Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'AA' underlying rating (SPUR) on Orange County, Fla.'s capital improvement revenue bonds. The outlook is stable. The rating reflects our view of the county's: Strong coverage of maximum annual debt service (MADS) based on pledged revenues; Economic area that, though experiencing some weakness related to the national and state recessions, still benefits from its role as a premier domestic and international tourist destination; Legal provisions that include a 1.35x additional bonds test based on pledged revenues; and Relatively rapid amortization and lack of additional debt plans. We believe the weakened sales tax base, which has showed modest improvement recently, offsets the credit strengths. A pledge of 50% of the previous year's state revenue-sharing
