The Bond Buyer articles from May 2004

The Bond Buyer archives from May 2004

Colorado Tobacco Bond Bill Clears Senate, Barely.
May 3, 2004... A measure that would allow the state of Colorado to securitize up to $1.1 billion of tobacco settlement revenue bonds was narrowly approved Friday by the state Senate, just two days after the bill's author said she feared it might not pass. ...

The Digest.
May 3, 2004... Municipal bonds were little changed Friday but registered some improvement in spots due to rising Treasuries, which exuded a stabilizing influence on the tax-exempt market. Complete market coverage by Nicholas Chesla and Anastasija Johnson...

April Volume Lags March: $24.79 Billion Sold Through 877 Issues.
May 3, 2004... Issuance in the long-term municipal bond market slowed in April after picking up robustly in March. This week, however, the tide will turn, as the market is anticipating $7.87 billion in economic recovery bonds from California - the first...

Tobacco Firm Wants Summary Judgment; MSA Challenged.
May 3, 2004... Tobacco manufacturer Freedom Holdings Inc. on Friday filed a petition with a New York federal district court asking for a summary judgment in its lawsuit against the state that would bar the state immediately from collecting further payments...

Pataki Floats Rental Car Tax for Javits: Revenues to Back Debt for Expansion.
May 3, 2004... New York Gov. George Pataki is floating a proposal to levy a new tax on cars rented at New York City's two airports, with the revenues dedicated to bonds the state would sell to help pay for the expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention...

California ERBs Grow to $7.87B.
May 3, 2004... The size of this week's first installment of California's massive economic recovery bond sale has grown, according to the state treasurer's office. This week's sale, originally slated at approximately $7 billion of fixed-rate bonds, is now...

News In Brief: Fitch: Houston Airport Continental Bonds CCC+.
May 3, 2004... Fitch Ratings last week downgraded the rating on $323.5 million of Series 2001 Houston airport system special facilities revenue bonds for Continental Airlines Inc.'s Terminal E Project to CCC-plus from B-minus. The rating is now in line...

News In Brief: Personal Income, Spending Each Up 0.4%.
May 3, 2004... Personal income and personal consumption expenditures each increased 0.4% in March, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Personal income rose by $38.3 billion to slightly more than $9.53 trillion, after a revised 0.5% gain in February,...

News In Brief: Chicago PMI Rises To 63.9 in April.
May 3, 2004... The Chicago Purchasing Manager's Business Barometer rose to 63.9 in April from 57.6 in March, the 11th straight month of expansion as defined by a reading above 50.0, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said Friday. The data...

News In Brief: NAPM-NY BCI Gains To 282.2 in April.
May 3, 2004... The New York Business Conditions Index in the National Association of Purchasing Management-New York's Report on Business posted a monthly gain in April, the eighth straight monthly rise in the index, and reached its highest level ever. ...

News In Brief: Consumer Sentiment Rallies in Late April.
May 3, 2004... The University of Michigan's final April consumer sentiment index reading was 94.2, up from the preliminary April reading of 93.2, but down from the final March reading of 95.8, according to market sources. Economists polled by IFR...

Friday's Market: Municipals End Mostly Unchanged; Traders Await California's Big Deal.
May 3, 2004... Municipal bonds were little changed Friday but registered some improvement in spots due to rising Treasuries, which exuded a stabilizing influence on the tax-exempt market. Governments maintained a positive bid after a flurry of mixed...

S&P Downgrades Florida's JEA Ahead of $230 Million Sale.
May 3, 2004... Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded almost $3 billion of outstanding debt issued by JEA in Jacksonville, Fla., ahead of a roughly $230 million offering the municipal utility has planned for Wednesday. The senior-lien debt of JEA --...

Federal Railroad Head Allan Rutter Leaving for North Texas Tollway Authority.
May 3, 2004... Federal Railroad Administration chief Allan Rutter announced last week that he will leave his post in mid-June to become deputy executive director of the North Texas Tollway Authority. "It was a difficult decision, but ultimately it is what...

Bondholders in California Housing Default Get Day in Court.
May 3, 2004... Roddy Ranch Public Financing Authority bondholders get a day in bankruptcy court today, but they may not get very much. The Roddy Ranch bonds were among several so-called roving JPA -- or joint power authority -- bond issues sold in...

Indiana Taxpayers Want Injunction in Reassessment Case.
May 3, 2004... A group of taxpayers in steel industry-heavy Lake County, Ind., are hoping that a judge on Wednesday will issue a temporary injunction to block the collection of their 2002 taxes as they challenge the constitutionality of the state's method of...

New Hampshire Senator Tacks $333M Garvee Deal Onto Transportation Bill.
May 3, 2004... Through a bit of political wrangling, the New Hampshire Senate is trying to keep legislation authorizing the issuance of grant anticipation revenue vehicles, or Garvees, alive. A bill authorizing the issuance of Garvee bonds was introduced...

Transportation: Senate Approves Two-Month TEA-21 Extension, Averting a Shutdown.
May 3, 2004... The Senate averted a shutdown of the nation's highway and transit programs last week when it approved a two-month extension of an expiring transportation law after Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., dropped his opposition to the stopgap...

State & Local Finance: Senate, House Set to Begin Negotiations on Internet Tax Ban.
May 3, 2004... The Senate's overwhelming passage last week of a measure that would extend the moratorium on Internet access taxes and Internet-specific taxes to Nov. 1, 2007, has set the stage for negotiations with the House, which previously approved an...

The Week Ahead: Smaller Deals Getting Out of the Way of California's $7.8 Billion.
May 3, 2004... The first tranche of California's $12 billion economic recovery bond deal is poised for official pricing this week and underwriters are giving it plenty of room, as there are very few other sizable issues scheduled to compete with the mammoth...

Virginia Lawmakers Find an Extra $300M in Tax Package.
May 3, 2004... Virginia officials have upwardly revised by $300 million the revenue projections for a tax-revision package the General Assembly approved last week. Enactment of the two bills, which would freeze a scheduled repeal of the state's car tax...

Colorado Pay-to-Play Rule Wins Preliminary Approval in Senate.
May 3, 2004... The Colorado Senate on Friday unanimously approved a bill that proponents say would cut down on pay-to-play in the bond market by forcing issuers that solicit campaign contributions from bond market professionals to sell their debt issues...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
May 3, 2004... Letter F next to the issuer's name signifies the Official Notice of Sale is available on the internet! Go to www.bondbuyer.com ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING...

Competitive Note Offerings.
May 3, 2004... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, May 4 Franklin CT Bond...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
May 3, 2004... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $5 million or more. ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER FINANCIAL ADVISER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Week Of May 3 California CA...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
May 3, 2004... CALIFORNIA Upland Community Facilities District No. 2003-2 Apr 29, 2004 $42,150,000 Special Tax Bonds, Series 2003A (The Colonies at San Antonio) (book entry) $22,500,000. Dated May 13, 2004. Due Sep 1, 2007 to 2034. ...

Trends in the Region: Connecticut Will See a Budget Fight Despite Revenue Boost.
May 3, 2004... Democrats and Republicans in Connecticut agree that the state doesn't need to issue $300 million of tobacco bonds now that revenues are picking up. But they don't agree on much beyond that. Negotiations to amend the fiscal 2005 budget --...

Connecticut: Negative Trinity.
May 3, 2004... Standard & Poor's last week revised its rating outlook for Trinity College to negative from stable, citing reduced liquidity, and affirmed the AA-minus rating on the college's $122.3 million in outstanding debt, which was issued through the...

Delaware: Cash, Not Bonds.
May 3, 2004... Gov. Ruth Ann Minner on Thursday signed a bill to allocate cash from the general fund for a project that was originally expected to be fully bond financed. The bill allows the state to allocate $2.57 million to begin work immediately on...

Massachusetts: School Funding Revamp?
May 3, 2004... A decision handed down in Superior Court last week ordering officials to change the state school funding formula could put a dent in an already-strapped budget, provided Massachusetts' highest court concurs. A 1993 ruling by the Supreme...

New Jersey: Millionaire's Tax Urged.
May 3, 2004... Gov. James E. McGreevey, in a rare address to both houses of the Legislature last week, unveiled his property tax relief plan that the first-term Democrat said will benefit two million senior citizens and middle class New Jerseyans. First,...

New York: S&P Positive on Suffolk.
May 3, 2004... Standard & Poor's revised the rating outlook on Suffolk County to positive from stable and affirmed an A rating on the county's debt ahead of the sale of around $70 million in new-money bonds. The county has also selected an underwriting...

New York: Lawyers vs. Power Plant.
May 3, 2004... The New York City Bar Association has come out in opposition to a plan to sell up to $400 million in tax-exempt Liberty bonds for Astoria Energy LLC, which is building a controversial power plant in Queens. The lawyers' group issued a...

Pennsylvania: White Switches Attorneys.
May 3, 2004... Ronald A. White, a municipal bond lawyer in Philadelphia who has come under investigation in a federal probe into alleged government corruption, has hired attorney Edwin Jacobs Jr. to replace Creed Black Jr. In a brief phone interview...

BOND SALES BY STATE: January-April.
May 3, 2004... 2004 2003 State Rank Volume Rank Volume Pct Chg Alaska 47 286,200 39 493,500 -42.0 % Arizona 10 3,344,800 16 2,465,300 +35.7 Arkansas 38 462,300 42 429,400 +7.7 California 1 15,770,700 1 21,346,900 -26.1 Colorado...

LONG-TERM BONDS: April.
May 3, 2004... 2004 2003 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $24,791,900 877 $35,196,500 1,291 -29.6 % Development 264,900 26 574,200 45 -53.9 Education 6,784,000 268 9,440,400 412 -28.1 ...

LARGEST ISSUES: April 2004.
May 3, 2004... Amount Issuer Date $1,800.0 California (State), GOs Apr 23 683.0 Alameda Corridor Transp.Auth., Calif., mass transit (ref) (TAX/TE) Apr 22 628.1 Puerto Rico Highway & Transportation Authority, highways Apr 7 499.6 California...

LONG-TERM BONDS: January-April.
May 3, 2004... 2004 2003 Volume No. of Volume No. of Pct. ($000s) Issues ($000s) Issues Chg TOTAL $110,001,900 4,097 $120,809,200 4,612 -8.9 % January 20,874,100 828 27,103,200 972 -23.0 February 26,342,900 1,036...

NEW-ISSUE VOLUME NOTES.
May 3, 2004... The new-issue volume tables are based on information compiled by The Bond Buyer from Thomson Financial's data base on Friday, April 30, 2004. All figures are preliminary and subject to revision. Long-term bonds have final stated maturities...

U.S. Securities Prices.
May 3, 2004... Prices as of 3 p.m. ET. Source: GovPx Inc. Treasury Bills Yesterday's Prev. Day's Yesterday's (in percent of discount) Bid/Offer Bid/Offer Bid Yield 1M -- 5/27/2004 0.810/ 0.825/810 0.822 3M -- 7/29/2004 0.955/950...

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Yields.
May 3, 2004... Apr 30, 2004 Apr 29, 2004 May 2, 2003 Selected MIG-1/SP-1+ Notes California Raws Ser A 2s (MIG-1) (June 04) 1.25 1.15 1.63 Los Angeles Co Trans 2s (June 04) 1.05 1.10 1.03 Texas Trans 2s (Aug 04) 1.05 1.15 1.04 ...

Municipal Market Data General Obligation Yields.
May 3, 2004... Aaa Aaa (pure) (ins) Aa A Baa 2005 1.25 1.31 1.30 1.40 1.80 2009 2.94 3.06 3.04 3.25 3.66 2014 3.96 4.10 4.07 4.32 4.69 2019 4.37 4.49 4.47 4.68 5.07 2024 4.77 4.88 4.87 5.01 5.34 2029 4.89 5.00 4.99 5.13 5.45...

Market Indicators.
May 3, 2004... Dollar amounts are in millions Day's 2004 2004 Daily Yesterday Change High Date Low Date Municipal Bond Index 108-17 +10/32 116-02 (3/11) 108-07 (4/29) 40 Average Dollar Price 98.06 +0.27 105.30 (3/11) 97.79 (4/29) ...

Visible Supply.
May 3, 2004... Competitive Negotiated Total ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) Weekly Averages 4/30/04 1,427,002 10,177,043 11,604,045 4/23 1,840,271 7,801,816 9,642,087 4/16 1,681,620 5,433,287 7,114,907 4/9 1,564,333 6,173,481 7,737,814 ...

General Obligation Bond Prices for April 30, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Intermediate Long-Term Bond and Ratings (Moody's/S&P's) Dated Cpn & Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg Cpn &Maturity Yield Price Prev Chg STATES California Series 2003 (Baa1/BBB) 11/1/03 3 1/8% 11/1/09 3.58 97 3/4 99 3/8 -1 5/8 5 1/4%...

Placement Ratio.
May 3, 2004... No. Total Amt. Sales from Placement New New Accts. New Accts. Ratio Accts. ($000s) ($000s) (%) 2004 04/30 24 883,426 812,526 92.0 04/23 20 1,138,665 1,067,990 93.8 04/16 17 319,005 307,650 96.4 04/08 16 498,178...

Reoffering Yields.
May 3, 2004... NRO - Not Reoffered; S.B. - Sealed Bid; SNA - Sold, Not Available Offer Amount Date ($Mil) RECENT OFFERINGS 1 Year 5 10 15 20 25 30 Aaa -- AAA 4/28 60.1 Arlington Co., Va. 1.23 2.79 3.83 4.30 4.80....... 4/26 15.7...

New-Issue Balances.
May 3, 2004... (,000 Omitted) * Since initial reoffering + Revised upward since last report Amount Date NEW OFFERINGS Sold Balance $33,000 4/27 * Santa Rosa High Sch. Dist., Calif $23,700 $6,300 15,000 4/29 * Hilton Head Island, S.C....

Municipal Market Yields.
May 3, 2004... Values at 4/30/2004 -- Basis Point Change from 4/23/2004 Aaa Aa A Baa 2005 1.30 -09 1.46 -09 1.71 -11 2.02 -11 2009 2.88 -12 3.05 -12 3.29 -12 3.58 -12 2014 3.96 -09 4.14 -09 4.39 -10 4.69 -10 2019 4.45 -05 4.63 -05 4.88...

Municipal Bond Index Update.
May 3, 2004... The list of bonds used to calculate the Municipal Bond Index was revised after the April 30 pricing. The new coefficient is 1.0191. It was derived by dividing the April 30 index (108.527144) by the average converted price of the new set of...

Municipal Bond Prices.
May 3, 2004... These 40 Bonds are evaluated and priced daily by Standard & Poor's Securities Evaluations. All figures are rounded to the nearest eighth when reported in this table. "Change in Bid" is rounded after calculation. Dollar Change...

Municipal Bond Index.
May 3, 2004... Yesterday Previous Day Week Ago The Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 108-17 108-07 109-05 Friday, April 30, 2004 Maturity Par Call Dollar Conversion Converted Date Date Price Factor Price 1 Texas Turnpike Authority 5s...

Newark, N.J., Agency Looking to Price Hockey Deal Within a Month.
May 3, 2004... A proposed $220 million revenue bond deal to finance construction of an arena in Newark for the New Jersey Devils hockey team could be priced within a month, city officials said Friday. The deal is slated to be sold through the Newark...

N.Y.C. Sets Final GO Sale of Fourth Quarter, for $650M.
May 3, 2004... New York City said Friday that it plans to sell $650 million in long-term general obligation bonds in a three-day sale beginning next week. The sale will be the last new-money GO deal of the quarter, the city said. According to city...

The Digest.
May 4, 2004... Municipal bonds were little changed yesterday, as many participants stayed on the sidelines ahead of the institutional pricing of $7.87 billion of California economic recovery bonds Wednesday and a policy-setting Federal Reserve meeting today....

Houston Holds Off: California Prompts Week's Delay in $335M Sale.
May 4, 2004... Houston will go to market May 11 with $335.2 million of public improvement refunding bonds after postponing the deal one week to avoid California's massive $7.87 billion economic recovery bond deal, which went on sale yesterday. "It was a...

ABA Asks Maryland High Court To Allow Input in Trustee Case.
May 4, 2004... The American Bankers Association has asked Maryland's highest court for permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief opposing a lower court decision that it claims would have nationwide implications by unreasonably expanding the duties of...

Colo. Senate Passes Pay-To-Play Bill: Narrowly Approved On Third Reading.
May 4, 2004... The Colorado Senate yesterday narrowly approved a measure aimed at reducing pay-to-play in the municipal bond market by mandating competitive bond sales for issuers that solicit campaign contributions for bond and tax elections from bond market...

News In Brief: Treasury Estimates $38B 2Q Borrowing.
May 4, 2004... The Treasury Department announced yesterday that it expects to borrow $38 billion in marketable debt during the April-June 2004 quarter and to have a cash balance of $45 billion on June 30. The latest borrowing plans compare with the...

News In Brief: Construction Outlays Set Record in March.
May 4, 2004... Construction spending increased 1.5% to an all-time high in March, as both private and public construction spending reached record levels, Commerce Department figures released yesterday show. Total construction spending was estimated at...

News In Brief: ISM Index Dipped To 62.4 in April.
May 4, 2004... The overall economy expanded for the 30th straight month in April, while the manufacturing sector expanded for the 11th time in as many months, the Institute for Supply Management reported yesterday. According to the ISM's monthly report on...

News In Brief: Weekly T-Bills Go at 0.985%, 1.175%.
May 4, 2004... Tender rates for the Treasury's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher as the three-months incurred a 0.985% high rate, up from the previous auction's rate of 0.970% and as the six-months incurred a 1.175% high rate, up from the...

News In Brief: Treasury 4-Weeks To Raise $5B New Cash.
May 4, 2004... The Treasury Department said it will sell $19 billion of four-week discount bills today. The four-week, or 28-day, bills will raise $5 billion of new cash by auctioning $19 billion to refund $14 billion of maturing bills. Copyright...

Monday's Market: Munis Little Changed Ahead of $7.8 Billion of California ERBs.
May 4, 2004... Municipal bonds were little changed yesterday, as many participants stayed on the sidelines ahead of the institutional pricing of $7.87 billion of California economic recovery bonds Wednesday and a policy-setting Federal Reserve meeting today....

Chicago Watchdogs Blast Governor's Proposed Cuts to Pension Payments.
May 4, 2004... A Chicago-based civic watchdog group yesterday gave high marks to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's refusal to use a sales or income tax increase to help balance the proposed $54 billion fiscal 2005 budget, but voiced strong opposition to his...

Indianapolis Bond Bank Plans $28M For Hotel, With Moral Obligation.
May 4, 2004... The Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank plans to bring $28 million of bonds to market this month to help fund the construction of a downtown hotel in a deal that carries the city's moral obligation backing. The bond bank, which...

Colorado Senate Sends Tobacco Bond Bill to the House.
May 4, 2004... The Colorado Senate yesterday gave final approval to a plan to securitize up to 30 years of the state's share of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement -- which could yield up to $900 million of tobacco revenue bond proceeds -- sending the...

Maine GO Issuance Headed for a Decline.
May 4, 2004... General obligation borrowing in Maine will be down in 2005 regardless of which party emerges as the victor in debates over the fiscal 2005 bond package. Negotiations over Maine's borrowing will not pick up again until August since the...

Oklahoma City Shooting for Hotel Tax to Save Park.
May 4, 2004... A complete overhaul of State Fair Park in Oklahoma City is now expected to cost $200 million, nearly twice last year's estimate, as officials fear that a hotel tax to support revenue bonds for the renovations will prove inadequate. If...

Survey: States Improving, But Problems Remain.
May 4, 2004... The upswing in the nation's economy is helping to strengthen state revenues, but states have not yet fully recovered from the 2001 recession and the severe fiscal problems that accompanied it, according to a new survey of state budget...

Bush Signs Two-Month TEA-21 Extension.
May 4, 2004... Congress now has until June 30 to attempt to hammer out a final agreement on a new surface transportation law after President Bush signed legislation late Friday that extends for two months the provisions of an expiring law that governs the...

Florida Lawmakers Pass $58 Billion FY2005 Budget, With No New Taxes.
May 4, 2004... Florida legislators, before adjourning early Saturday morning, agreed to a $58 billion fiscal 2005 budget that does not raise taxes but includes more money for homeland security and a one-month, eight-cent-per-gallon tax reduction on gasoline....

LLCs Buy Almost All of $87M of Defaulted N.Y.C. Airport Debt.
May 4, 2004... The institutional investors in $87.25 million of defaulted New York City Industrial Development Authority bonds for hotels at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports have reached a deal to sell the debt. According to a notice...

Mississippi Treasurer: 'Don't Increase Debt Burden'.
May 4, 2004... As options were being considered to break an impasse over Mississippi's $3.7 billion fiscal 2005 budget, Treasurer Tate Reeves warned legislators Friday against increasing the state's debt burden and jeopardizing its double-A credit rating. A...

Competitive Bond Offerings.
May 4, 2004... Letter F next to the issuer's name signifies the Official Notice of Sale is available on the internet! Go to www.bondbuyer.com ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING...

Competitive Note Offerings.
May 4, 2004... ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT($000s) TIME OF SALE FINANCIAL ADVISER LEGAL OPINION MATURING INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH BANK-QUAL. LATEST DETAILS Tuesday, May 4 Franklin CT Bond...

Negotiated Bond Offerings.
May 4, 2004... Tentative dates for negotiated sales of $5 million or more. ISSUER ST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT ($000s) LEAD MANAGER FINANCIAL ADVISER INSURER MDY'S S&P FITCH FIRST APPEARED Week Of May 3 California CA...

Results of Negotiated Sales.
May 4, 2004... CALIFORNIA Lafayette Apr 12, 2004 $6,035,000 General Obligation Bonds, 1995 Election Series 2004 (MBIA Insured) (bank qualified) (book entry). Dated May 6, 2004. Due Jul 1, 2005 to 2025. First coupon Jul 15, 2004....

Results of Negotiated Sales.
May 4, 2004... ILLINOIS Addison (Village) May 3, 2004 $7,500,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2004 (AMBAC insured) (bank qualified) (book entry). Dated Jun 1, 2004. Due Dec 15, 2005 to 2019. Callable Dec 15, 2012 at par. ...

People: Saltzman Leaving TBMA for N.Y.C.-Based eSpeed.
May 4, 2004... Paul Saltzman, executive vice president and general counsel of The Bond Market Association, plans to leave the trade group May 14 to become chief operating officer June 1 at eSpeed, Inc., an electronic trading platform for fixed-income...

Financial Advisers: For This Firm, It's All Arkansas Schools All the Time.
May 4, 2004... Scott Beardsley, a vice president with the Little Rock-based financial advisory firm of Raney & Beardsley Inc., represents the third generation of Beardsleys that has worked with school districts in Arkansas. "My grandfather started out...

ARIZONA: Tempe's Turn for GOs.
May 4, 2004... The Phoenix suburb of Tempe will sell $19.9 million of general obligation bonds in a competitive deal Thursday to provide financing for water and sewer projects, parks, and police and fire protection projects. The bonds, with maturities...

ARKANSAS: School Reform Report.
May 4, 2004... The state Supreme Court will hear arguments on May 20 on a report outlining Arkansas' progress implementing school finance reforms. The 128-page report was issued April 12 by two "special masters" appointed by the court to oversee...

COLORADO: No Surplus for Roads.
May 4, 2004... The Colorado Senate last week rejected a November ballot proposal to allow part of future budget surpluses to be used to pay for road projects. SB 164, introduced by Sen. Dave Owen, R-Greeley, would have allowed voters to weigh in on a...