Economy

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.

Top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee showed support for Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden’s transportation tax-credit bond proposal Tuesday, indicating for the first time that the GOP may back the taxable bonds if they don’t add to federal spending.

SAN FRANCISCO — Southern California’s San Joaquin Hills toll road has gotten a green light from bondholders to restructure $2 billion of debt that helps avoid a default.

The Toledo-Lucas Port Authority entered into a closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to preserve the tax-exempt status for $3.5 million of 2005 bonds after the IRS found they were taxable.

The United States “effectively shrugs off infrastructure” amid escalating government deficits and cash-strapped taxpayers, according to an annual report released by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young on Monday.

DALLAS — A multibillion-dollar series of projects to reshape how travelers get to and through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport have all begun construction, with completion expected to take six years.

Medicare’s trust fund will run out of money in 2024 and Social Security’s will be exhausted in 2036, according to the annual reports of their boards of trustees released Friday.

DALLAS — The Texas House’s chief budget writer warned his colleagues Thursday that funding for state aid to public education and Medicaid could run out before the end of the next two-year budget cycle.

CHICAGO — The new federal health care law’s emphasis on high-quality, low-cost medical care could have widespread credit implications for the sector, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report last week.