The New York State Legislature missed a March 31 deadline to pass an on-time fiscal 2021 budget while grappling with the financial toll of the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis. Budget officials said that the finalized budget might have $10 billion less in state funding to account for expected losses in tax revenues. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during the end of a press briefing early Wednesday afternoon that lawmakers have a conceptual agreement in place without giving specifics. Cuomo initially...

New Jersey is extending its 2020 fiscal year calendar by three months in an effort to fully gauge the state’s economic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. An agreement was reached Wednesday to extend the state’s deadline for a new 2021 fiscal year budget to Sept. 30 from June 30, Gov. Phil Murphy announced jointly with Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Fords. The budget deadline extenson, which was the first executed by any state in...

New York lawmakers approved a state budget Thursday with mechanisms for spending reductions throughout the year because of the economic headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The adopted $177 billion budget includes an initial $95.8 billion of state operating spending, $10 billion less than Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s January proposal. The fiscal plan enables flexibility to spend up $105.8 billion in the event of a faster economic recovery or additional federal assistance while also empowering...

New Jersey’s shutdown of nonessential businesses to fight the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a negative credit outlook for the state’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on roughly $220 million of CRDA luxury tax revenue bonds to negative from stable Friday citing closures of Atlantic City casinos that took effect March 17. Fitch also affirmed the agency’s rating at BBB-plus. “The revision of the Outlook to Negative from Stable on the 'BBB+' rating on...

Tuition revenue headwinds made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic cost Rider University an investment grade rating. Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Rider’s revenue bonds two notches Monday to Ba1 from Baa2 and assigned a negative outlook, citing persistent operating deficits during the past two years while grappling with declining enrollment. The downgrade affects $73 million of rated bonds issued through the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority. “The downgrade reflects significant...