More than $57 billion in bond-funded projects at the state level were approved by voters in the November mid-term elections.
That figure comes from S&P Global Market Intelligence, which notes that the bonds for such things as building schools, paving and upgrading roads, and climate resiliency, were successful in every region of the country.
That said, a significant proportion of the successful bond elections took place in the always-growing South and West. Texas bond elections, in fact, comprised $35 billion.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the new bonds will prove the equivalent of up to $90 billion in municipal debt. That figure is the highest on record since the 2012 election.
Altogether, the passage rate for all the bond elections combined was around 83%.
According to an analysis published by Bloomberg, the bonds represent “more than double” the amount proposed in elections last year.
While bond elections, unlike elections with candidates, rarely end up in litigation, one measure in Salem, Oregon is proving the exception. The results of a successful $300 million infrastructure bond may be legally challenged because a paragraph explaining how the bonds would be repaid was inadvertently left off the ballot.
City officials have been vowing to take the matter to court to validate the results of the election which saw 64% of voters approving the proposal.
By Garry Boulard
