Far West

A California lawmaker is sponsoring a bill that would help Santa Clara, Calif., circumvent the way tax revenues from its former redevelopment agency were allocated to help finance a stadium for the San Francisco 49ers football team.

California's Legislative Analyst's Office said Wednesday "hundreds of millions of dollars" of income tax revenue assumed in the state budget are at risk if Facebook shares remain down from its initial offering price.

Congress will likely take up an online sales tax bill before the end of the year, the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee told reporters after a congressional hearing Wednesday.

San Bernardino, Calif. filed Wednesday for protection under Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.

The Council of Development Finance Agencies and the Clean Energy Group have teamed up to create a partnership to help boost clean energy investment through municipal bond financing.

Washington will sell nearly $800 million of mostly refunding bonds next week as low rates continue to drive large refinancing deals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's long-awaited report on the municipal market asks Congress to give it authority to set disclosure standards for muni issuers and to provide the tools to enforce those standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the agency's long-anticipated report on the municipal securities market.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced it will begin a multi-month review of muni bond indexes with the aim of increasing transparency and educating market participants about how the they are developed and used.

The IRS has closed an audit without changing the tax-exempt status of $43.45 million of Series 2006 general obligation refunding bonds that were issued by the St. Vrain Valley, Colo., School District in April 2006.