Gov. Snyder Upbeat On Michigan Bond Rating

LANSING (AP) - Gov. Rick Snyder said Tuesday that his meetings with bond rating agencies in New York should have analysts seeing Michigan in a new light, although he doesn't expect them to raise the state's ratings for at least a year.

Speaking to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview, Snyder said he was able to talk with analysts on Monday about the state's growing economy and how state government has moved away from one-time budget fixes.

"The tax reform, the budget reforms, these are big deals," Snyder said during an interview in his Lansing office. "We still have a lot to do ... (but) we've gotten a lot done."

Snyder thinks the state's rosier economic outlook - it's adding jobs in 2011 for the first time in 11 years - and the fiscal restraints imposed in the budget that starts Oct. 1 will cause Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch to reassess. A higher rating would save the state money because it would be cheaper for school districts to borrow for new buildings and for the state to borrow for new construction projects.

The governor doesn't expect his trip to have immediate results.

"The bond market is not a fast-moving market. It moves in a very measured pace - not in dog years," he said, referring to his push to move quickly on changes he said will put Michigan on a sounder financial footing. "Part of it is starting that dialogue so it starts moving back up. All of the indicators are, if we continue on a positive path we should have a good opportunity to have that happen."

Michigan still has investment-grade bond ratings from the three agencies: AA- from Fitch and S&P, and an Aa2 rating from Moody's. That's two steps from the top of Moody's scale, and three from a top AAA rating at S&P. The state lost its top AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor's in 2003.

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