...NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Nov. 18, 2014--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its '###' rating and stable outlook to the Arizona Transportation Board's series 2015 highway revenue refunding bonds. At the same time, Standard & Poor's affirmed its '###' rating on parity senior-lien highway revenue bonds outstanding, and its '##+' rating on subordinate-lien highway revenue bonds. The outlook on the bonds outstanding is stable. The ratings reflect what we view as: + A growing and diverse statewide economic base of 6.4 million people generating pledged transportation-related revenue; + Very strong 9.49x coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS) on senior-lien debt by historical fiscal 2014 pledged revenues, and strong 3.71x coverage on combined senior- and subordinate-lien MADS; + Coverage of subordinate-lien MADS of 3.71x by fiscal 2014 pledged revenues; + Potential for future diversions of highway tax user funds from the pledged state highway fund to the state general fund,...
