Maryland loses coveted AAA bond rating

Maryland lost its treasured triple triple-A bond rating Wednesday when a key bond-rating agency downgraded its assessment of the state s creditworthiness to Aa The move by Moody s ends more than three decades in which Maryland held the highest bond rating from the three rating agencies Moody s Standard Poor s and Fitch Moody s had given Maryland a AAA rating every year since until Wednesday Prior to Wednesday s announcement Maryland was one of states to have the highest rating from the three major agencies Fitch Moody s and Standard Poors A triple-A rating means the state pays the lowest rates when it sells bonds to fund society projects The downgrade means the state and taxpayers could pay more in interest on that borrowed money The change publicized Wednesday could mean taxpayers will pay more in interest on the money the state borrows The next bond sale is scheduled for June The rating downgrade was not wholly unexpected A year ago Moody s reaffirmed the state s AAA rating but noted concerns in its record and lowered the state s outlook from stable to negative Among those concerns were looming structural deficits driven by programs including the Blueprint for Maryland s Future instruction reforms Gov Wes Moore D and legislative leaders this session set about taming a billion projected deficit with cuts cost shifts and billion in taxes and fees But as lawmakers were crafting a budget amid a chaotic first days of the second term of Republican President Donald Trump Moody s issued another analysis seen as a feasible harbinger of a rating downgrade That overview listed Maryland as the state at highest vulnerability for economic problems as a new federal administration set about slashing agency budgets and employment Moore Senate President Bill Ferguson D-Baltimore City and House Speaker Adrienne Jones D-Baltimore County took the rare step of meeting in person with Moody s agents in Annapolis last week to present a united front as they made the state s affair for a better rating Last month Moody s downgraded the District of Columbia from AAA to AA The firm cited impacts from federal workforce reductions as well as weakening demand for commercial real estate Besides Moody s which gave Maryland an AAA rating in Standard Poor s first rated Maryland AAA in and Fitch has given it that raking since This story will be updated figure tipContainer socContainer subscribeShortcodeContainer donateContainer display none fundamental youtubeContainer position relative padding-bottom padding-top px height overflow hidden margin-bottom px youtubeContainer iframe video-container object video-container embed position absolute top left width pivotal height margin px px vital newsroomSidebar width max-width padding px border-top solid px black background-color d d d float right margin-left px snrsInfoboxSubContainer padding px border-top solid px black background-color d d d halfwidth float right width max-width indent Container margin-left em margin-bottom em border-left solid px black padding-left em media only screen and max-width px newsroomSidebar max-width width margin-left halfwidth float none width max-width Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom a nonprofit news configuration supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a c population charity Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions editor marylandmatters org Source