Summary: Houston; Miscellaneous Tax

S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Houston's Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and special revenue bonds to 'A' from 'A-'. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' rating to the city's series 2019 HOT and special revenue and refunding bonds. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects the application of our "Priority-Lien Tax Revenue Debt" criteria (published Oct. 22, 2018), along with the generally stable growth in the pledged revenues, despite some notable declines in recent years due to the negative impact from weak oil prices and Hurricane Harvey. Our updated methodology incorporates not only the strength and stability of the pledged revenue stream but also the general credit quality of the

...S&P Global Ratings raised its rating on Houston's Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department hotel occupancy tax (HOT) and special revenue bonds to 'A' from 'A-'. At the same time, S&P Global Ratings assigned its 'A' rating to the city's series 2019 HOT and special revenue and refunding bonds. The outlook is stable. The upgrade reflects the application of our "Priority-Lien Tax Revenue Debt" criteria (published Oct. 22, 2018), along with the generally stable growth in the pledged revenues, despite some notable declines in recent years due to the negative impact from weak oil prices and Hurricane Harvey. Our updated methodology incorporates not only the strength and stability of the pledged revenue stream but also the general credit quality of the municipality where taxes are distributed or collected, known as the obligor's creditworthiness. In our assessment, we acknowledge that despite a somewhat permissive additional bonds test (ABT) at 1.35x maximum annual debt service (MADS),...

Summary