Audrey Dutton

MIAMI — Legislation authorizing a national infrastructure bank could see renewed momentum this month as the Obama administration begins to prepare its fiscal 2012 budget.

MIAMI — Two senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee, including the panel’s outgoing ranking Republican, are calling for a gradual increase of the gasoline tax by 25 cents over three years.

MIAMI — The environment of ­austerity in the federal and state capitols will have a jarring effect on funding for transportation projects, but could present an opportunity for tolling, increased public-private partnerships, or an infrastructure bank, market participants said Monday at The Bond Buyer’s 11th Annual Transportation Finance Public-Private Partnership conference.

The prospects for a comprehensive climate-change bill favored by public power utilities is presumed dead following Tuesday's election because Republicans, who will control the House in January, have opposed such measures, sources said Thursday.

Lawmakers will go back to the drawing board for a multi-year transportation bill when Republicans take over leadership of the House in January, but market participants think such a bill may have a chance of squeezing through a divided Congress next year.

The transportation market seems to be stabilizing, Fitch Ratings analysts said at a conference in New York City last week, before the agency publishes its 2011 outlooks for the sector.

WASHINGTON — The federal government opened its wallet to ports this week, giving them a larger-than-ever share of a $585 million competitive grant program.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation Wednesday formally announced the 75 state and local projects that will receive a total of $585 million for construction and planning, with Atlanta, Fort Worth, Tex., and Seattle receiving the three largest grants.

WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation is expected Wednesday to announce $600 million of grants for transit, rail, bridges, and other state and local surface projects, including at least $390 million for 28 projects in 21 states, according to members of Congress and local officials.

WASHINGTON — The first two quarters of the year showed gains in state tax revenues, thanks mostly to legislated tax increases, but total collections still linger below 2008 levels, the Rockefeller Institute of Government said Tuesday.

States have ramped up their clean-energy programs, incorporating more bonds and bond-related financing options, since 2008, according to information compiled by the National Governors Association.

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is opposing a recent Obama administration plan to invest in transportation, warning it is a year late and unacceptable because it would be paid for by ending tax loopholes for oil companies.

Transportation stakeholders are divided this week on a renewed push by President Obama for Congress to provide $50 billion of funding and the release of a report by the Treasury Department and Council of Economic Advisers that stresses the economic risk of not spending more on infrastructure.

A planned merger between Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways is expected to put more stress on U.S. airports, especially those that rely on either or both of the discount carriers for bond-related revenue, Moody's Investors Service warned in a report this week.

Despite recent warnings from some financial experts that the ongoing financial troubles of state and local governments will lead to municipal bond defaults, state credits remain much more stable than corporate credits, Moody’s Investors Service said Wednesday.

City tax revenues are following the lead of state tax revenues, showing record-breaking declines that are not expected to improve this year or next, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the National League of Cities.

WASHINGTON — The revenue picture for cities is bleak and is likely to last a couple of years, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the National League of Cities.

Residents of five states with fiscal challenges would rather lawmakers continue to cut spending or raise taxes than borrow to cover short-term budget deficits, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Pew Center on the States and the Public Policy Institute of ­California.

The House last week approved a bill that would allow state transportation departments and other tolling entities to offer discounted tolls to residents and nearby commuters, as individuals challenge the discounts in at least three lawsuits against tolling agencies.

Congress and the Obama administration would be wasting an opportunity to revive infrastructure if they set up a national infrastructure bank and its investment-selection process the same way that existing programs are structured, an economic analyst said here Friday morning.