Far West

The West Contra Costa Unified School District’s settlement of a lawsuit over parcel tax revenues is a potential credit hit for parcel tax levying school districts in California and a boost for charter school credits, Moody’s Investors Service said.

The best execution rule, which took effect this week, may solidify a market shift concentrating retail customers in a few large firms, while others seek just to keep their institutional business running smoothly, market participants said.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., this week re-introduced legislation that would bar the federal government from bailing out state and local pension systems and would require state and local governments to file annual pension plan reports with the Treasury or risk losing their ability to issue tax-exempt bonds.

Several of the Supreme Court Justices seemed sympathetic with Puerto Rico’s complaints that a federal appeals court ruling striking down its debt recovery law for its utilities leaves it “in a no man’s land” where it “is not entitled to the benefits,” but “ is subject to the burdens” of Chapter 9.

Fitch Ratings says that California school general obligation bonds meet its “high bar” to determine if the revenue backing bonds would be considered special revenues in a bankruptcy, and therefore more secure.

Sierra Club and other environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit to stop Colorado’s $1.8 billon P3 rebuild of I-70.

A Los Angeles utility rate increase aimed at reducing the city’s dependence on coal was deemed a credit positive by Moody’s Investors Service.

Californians are gearing up for election season in what may prove to be “the year of the initiative,” with two explicitly bond-related questions already qualified for the November ballot and several more of interest to public finance likely to follow.

An employee group at KNN Public Finance has bought back the California municipal advisory firm from its parent company, Zions Bank, citing the regulatory environment and its emphasis on duty of care to clients.

Some Hawaii military housing bonds received a Moody’s Investors Service upgrade ahead of a May sale.