Far West

An appellate court ruling could mean increased financial pressure for cities that transfer revenue from electric utilities to general operating funds, Fitch Ratings warned in a report.

Opponents of California's High Speed Rail project filed an appeal Monday challenging a ruling that favored federal jurisdiction over California environmental regulations on a segment of the line from Fresno to Bakersfield.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx warns states of cutbacks in federal highway funding if Congress doesn't pass a transportation bill by May 31.

Two former Senators who were instrumental in tax reform in 1986 said reform should be comprehensive and presidential commitment is very helpful.

California's general fund tax revenues are coming in $1 billion to $2 billion over the already healthy projections in Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget, according to a new report from the state's Legislative Analyst's Office.

The Internal Revenue Service has announced how many qualified zone academy bonds can be issued in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories for 2014.

The suspension of the nation's debt limit expires March 15, with important implications for municipal issuers selling refunding debt during the next several weeks.

Berryessa Union School District, located in San Jose, Calif., received a ratings boost to AA-minus from A-plus on its long-term ratings and on the district's upcoming plans to issue $40 million in general obligation bonds.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the rating on Cedars Sinai Medical Center's outstanding debt to AA-minus from A-plus and revised its outlook to stable from positive affecting $1 billion in debt.

The tax exemption for general purpose state and local debt has consistently been one of the biggest corporate tax expenditures since 1975, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.