52% Approve of Governor's Approach to State's Finances
CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- After a decade of heavy investment in school infrastructure, California and the state's voters should turn their attention to improving its roads and bridges, according to a survey of municipal finance experts in the state. The electronic survey polled the audience at The Bond Buyer's 15th Annual California Public Finance Conference. It was co-sponsored by bond insurer MBIA Insurance Corporation and The Bond Buyer, SourceMedia's daily newspaper of municipal finance.
45% of those polled identified roads and bridges as the state's top investment priority, and an additional 19% prioritized mass transit. Outside the transportation sector, 19% of the respondents said additional school investments should be the state's top priority.
Additional investments in roads and bridges would mark a significant departure for the state's capital-financing priorities. A database of bond elections maintained by The Bond Buyer shows that Golden State voters approved more than $93 billion of bonds for education purposes between 1998 and 2005, compared with just $58.5 billion for all other purposes combined. Only $2.2 billion of transportation bond elections were approved during the period.
"California voters in recent years have recognized the need to invest in public schools, but at the same time, the survey demonstrates the pressing need to improve and expand the state's transportation network," said Jason Kissane, the head of MBIA's West Coast regional office in San Francisco. "Highway capacity has not kept pace with the state's rapid population growth. Without new investment, the state's economy and quality of life will suffer. This bodes well for future bond volume in this sector." SCHWARZENEGGER WINS APPROVAL In other notable results from the survey, 52% of the audience, made up of close observers of the financial condition of the state and its local governments, said they approved of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approach to the state's finances, but only 38% said they would definitely support him for re-election in 2006. 34% said they would support the Democratic nominee, while 28% said they were undecided.
"Governor Schwarzenegger was elected in a time of severe fiscal stress, and he won voter support for a bond and budget package that helped ease the crisis," said Amy Resnick, editor-in-chief of The Bond Buyer. "But given the risks that the state economy may cool in the future, Schwarzenegger still has to prove himself for the long term." About MBIA Inc.
MBIA Inc. (NYSE:MBI), through its subsidiaries, is a leading financial guarantor and provider of specialized financial services. MBIA's innovative and cost-effective products and services meet the credit enhancement, financial and investment needs of its public and private sector clients, domestically and internationally. MBIA Inc.'s principal operating subsidiary, MBIA Insurance Corporation, has a financial strength rating of Triple-A from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, Fitch Ratings, and Rating and Investment Information, Inc. MBIA has offices in London, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo. Please visit MBIA's Web site at http://www.mbia.com/.
About The Bond Buyer and SourceMedia, Inc.
The Bond Buyer, http://www.bondbuyer.com/, a SourceMedia Publication, is the only daily newspaper committed to serving the municipal bond industry. With reporters based in seven regional offices throughout the country, The Bond Buyer provides complete market coverage, concise commentary, a new-issue calendar, in-depth statistical data and much more.
SourceMedia is a leading provider of market information, including news, analysis, and insight to the financial services and related industries such as accounting and technology, through its publications, industry-standard data applications, seminars and conferences. In addition to The Bond Buyer, its flagship publications, including American Banker, National Mortgage News, and Accounting Today, have helped build SourceMedia's reputation as the pre-eminent information source in its respective markets. More than 750,000 clients use SourceMedia's publications, databases, and work solutions worldwide. DATASOURCE: The Bond Buyer; SourceMedia, Inc.; MBIA Inc.
CONTACT: Anne O'Brien of SourceMedia, +1-212-803-8280, or ; or Michael Ballinger of MBIA, +1-914-765-3893, or Web site: http://www.bondbuyer.com/ http://www.mbia.com/
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