Far West

Action by the Idaho Legislature during the 2012 session made 48 auditing and tax collector positions permanent and made state tax laws more stringent, a local newspaper reported.

Los Angeles County plans to market $1.1 billion of tax and revenue anticipation notes on July 2.

Moody’s Investors Service last week downgraded Azusa, Calif.’s long-term issuer rating to A2 from Aa3, affecting $3.25 million of rated debt, and assigned a negative outlook.

California’s Golden State Tobacco Securitization Corp., the entity that issues bonds secured by the state government’s settlement with cigarette companies, will again have to dip into reserves come December to make interest payments.

The Golden State Warriors basketball franchise has announced plans to relocate to San Francisco in 2017, a move that will leave their current landlords in Oakland still facing bond payments on the team’s current home.

The Stockton City Council will decide next week whether to give its city manager the power to declare bankruptcy if it is unable to get enough concessions from creditors before the end of June.

Between 3% and 8% of federal money earmarked for the highway system since 2010 has gone to waste on inactive projects, according to a new GAO Report, which cites lax federal oversight and recommends a narrower role for the FHA.

Identical bills proposed by House and Senate lawmakers to provide rules of the road for taxing digital goods and services would immediately and significantly reduce state and local tax collections, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warns in a report.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has launched an online guide designed to help retail investors better understand the municipal bond market and the roles and responsibilities of muni bond brokers.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $3.19 billion of gas project revenue bonds that the Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corp. issued in 2006.