Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York; Gas Tax; Joint Criteria; Note

S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), N.Y.'s approximately $750 million series 2019A dedicated tax fund (DTF) bond anticipation notes (BANs). At the same time, we affirmed our 'AA' long-term and underlying ratings on the MTA's outstanding DTF bonds. The outlook is stable. We also affirmed our 'AAA/A-1+' rating on the series 2008A-1 DTF variable-rate refunding bonds based on a joint support with a letter of credit (LOC; for more information on this series, please refer to our analysis, published June 13, 2017, on RatingsDirect) and affirmed our 'AA+/A-1' rating on the series 2002B-1 DTF variable-rate bonds based on a joint support with a LOC (for more information on this series, please refer

...themselves specifically pledged for debt service, only the amounts that New York State annually appropriates from them to the MTA. MTA transit and commuter program operations require operating subsidies; however, dedicated tax revenues appropriated by the state to the MTTF and MMTOAF are used to fund debt service in the first instance, before payment of MTA operational expenses. The MTA is prohibited from voluntarily filing a petition for bankruptcy under New York statutes and the state has covenanted not to change the law while the MTA bonds are outstanding. MTTF taxes include a petroleum business tax, a motor fuel tax, and motor vehicle fees. MMTOAF taxes include a petroleum business tax, district sales taxes, and franchise taxes and fees. A separate MTA payroll mobility tax is not pledged to the long-term bonds. We rate the bonds based on our ratings linked to an obligor's creditworthiness and our "Priority-Lien" criteria which take into account both the strength and stability of the...

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