Ratings agencies: Government shutdowns not a ‘rating driver’

State Treasurer Beth Pearce testifies before the House Appropriations Committee. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger
Major credit rating agencies say that state government shutdowns in isolation don’t usually lead to bond rating downgrades, complicating a narrative that’s been coming from Vermont’s state treasurer and Democratic lawmakers for weeks.
As an impasse over property taxes now encroaches upon the July 1 deadline for a new spending package, alarm is growing over the shutd