Far West

Financial advisory firm KNN Public Finance has hired public finance banker Melissa Shick as a director to help with the growth the firm expects in new money issuance as California state and local issuers take aim at needed infrastructure improvements.

House Appropriations Committee adopted a proposal to increase highway and transit funding by $1.25 billion in 2017.

California Gov. Jerry Brown's recent executive order about state water restrictions is a credit positive for local water agencies, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

State and national transportation groups oppose Senate plan to reclaim more than $2 billion of unobligated highway funds.

California cut or delayed $1.5 billion of projects from a five-year road program as gas tax collections continue to fall.

Four port authorities and a wholesale electricity provider are warning that rules proposed by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service earlier this year could hurt their standing as political subdivisions and their ability to issue bonds as well as complicate their governing structures.

U.S. transit operators say reliable, dedicated funding is needed to resolve growing maintenance problems.

California is beginning to address some key infrastructure gaps, Wells Fargo analysts said in a report.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are digging in for a struggle over California Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget proposal, as both parties try to adjust priorities with California’s fiscal outlook apparently dimming.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a complaint against Phoenix-based Lawson Financial Corp. and the firm's president and chief executive officer, charging them with securities fraud in connection with the sale of millions of dollars of municipal revenue bonds to customers.