State Debt Rating

The Justice administration says Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the state’s general obligation debt rating, citing growing structural instability between the government’s financial resources and expense liability. Revenue Secretary Dave Hardy says Moody’s downgrade from AA1 to AA2 follows similar moves last year by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s.
The Democrat has proposed fractional sales and corporate tax increases, establishing a surplus safety fund and a bond-funded highway reconstruction program to close a projected $500 million state deficit in the coming year and boost West Virginia’s economy.