Municipal Bond Market Faces New Pressure

A new federal rule could make it more expensive for governments to issue debt in a financial crisis.
BY  | APRIL 5, 2016

Selling government bonds could become more difficult during the next credit crunch, thanks to a new federal rule outlining the kind of liquid assets that banks must hold in case of an emergency.

The rule, issued Friday, greatly limits the kinds of municipal bonds that qualify in a big bank’s investment portfolio as "highly liquid" -- in other words, assets that can be sold quickly for cash. The new regulation was issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and is a modification of its previous proposal with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

There's no immediate negative effect for government issuers. But if and when the next credit crunch hits, it could become more expensive for states and localities to issue debt. That's because if fewer bonds qualify as highly liquid, there would be less market demand for them. And lower demand would mean higher interest rates for governments.

“As long as munis continue to have a good risk-adjusted return for banks, they’ll continue to invest," said Chris Mauro, who leads RBC Capital Markets’ municipal strategy team. “It’s really when you’re entering a liquidity crisis and banks are running up against their limit: Unfortunately they may liquidate some of their municipal [bonds] as a result. And they’ll use those proceeds to buy highly liquid assets.”

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A Missing Opportunity to Fix Government Finances

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Most places focus on pensions for cost-cutting. But a new study argues it would be easier for governments to reduce the collective $1 trillion they owe in retiree health care.
BY  | MARCH 31, 2016

Pension liabilities have been a high-profile issue in recent years, and they remain a major budget burden for state and local governments. States and cities have tried to rein in expenses by issuing less bond debt, and they've tried to mitigate further increases in their pension liabilities.

But a new study released Thursday says governments are missing a key opportunity to reclaim billions in annual revenue by not making severe cuts to retiree health care, commonly referred to as other post-employment benefits, or OPEB.

“There continues to be a lot of emphasis on pensions, and rightly so,” said Stephen Eide, a co-author of the report produced by the Manhattan Institute. “But we wrote this report to say it might make more sense to focus more on OPEB reform than pensions -- the simple reason being, legally speaking, you’re more likely to get further in bringing down OPEB costs than pension costs.”

In other words, states have more flexibility in restructuring retiree health-care benefits, and doing so could save hundreds of billions of dollars.

Eide and co-author Daniel DiSalvo argue that retiree health-care costs are just as big a culprit for crowding out other government priorities as pension costs have been, although the latter has received much more of the blame.

As Pension Prospects Worsen, Kentucky Lawmakers Spar Over Worst-Funded Plan

Nowhere are the problems with pension funding more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost millions because of the stock market. Lawmakers are now debating how to recover.
BY  | MARCH 29, 2016

Amid new predictions that public pensions are facing another downturn, at least one pension plan may be heading toward life support.

Since several plans' fiscal year started last July, the stock market has been extremely volatile. As a result, Moody’s Investors Service predicts pension plans are likely to report 10 to 50 percent increases in liabilities when they close out their 2016 fiscal years on June 30.

The bad forecast comes just after most plans reported meager investment returns in fiscal 2015. The two-year hit, warned Moody’s, will effectively wipe out the funding progress that many plans made in 2013 and 2014.

The situation could force governments to put in more money over the next few years than was previously forecast. That notion, in turn, could trigger lawmakers to discuss other solutions for funding pensions or ways to control future pension costs.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost nearly $53 million in investments during the last six months of 2015 because of the stock market dip and lawmakers are now debating how to recover.

For years, lawmakers have shorted the state's annual payment into the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS). That's played a big part in turning the state employee plan into the worst-funded among the 50 states. As of last summer, it reported holding just 19 percent of the assets it needs to meet nearly $12.4 billion in total liabilities.

As Pension Prospects Worsen, Kentucky Lawmakers Spar Over Worst-Funded Plan

Nowhere are the problems with pension funding more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost millions because of the stock market. Lawmakers are now debating how to recover.
BY  | MARCH 29, 2016

Amid new predictions that public pensions are facing another downturn, at least one pension plan may be heading toward life support.

Since several plans' fiscal year started last July, the stock market has been extremely volatile. As a result, Moody’s Investors Service predicts pension plans are likely to report 10 to 50 percent increases in liabilities when they close out their 2016 fiscal years on June 30.

The bad forecast comes just after most plans reported meager investment returns in fiscal 2015. The two-year hit, warned Moody’s, will effectively wipe out the funding progress that many plans made in 2013 and 2014.

The situation could force governments to put in more money over the next few years than was previously forecast. That notion, in turn, could trigger lawmakers to discuss other solutions for funding pensions or ways to control future pension costs.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Kentucky, where the state lost nearly $53 million in investments during the last six months of 2015 because of the stock market dip and lawmakers are now debating how to recover.

For years, lawmakers have shorted the state's annual payment into the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS). That's played a big part in turning the state employee plan into the worst-funded among the 50 states. As of last summer, it reported holding just 19 percent of the assets it needs to meet nearly $12.4 billion in total liabilities.

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Chicago’s Shockingly Bad Finances

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You’ve probably read about the Windy City’s money problems. But chances are they're worse than you thought, and a recent ruling didn't help.
BY  | MARCH 25, 2016

You’ve probably read headlines about the Windy City’s financial woes. About how Chicago’s years of borrowing to pay for its operations has finally caught up to it. About how inadequate funding of its pensions has saddled it with huge annual payments.

But unless you’ve been paying close attention, chances are Chicago is worse off than you think.

The numbers are staggering. The city has about $34 billion in outstanding debt, with roughly $20 billion of that coming from its five pension plans. That’s compared with a little more than $9 billion total annual budget. The teachers’ retirement fund is short about $9.6 billion and owes an additional $6 billion to bondholders. The outstanding bonds alone exceed the system’s annual $5.8 billion budget. Overall, Chicago Public Schools has struggled to sell enough bond debt to get through the current year, and the system is even facing a possible state takeover. Both the city and the school system’s credit ratings have been downgraded to junk status.

A New Twist on ‘Pay for Success’ Programs

A variation on the existing model would provide a money back guarantee should a project fail.
BY  | MARCH 24, 2016

This year has already seen a flurry of activity when it comes to governments and the private sector partnering on social programs. Fewer than three months into 2016 and three governments have announced so-called pay for success or social impact bond projects, boosting the total number of such programs to 11 across the country.

Now, there may be a new option for governments interested in the model, but wary of its complicated nature. Under a pay for success or social impact bond program, private funders finance a preventive social or health program and only get paid back if the project meets its goals over the course of a predetermined set of years. The new model, announced by Third Sector Capital Partners on Thursday, offers a money back guarantee.

With a “social impact guarantee” or SIG project, governments front the money (instead of a private investor) and get paid back if the project doesn’t meet its goals. Specifics are sparse, but Third Sector co-founder George Overholser says he's currently working with two states on creating the country’s first SIG projects and hopes to announce them by the end of this year.

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The Week in Public Finance: Court Strikes Down Chicago Pension Reforms, Pennsylvania Ends Budget Standoff and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MARCH 24, 2016

What Will Chicago Do Now?

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unconstitutional Chicago’s attempt to reduce its massive pension liabilities.

The decision, which affirms lower court rulings, doesn't come as a big surprise given that the state's highest court issued a similar ruling 10 months ago regarding Illinois’ proposed pension cuts. Still, it’s a blow to Chicago and its mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who had hoped the cuts would save the city hundreds of millions of dollars. Chicago is short $20 billion across five pension plans (including public schools), and the poor financial health of the retirement system has resulted in downgrades from credit ratings agencies.

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The Week in Public Finance: Good and Bad News for Pensions and for Atlantic City

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MARCH 18, 2016

Pension Plan Peril

The stock market has been kind to pension plans in recent years. But that ended last year: Pension plan returns for fiscal 2015, which mostly closed on June 30, were meager. Many were below 5 percent, lower than their target rate of 7 or 8 percent. To make matters worse, that was before the stock market turmoil that began late last summer, which means that when most pensions close out fiscal 2016 at the end of June, their returns will again fall short.

The two-year hit will effectively wipe out the funding improvements seen in 2013 and 2014, predicts Moody’s Investors Service. In a report released Thursday, the agency analyzed 56 state and local government pension plans with total assets of more than $2 trillion. The report says that under the most optimistic scenario, where investment returns average 5 percent for the year, plans’ overall liabilities will still increase by 10 percent. This is because returns are falling short.

The most pessimistic scenario? That plans report an investment loss of 10 percent. In those cases, Moody’s says that could bump up liabilities by more than half, forcing governments to have to put in more money over the next few years than was previously forecast. With a number of governments already balking at their pension costs, that’s going to be a problem. A little over half of the plans Moody’s sampled already aren’t receiving their full payments from their contributing governments.

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The Week in Public Finance: Pension Buyouts, a New Way to Pay for Family Leave and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MARCH 11, 2016

San Jose’s Never-Ending Pension Battle

A former San Jose, Calif., councilman who was instrumental in convincing voters to approve pension changes in that city four years ago is now filing papers in court to protect his legislation.

Pete Constant, who's now a senior fellow with the libertarian-leaning Reason Foundation, is challenging San Jose officials’ request pending before a judge to strike down Measure B. City officials are now in talks with unions to abandon it in favor of other changes they're negotiating that wouldn't require voter approval.

By doing so, Constant said in a press release Wednesday, the city will “abandon its obligation to defend Measure B and is poised to sell-out the voters.”

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Q&A With Gov. Bill Walker on Fixing Alaska’s Finances

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The former businessman talks about betting his political career on fixing the Last Frontier’s finances.
BY  | MARCH 10, 2016

Alaska Gov. Jay Hammond and others knew all the way back in the ‘70s the dangers of relying financially on a finite resource. So when oil money began flowing into state coffers, Hammond and the legislature created in 1976 the Permanent Fund, which gets a share of the state’s oil revenues every year. The fund was seen as a source of income for when the oil ran out. Lawmakers can’t touch the initial investments -- just the earnings, which get divvied up and distributed annually to every resident who receives about $2,000.

“You have to remove the money,” Hammond said in 1980. “Put it behind a rope where you cannot utilize it for flamboyant expenditures.

Today Alaska still relies on oil revenues to fund most of its day-to-day operations, but nearly two years ago, oil prices began steadily declining. Since then, the state has withdrawn more than $6 billion from its substantial reserves and cut $1 billion in spending to close budget gaps. Last week, Moody’s Investors Service became the second ratings agency this year to strip Alaska of its AAA rating.

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The Week in Public Finance: School Shutdowns, Trading Munis and Small Business Lending

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | MARCH 4, 2016

Education Opens Closes Doors

One of states' top spending items is education. When lawmakers can’t agree on a budget -- or they decide to make severe cuts -- higher education often gets hurt. Sometimes, even K-12 spending takes a hit. In Illinois and Pennsylvania, ongoing stalemates over the current fiscal year’s budget may lead to school closures. In Louisiana, potential major cuts have students protesting.

Let’s start in Illinois, where three state universities have taken severe hits. Last Friday, Chicago State University sent layoff notices to all 900 of its employees. The school is making plans to end its semester early unless the state makes good on funding promises. That alarming news came after Western Illinois University announced it would cut $20 million from its budget over the next two years, while laying off 100 employees. Southern Illinois University is contemplating $40 million in cuts and has already started closing programs, such as men’s tennis and women’s golf. Most recently, Eastern Illinois University, which saw its credit rating downgraded to junk status last month, laid off nearly 200 employees, although the school president offered assurances that the university was not closing.

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Louisiana's Budget Has More Than Just an Oil Problem

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Unlike other oil-dependent states, Louisiana has deeper financial issues that began nearly a decade ago after Hurricane Katrina. The legislature is meeting in special session to deal with them.
BY  | MARCH 2, 2016

The global oil surplus is forcing some energy-dependent states to rethink their financial arrangements. Already, Alaska, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming have hit the official recession marker of sustained job loss, according to Moody’s Analytics. These and other states are slashing spending to right-size their budgets.

But in Louisiana, the financial turmoil runs deeper than fallout from the last 20 months of declining oil prices.

Last week, Moody’s Investors Service slapped Louisiana with its first credit rating downgrade in more than a decade. It’s the only energy state other than Alaska to be downgraded since the oil price slump began, yet Louisiana is far less dependent on oil than the Last Frontier. Severance taxes -- the taxes imposed on the production of oil and minerals -- made up nearly three-quarters of Alaska’s tax collections in 2014, compared to about 9 percent in Louisiana, according to an analysis by the Rockefeller Institute for Government.

Congress Creates Bipartisan Municipal Finance Caucus

The group's top priority will be preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, which President Obama wants to reduce for higher earners.
BY  | MARCH 2, 2016

State and local governments have a new bipartisan set of advocates for their interests on Capitol Hill. This week, two congressmen launched the Municipal Finance Caucus to protect the municipal bond market.

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, an Illinois Republican, and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Maryland Democrat, announced the formation of the caucus on Tuesday at the annual legislative meeting for the National Association of State Treasurers in Washington, D.C. They didn't say how many members they've recruited, but both have regularly rallied support on municipal finance issues from more than 100 of their Democratic and Republican colleagues.

“Our primary focus will be on telling the story of how important the current tax [status] of municipal finance is, and how risky, damaging and how harmful a change would be,” said Hultgren. “So we’re going to be very active, very vocal in telling these stories.”

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The Week in Public Finance: States Dare Online Retailers to Sue, a Local Government Shutdown Threat and More

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Don't Like It? Sue Me

Tired of waiting for Congress to approve a tax on Internet sales, more than a dozen states -- including Alabama, South Dakota and Utah -- are moving to pass bills or change regulations in ways that deliberately invite lawsuits from Internet retailers. The goal? Landing the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Alabama, for its part, will start enforcing an old law it says allows it to tax out-of-state sellers. The state will audit companies that don’t file returns.

“We’re confident that some remote sellers will not comply and therefore it will lead to litigation,” Alabama Deputy Revenue Commissioner Joe Garrett told The Wall Street Journal. “We have been very open about what we’re doing.”

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The Complicated Business of Evaluating Tax Incentives

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Massachusetts, like many states, uses tax credits to attract companies. But also like many states, it struggles to track the effectiveness of these programs.
BY  | FEBRUARY 25, 2016

States give out billions to businesses and corporations each year in tax breaks to keep them within their borders. But tracking how these tax incentives are spent -- and whether they even work -- has been an incredibly tricky business.

Back in 2000, Good Jobs First, which follows corporate tax subsidies, released a report that looked at 122 audits of state economic development programs in 44 states. What it found was that auditors were having trouble doing their jobs because "they are hampered by lack of data and objectives."

The climate has improved somewhat since then, says the group's president, Greg LeRoy. But it's been a long, state-by-state slog.

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The Week in Public Finance: Atlantic City’s Intervention, New Pay-for-Success Projects and Arizona's Pension Reform

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 19, 2016

Intervention in Atlantic City

Top New Jersey lawmakers have finally announced details of their plan to take over Atlantic City’s finances.The proposal was unveiled this week in a state Senate bill that gives more power to state financial overseers.

Atlantic City’s tax revenues have dropped dramatically in recent years as multiple casino closures have dried up the city’s main industry and revenue source.

"The intervention plan will enable the state and the city to work together to accomplish what Atlantic City can't do on its own," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a co-sponsor of the bill. "The city's fiscal crisis is severe and immediate. ... The state has to take a more direct role."

The bill would expand the role of the state's Local Finance Board chief so that they could not only renegotiate the struggling city's debt but also dissolve or consolidate city agencies and departments, share services with Atlantic County and sell city assets.

What the Federal Tax Code Reveals About State Revenues

States often adopt the same tax policies as the feds, but should they?
BY  | FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Late last year, Congress approved a tax relief package that extended many credits and exemptions. For the sake of consistency, states typically adopt the same credits and exemptions.

But some states choose to be more connected to the federal tax code than others, meaning they have more policy decisions to make when Congress changes its rules.

Take Maine, for example. Lawmakers there are caught in a battle over whether to adopt Congress’ extension of the so-called bonus depreciation, which lets businesses deduct half of their equipment investment in a given tax year, rather than deduct the depreciated value over a period of time. The exemption was enacted for a specific, short-term purpose: to provide an economic stimulus during the recession. But Congress has extended it on a limited basis through 2019. Gov. Paul LePage and other Republicans want the state to follow the feds through 2019, but Democrats want to limit the program and use the savings to give $23 million to schools.

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The Week in Public Finance: Contradictory Pension Reports, Brewing Pension Battles and Recession Worries

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A roundup of money (and other) news governments can use.
BY  | FEBRUARY 12, 2016

Contradictory Pension Reports

Two groups published studies this week looking at whether traditional pensions or 401(k) plans are better for teachers and came up with … exactly opposite conclusions.The University of California at Berkeley looked at the state’s teacher pension system (CalSTRS) and found that for the “vast majority” of California teachers (six out of seven), a defined-benefit pension provides more secure retirement income than a 401(k)-style plan.

The study also concluded that pensions reduce teacher turnover, “which is better for students, reduces costly and time-consuming training, and increases teacher effectiveness.” It portrayed 401(k) and cash balance plans as bad for teachers because they place more risk on the retiree as their final benefit is not defined. Such plans also decrease the incentive for early and mid-career teachers to stay on the job, the report said.

Separately, TeacherPensions.org ran an analysis of teacher pensions in Illinois. It found that traditional pensions are not a good deal for teachers because they disproportionately favor those who stick around for 30 or 35 years, “at the expense of everyone else.

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Rethinking the Game Plan for Stadium Bonds

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Is a 30-year bond realistic when the economic lives of stadiums are proving to be much shorter?
BY  | FEBRUARY 11, 2016

In the world of sports stadiums, 20 is the new 30.

Stadiums are typically financed through bonds that take 30 years to pay off. But their useful life isn't always that long.

Just take last month’s announcement that the St. Louis Rams would be decamping to Los Angeles, leaving behind its 20-something football stadium for a shiny new one. The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority is still paying off a portion of the $259 million in bonds it issued to build the Rams a new stadium when they moved from L.A. in 1995.

It's not the only issuer paying off 30-year debt for a project that didn't make it the full life of the bond. In Georgia, the Atlanta Falcons are moving to a new stadium next year even though the Georgia Dome is less than 25 years old. The San Antonio Spurs left the Alamodome in 2003, just 10 years after it was built.

Obama's Last Budget: The Breakdown for States and Localities

The president's budget outlines ambitious spending proposals in health care and infrastructure -- though their likelihood of passing is slim.
BY  | FEBRUARY 9, 2016

Every budget is about winners and losers. In that regard, President Obama’s final budget is a $4 trillion mixed bag for states and localities.

Many of his proposed initiatives would benefit urban areas, which won him praise from some but criticism from others who say such help would come at the expense of rural America.

Looking at the big picture, the proposed budget maintains the agreement reached last year that helped states and localities by lifting automatic cuts on discretionary spending, which are known as sequestration cuts. The budget also outlines ambitious spending proposals in health care and infrastructure -- two key financial pressure points for state and local governments.