

Uncertainty about federal highway funding is causing some states to turn from Garvee bonds to alternative financings, such as toll-backed debt and public-private partnerships, but issuers should be aware of the risks involved, Fitch Ratings warned Wednesday.

Georgia in June plans to sell between $90 million and $100 million of general obligation bonds as part of the financing for a $140 million highway designed to improve truck access at the Port of Savannah.