Far West

A state commission on Wednesday approved 5% pay raises for California's top officials and lawmakers, according to reports

The Internal Revenue Service's adverse ruling about the Village Center Community Development District will not impact other Village CDD bonds that Fitch rates.

Idaho received a MIG1 rating, the best quality short-term rating, from Moody's Investors Service, ahead of plans to price $500 million in tax anticipation notes on June 25.

Standard & Poor analysts cite state takeover and interim administrator La Tanya Kirk-Carter's four-year contract in giving Inglewood Unified School District a BBB-minus rating and improved outlook.

Dealer groups said Tuesday that they support Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed rule changes on retail order periods, but non-dealer financial advisors warn issuers can be exploited, with underwriters simply determining for them which "retail" investors can buy the bonds in offerings.

Morgan Hill is set to become one of the few municipalities in California to refinance redevelopment debt since the big shutdown last year, and it plans special tactics to entice investors to its $100 million deal.

California lawmakers passed a $96.3 billion budget bill Friday, beating a constitutional deadline by a day.

St. Joseph Health System and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, two California hospital systems that formed an affiliation, plan to price $763 million in debt on Wednesday through California Health Facilities Financing Authority.

With little fanfare, the Internal Revenue Service has begun requiring issuers of tax credit bonds to file information documents five times a year, adding costs and other burdens to cash-strapped school districts and other small issuers, market sources said this week.

The Highway Trust Fund will need an additional $85 billion in U.S. general fund transfers over the next six years just to keep the program operating despite recent events that have shown that current spending is not enough, a Department of Transportation official told a Senate Panel Thursday.