Economy

Amid big changes in leadership and policies, the North Texas Tollway Authority has agreed to build what could be its last major project for several years.

Moody's Investors Service cut Torrance Memorial Medical Center's long-term rating to A2 from A1 ahead of a $234 million issue planned for next month.

The Delaware River Port Authority is embarking on a series of reforms intended to professionalize the bi-state agency, which has been the subject of allegations of fiscal mismanagement, and avoid similar problems in the future.

Seattle Children's Hospital will price $118 million of fixed-rate revenue bonds today in a deal driven partly by the huge demand for tax-exempt paper.

The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority could deplete its debt-service reserve in the current fiscal year, which could result in a payment default next July, Florida Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

The Oklahoma Transportation Commission last week approved the sale of $215 million of bonds to finance the next phase of the state's eight-year highway plan. The blueprint, which includes almost $4.3 billion of road and bridge work through 2018, is updated annually.

The Kansas Department of Transportation will begin a $1.7 billion bond financing for the state's new transportation plan with today's negotiated sale of $325 million of taxable Build America Bonds.

WASHINGTON — The South Carolina Department of Transportation is challenging the Connector 2000 Association Inc.’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, delaying efforts to restructure $369 million of the agency’s toll road bonds that went into default at the beginning of the year.

Many states will have to revisit their fiscal 2011 budgets and may have to rearrange their spending plans due to gaps between what they expected and what they actually receive from a six-month extension of extra federal Medicaid funding.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Kentucky Asset/Liability Commission on Wednesday expects to price $468 million of taxable notes to refinance obligations the state owes to the Teachers’ Retirement System for medical benefits.

DALLAS — The University of Texas System has approved building an $800 million hospital at its UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas that will be financed largely through revenue bonds.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is looking for $32.5 million of federal funds to help finance added rail capacity at Boston’s South Station.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is gearing up to sell about $600 million of revenue debt on Wednesday, including taxable Build America Bonds, to help finance infrastructure needs on the state’s 535-mile toll road.

WASHINGTON — Two medical groups have asked the Internal Revenue Service to allow hospitals to be flexible when conducting the community health needs assessments required under the health care reform law.

CHICAGO — The cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools will receive about $100 million from Illinois’ share of education funding in the new $26 billion federal jobs law, local and federal officials said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Fitch Ratings this week released expanded global criteria that its analysts will use to evaluate debt secured by tolled facilities such as roads, bridges, and tunnels.

DALLAS — Louisiana is taking $403.5 million of gasoline and fuel-tax bonds to market next week as tax-exempt debt, rather than Build America Bonds, in response to investor demand.

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that it has applied for $34 million in federal funding to accelerate development of high-speed rail service between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., with additional links eventually being added to Nashville and Louisville, Ky.

A Miami-Dade County grand jury last week released a report on Jackson Health System, describing its financial problems as “a colossal mess.” No formal charges were brought by the panel.

House members Tuesday sent to President Obama a $26.1 billion measure that would extend but gradually phase out higher federal Medicaid payments to states through June 30 and provide $10 billion to local school districts to prevent layoffs.