Trends in the Regions

The University of Chicago's Harris School Policy Innovation Challenge is a "Shark Tank"-style competition in which eight teams took on Chicago's pension problem.

Gov. Spencer Cox wrapped up action on hundreds of bills passed by lawmakers, including measures to boost or limit bond issuance and potentially put some outstanding debt at risk.

"What we're doing is just being prudent managing the risk," said Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens.

The Washington refunding deal is built on an extraordinary optional redemption of Build America Bonds despite criticism from investors who hold them.

This spring brings a bevy of school referendums in the Midwest. With inflation and property tax fatigue, voters may be increasingly reluctant to say yes.

Laws banning banks from underwriting municipal bond deals because of their fossil fuel or firearm policies dramatically boosted underwriting spreads, a business group's study said.

The state Supreme Court ruled that prevailing wage rules for public projects don't apply to private entities that borrow using tax-exempt conduit bonds.

Gov. Tina Kotek sent a letter to transportation commissioners asking them to scrap a tolling plan for Portland-area highways that was seven years in the making.

Since Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in 2019, Florida has paid down $5.3 billion of state debt, or about 25% of the Sunshine State's total debt.

Rural hospitals and clinics are closing in Wisconsin while Democratic Gov. Tony Evers battles the state's Republican legislature over Medicaid expansion.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said her public-private sector plan to build a strategic water supply will remain a top priority after a bill for financing failed to advance in the legislature.

One investor is offloading the debt, while another sees an opportunity.

The state's February general revenue collections came in $30.62 million below official estimates. but total collections for fiscal 2024 are $428.1 million ahead of forecasts.

The North Dakota Housing Finance Agency recently priced $189 million of bonds for its home mortgage finance program, a sector in which issuance has increased.

State lawmakers last week passed bills including stadium financing to boost efforts to lure professional baseball and hockey teams to Salt Lake City.

Boston is more dependent on property taxes from commercial real estate, and property taxes in general, than most of its large-city peers.

Washington state lawmakers approved a $14.6 billion two-year transportation budget, a $1 billion increase.

Six financial institutions may be placed on West Virginia's restricted list if they are found "boycott" the fossil fuel industry, Riley Moore said.

Some public colleges in the Midwest are facing budgetary squeezes paired with programming directives from state legislators, a departure from trends elsewhere.

The nearly $5 billion I-35 expansion has sparked a lawsuit from residents saying it would exacerbate the interstate's historic role as a racial dividing line.