- Proposals from Texas dominate list of largest ballot measures
- This year’s tally marks a decline from $66 billion in 2022
Voters on Tuesday will decide if US cities and counties can bring more than $44 billion of bonds to the market to finance building and expanding hospitals, schools and roads.
That sum is down by roughly a third from 2022 — a midterm election year, typically when more referendums are brought to ballots — as issuers sought approval of more than $66 billion of bond measures. While voters signed off on more than 80% of last year’s proposals, the latest measures come as states and cities run out of federal Covid-relief funds and voters across the country are being squeezed by rising costs.
“It seems as though economic sentiment is still bad, people really feel hurt by inflation,” said Tom Kozlik, head of public policy and municipal strategy at Hilltop Securities Inc. Though, he added “if there are schools or local governments and areas that have been experiencing growth — a lot easier for them to ask for approval as opposed to places that haven’t been.”
Bloomberg Markets
By Eniola Longe and Nic Querolo
November 6, 2023