Higher education bonds

WASHINGTON - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford extended his stimulus spat with President Obama yesterday, asking him to allow the state to use $577 million of federal stimulus aid to pay down about $579 million on general obligation bonds for education.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday the inclusion in his new capital budget of $240 million of debt for University of Wisconsin projects in Milwaukee.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston would be restored to its pre-Hurricane Ike capacity of 550 patient beds under a $713 million recovery plan approved last week by UT regents.

DALLAS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Wednesday he wants to use $98.4 million of the state’s $865.7 million surplus from fiscal 2008 for 21 college construction projects.

The Portland Community College District plans to hit the market next week with a $200 million competitive issue.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s executive budget for fiscal 2010 will include $219 million in cuts for higher education, or more than 15% from appropriations for state schools in fiscal 2009.

CHICAGO - Ohio's University Hospitals Health System plans to enter the market today with $110 million of fixed-rate bonds to finance a series of major projects intended to keep the system competitive in the Cleveland area.

CHICAGO - The Illinois Finance Authority signed off on $650 million of borrowing planned by a handful of nonprofit hospitals and a college, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which plans to sell up to $475 million of fixed-rate bonds later this month.

DALLAS — A $217.5 million issue from Texas A&M University leads the way this week in the Texas municipal debt market.

An $800 million sale of general revenue bonds from the University of California Regents will kick off the activity in the primary market and will be part of an estimated $5.15 billion in total negotiated and competitive sales planned for pricing this week, according to Thomson Reuters.

DALLAS - Utah will turn to the bond market to ease its budget crunch, issuing up to $3.3 billion of debt this year for expansion of Interstate 15 under an agreement between Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislative leaders.

Massachusetts could gain roughly $4 billion in up-front payments by privatizing its lottery system and licensing three slot machine parlors, according to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill.

SAN FRANCISCO - Standard & Poor's this week revised the outlook on its A-plus rating for California State University to stable from positive.

DALLAS - The eight states of the Southwest region have already put their $30 billion share of the federal stimulus in motion, launching transportation projects, patching holes in their budgets, and restoring programs that would otherwise go begging.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York gave final approval for $375 million of tax-exempt bonds for Cornell University and preliminary approval for up to $30 million of tax-exempt bonds for a children’s hospital.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget proposes a five-year, $25 billion national infrastructure bank, a five-year $5 billion high-speed rail state grant program, $4.5 billion for community block development grants, and $3.9 billion for clean and drinking water state revolving funds.

DALLAS - Texas State University could issue $100 million of tuition revenue bonds for new construction on its rapidly developing Round Rock Higher Education Center under legislation introduced this week.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday proposed a $66.5 billion budget for fiscal 2010 that includes $2.5 billion of debt.

WASHINGTON - A panel of South Carolina lawmakers gave preliminary approval Thursday to a $5.6 billion fiscal 2010 budget that would provide almost $1 billion in new spending for education and health care providers while cutting money for local governments by 42%, a move which may halt some capital projects.

The University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh will sell long-term bonds over the next two weeks to refinance variable-rate debt and fund various projects.