Georgia governor's budget would substitute surplus money for bonds

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's proposed amended fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 budget includes spending some of the surplus revenue the state has taken in on capital projects rather than issuing bonds this year. Kemp’s amended fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025 state budget proposals include more than $1.8 billion for capital construction programs and maintenance. "This investment will be made without issuing a single additional dollar in general obligation debt, saving taxpayers millions in future debt service costs over the next two decades," he said.

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Cities and states dreading the implementation of machine-readable standards imposed under the Financial Data Transparency Act may end up enjoying market benefits like lower borrowing costs and elevated profiles among bond buyers who are increasingly looking for choice and customization. That's the prediction from panelists participating Wednesday in a webinar hosted by XBRL US, an organization promoting the adoption of business reporting standards. “If you can use software to analyze small issuers with very little or low touch by human beings, you're going to get a lot more competition from bigger investment shops," said Justin Land, CEO of municipal fintech platform AG Analytics LLC.

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HilltopSecurities hired six former UBS professionals as part of a wider plan to expand its public finance footprint. After UBS declared it was ending its negotiated underwriting business in October, it laid off most of its public finance staff. “We remain committed to adding professionals nationwide to our public finance business who offer a full product solution set to their clients," said Brad Winges, president of Hilltop.

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Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board member Liz Sweeney has joined the Milken Institute as a senior fellow. Sweeney will continue her duties as president of Nutshell Associates while also serving the MSRB.

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A proposed bond-financed railway project to transport crude oil in Utah lost a federal right-of-way permit in the wake of a 2023 court ruling. The U.S. Forest Service announced Wednesday it withdrew a 2022 permit allowing the Uinta Basin Railway’s construction and operation on about 12 miles of land in the Ashley National Forest. Project backers plan to seek up to $2 billion in private-activity bond authorization from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Jennifer Fredericks, a sales director at market data platform SOLVE, will lead Women in Public Finance's board of directors in 2024, the organization recently announced. The professional networking group for women working in the public finance sector is about advancing women, including helping them find jobs, putting together education and programming, and creating a mentorship program for women in the industry, Fredericks said.

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