Far West

A bipartisan bill offered in the House would extend the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program by providing $400 million of volume cap for the bonds in each of 2015 and 2016.

Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming are the states most "in the crosshairs" as energy revenues look to remain low well into next year, Fitch Ratings said.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ordered San Juan-based Santander Securities on Tuesday to pay $6.4 million for supervisory failures related to Puerto Rican municipal bonds.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $473.05 million of general obligation refunding bonds issued by Nevada’s Clark County School District in 2007.

Rebecca Olsen, deputy director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s office of municipal securities, has concerns about municipal advisor misconceptions she has heard about who can advise in the municipal market and who can be considered an independent registered municipal advisor.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities is weighing whether to provide legal interpretive guidance to help municipal advisors determine if they are acting as an adviser or broker-dealer when working with an issuer on a bank loan.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel warned Thursday that Congress and the Executive Branch should not hurt two federal loan programs for infrastructure: the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing programs.

Sacramento County’s slow progress in building up its reserves could spell trouble for California’s most bond-indebted county.

Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, D-P.R., has introduced a bill that would authorize the Treasury Department to guarantee future bonds issued by Puerto Rico and its authorities if it finds they have meaningfully improved the management of their finances.

Ratings analysts cited Nevada’s tax reform efforts in affirming double-A-level ratings ahead of $345 million general obligation limited tax bond sale.