Connor Hussey

The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department have a number of important updates for the muni market in 2022.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to its money market fund rules, which it has tinkered with repeatedly since the Great Recession.

Following the departure of Devin Nunes as the top Republican slated to succeed the retiring Kevin Brady on the Ways and Means Committee, several Republicans have begun campaigning for the top spot, which could hold considerable influence over the municipal bond industry if Republicans take the House in 2022.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is seeking comment on environmental, social and governance factors practices in the municipal securities market.

Following the news that Rebecca Olsen, former director of the Office of Municipal Securities has moved to deputy chief in place of Mark Zehner, the Securities and Exchange Commission has named Ernesto Lanza as acting director.

Mark Zehner has retired from his position as deputy chief of the SEC's public finance abuse unit, a position that Rebecca Olsen, former director of the Office of Municipal Securities, has taken over.

Analysts project a positive outlook for toll roads in 2022, expecting median tolled traffic and revenue growth at 2% and 4%, respectively.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a preliminary determination that bonds issued by the City of Corpus Christi, Texas, may be retroactively taxable.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an Illinois-based broker with defrauding three investors out of $800,000 by luring them into investing in nonexistent tax-exempt bonds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final judgment against John Paulsen, a broker-dealer charged with aiding and abetting a pay-to-play scheme with the New York State Common Retirement Fund.

COVID-19 stimulus and related infrastructure spending are causing state expenditures to reach a 35-year high, according to NASBO’s 2019-2021 State Expenditure Report.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s new report on the use of internal and external liquidity in the municipal bond market shows that for transactions under $100,000 external liquidity has steadily increased since 2011.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will begin accepting applications for two public and two regulated representatives to join its 15-member board.

Local governments are still processing funds from the CARES and ARPA bills.

The Build Back Better reconciliation bill would raise the SALT cap to $80,000 from $10,000, and that impact varies widely from state to state.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed over the weekend, offering munis an indirect win by providing an influx of funds to state and local authorities.

A study by the Reason Foundation attempts to solve the problem of paying both tolls and fuel taxes on the same highway and offers a blueprint for how states can allocate toll revenue.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler focused much of his comments during SIFMA’s Annual Meeting on why he considers himself to be just getting the ball rolling on climate disclosures.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board plans to request comment on its supervision rule within the next month.

The tax on unrealized capital gains would be straightforward for securities that trade frequently, but less so for less-frequently traded assets like many munis.