Industries

WASHINGTON — Congress is expected as early as this week to take up a $446.8 billion appropriations act for fiscal 2010 that would provide more high-speed rail funds than the Obama administration had requested, along with highway and other transportation infrastructure funds and bond-related community development block grants.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to offer its first public-private partnership concession earlier than planned next year with two metro Atlanta interstate highway projects estimated to cost more than $2 billion.

CHICAGO — The Illinois Finance Authority board this week advanced $400 million of health care financings, including Memorial Health System’s $150 million issue selling today, and hired a new executive director — the agency’s general counsel and deputy director, Christopher Meister.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Florida Legislature late Tuesday finished work on a bill enacting a statewide comprehensive passenger rail policy and providing funds for existing and new rail projects.

New York City has nearly selected all the projects for its $121 million allocation of Recovery Zone facility bonds, pending board approval, the conduit issuer said yesterday.

The Federal Housing Administration, insurer of nearly $20 million of North Philadelphia Health System Series 1997A bonds, will not acquire the borrower’s property and outstanding debt, as Bank of New York Mellon, trustee of the 1997 bonds, agreed to withdraw its notice of mortgage assignment to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

DALLAS — The North Tarrant Express, a $2 billion toll road project that represents one of the largest public-private partnerships in Texas, begins its financial history clinging to investment-grade ­ratings.

President Obama’s announcement yesterday of his administration’s job-creation plan added momentum to the push by municipal market participants for any forthcoming jobs bill to include infrastructure spending and aid to states.

DALLAS — Austin may be moving toward a $600 million bond election as the City Council considers ways to build a light-rail system.

Fitch Ratings this week downgraded its rating to BBB-minus from BBB-plus on the Summit County Port Authority bond fund’s outstanding $40.2 million of revenue bonds. The debt remains on negative negative at the lower rating.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn last week named Chicago-based public finance banker Maria Saldana to a four-year term on the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority board.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Florida House yesterday passed a bill adopting a statewide passenger rail policy and creating a commission to oversee existing and new rail projects.

CHICAGO — With an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service in hand, Oak Brook, Ill.-based Advocate Health Care Network enters the market beginning today with $240 million of fixed-rate bonds in a deal that cements the Chicago area’s largest health care provider’s acquisition of ­BroMenn Health System.

A $50 million cut in highway maintenance work will mean higher costs down the road for motorists, Kansas Transportation Secretary Deb Miller said last week.

House and Senate leaders may soon include a six-month extension of the current transportation law in an omnibus appropriations bill, as the Dec. 18 expiration date of the latest extension approaches, sources said Friday.

CHICAGO — Strong governance at nonprofit hospitals appears to be a leading factor in winning upgrades, according to a report released this week by Moody’s Investors Service.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York adopted new borrowing guidelines for lower-rated credits at its monthly board meeting yesterday. DASNY’s board also gave final approval to $1.43 billion of bonds, mostly on behalf of the state.

Construction of Linden Ponds, an ­Erickson Retirement Communities development in the Boston area, will resume late next year, and investors in the project’s $156 million of tax-exempt bonds will be paid, Erickson executive staff told bondholders and market participants last week in an investor call.

House transportation leaders yesterday said they will push for as much as $69 billion of infrastructure grants to states to be included in any job-creation bill that is put forward and approve an extension of the current law.

North Carolina is hoping to capitalize on the recession’s silver lining by financing highway construction with an innovative contract between the state and private contractors — a deal that could accomplish one of Gov. Beverly Perdue’s transportation goals, even though the state treasurer’s office has expressed some reservations.