Amend: Fitch Rates North Carolina $502.75MM GO Public Improvement Bonds 'AAA'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- This is a correction for a previous message. It amends AMENDS. A satisfaction, given by a wrong doer to the party injured for a wrong committed. 1 Lilly's Reg. 81. 2. By statute 24 Geo. II. c. 44, in England, and by similar statutes in some of the United States, justices of the peace, upon being notified of an the sell date of the bonds in the first paragraph. Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AAA' rating to the State of North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. $502.75 million general obligation (GO) public improvement bonds, series 2007A. The bonds now offered will sell via competitive bids on Feb. 13, 2007 and will be due March 1, 2008-2024, 2026-2027. Fitch also affirms the 'AAA' rating and Stable Outlook on approximately $6.24 billion in outstanding GO bonds. The Rating Outlook is Stable. North Carolina's GO bonds are rated 'AAA' by Fitch, reflecting the state's moderate although growing debt burden and conservative financial operations. After this issue, tax-supported debt, including highway GO bonds, will equal nearly $7.3 billion, or $820 per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. and a low to moderate 2.7% of 2005 personal income. The new bonds exhaust remaining voter-approved GO bond authority, and will be used for higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. and clean water projects. The state historically had relied on GO bonds, but the use of appropriation financing has increased since the state's first such issue in 2003, and now constitutes 13.8% of tax supported debt. Last year the general assembly authorized au·thor·ize tr.v. au·thor·ized, au·thor·iz·ing, au·thor·iz·es 1. To grant authority or power to. 2. To give permission for; sanction: $719 million of appropriations debt, bringing the total of such authorizations to $2.1 billion. The state's debt affordability process encompasses GO and appropriations debt and targets maximum debt service at 4% of general revenues. Strength in fiscal 2006 revenues enabled North Carolina to end the year with a fund balance of nearly $1.8 billion, equal to more than 10% of revenues. As a result, the state has brought its rainy day fund balance to $635 million, nearly 4% of prior year spending. The amended fiscal 2007 budget currently anticipates revenues rising to $17.5 billion, 3% higher than estimated a year earlier. Budgeted fiscal 2007 operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. have been increased 7.3%, with the bulk of growth for education. Nonetheless, the fiscal 2007 ending fund balance is expected to reach $799 million, or 4.5% of revenues. The budget included the impact of a 0.25% sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. reduction on Dec. 1, 2006, and an income tax top rate reduction to 8%, from 8.25% on Jan. 1, 2007. The reductions reflect the early statutory sunset of tax increases enacted during the recession. In addition, the budget reduced the transfer of highway funds to the general fund by $195 million, and raised the target balance of the rainy day fund to 8%, from 5%. Actual revenues for the current fiscal year through December are well over forecast, with year-to-date receipts 8.4% ahead of last year. Most of the increase is due to strong personal income tax collections to date, up 6.5% year-over-year. Meanwhile, the state's public pension system remains one of the most well funded in the nation, with funding ratios Funding ratio The ratio of a pension plan's assets to its liabilities. above 100% in each of the past five years. North Carolina's economy has returned to strength since the last recession, with rapid population growth and growing economic diversification. December 2006 employment was up 1.4% over December 2005, matching the U.S.; nonetheless, employment growth was somewhat slower than that experienced through most of 2006. The state continues to create service-related jobs, with financial activities up 3.6%, education and health up 3.4%, and professional and business services up 2.3%. Construction also is rising, up 4.1%. Manufacturing provides 13.7% of employment, compared to 10.7% nationwide, but continues to decline, dropping 2.4% in December 2006 year-over-year. Textile and apparel manufacturing constitutes much of the decline, falling 48% between 2000-2005. The sector still employs 76,000. Personal income growth has underperformed the nation in recent quarters, most recently rising 5.6% in the third quarter of 2006, compared to 6.7% nationally. Measured by personal income, North Carolina ranks 35th among the states, at 90% of the U.S. average; it is among the wealthiest states in the southeast region. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. 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