...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) June 30, 2017--S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its '##+' rating on the State of Minnesota's general obligation debt, and its ratings on the state's standing appropriation debt, moral obligation-backed debt, and school program guaranteed debt. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications on June 15, 2017. The outlook is stable. We had placed the state on CreditWatch because of a lack of clarity about how the rental payments and debt service on the state's $80.1 million certificates of participation series 2014 (Legislative Office Facility Project) would be paid when the governor defunded the legislature's budget. However, on June 26, the Ramsey County Court issued an order based on an agreement between the Minnesota Legislature and Gov. Dayton. The court ordered continued funding for the House and Senate until Oct. 1, 2017, unless the legal dispute is resolved earlier. The order...
