NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 3, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA+' rating, and stable outlook, to the Arizona Transportation Board's $370 million series 2007 transportation excise tax revenue bonds (Maricopa County Regional Area Road Fund). This is the first issuance under a new master bond resolution secured by a new voter-approved sales tax for road improvement purposes within Maricopa County. The rating reflects the board's very large, diverse, and growing economic base covering Maricopa County ('AAA' issuer credit rating), which generates the pledged sales tax; high 8.4x coverage of future maximum annual debt service (MADS) after this issuance; expected large additional debt issuance that will somewhat dilute coverage, but to still-strong levels; and a strong 2x
