Far West

WASHINGTON — The two-year, $109 billion highway bill that cleared the Senate Wednesday contained several provisions that would benefit or ease restrictions on municipal bonds, but market participants think they could come to nothing if the House insists on pursuing its own bill.

Moody’s Investors Service Wednesday revised the outlook on Renown Health to stable from negative, and affirmed its A3 revenue bond rating on $556 million of debt.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board on Tuesday approved the agency’s request for up to $25 million of Clark County bonds for land purchases, according to published reports.

Officials in Downey, Calif., a city of 110,000 just southeast of downtown Los Angeles, hope that an early retirement plan will help shore up budget shortfalls they say were created by the state’s dissolution of redevelopment agencies and federal cutbacks.

Two series of pension obligation bonds totaling $47.4 million that Pasadena planned to price this week received AA-plus ratings from Fitch Ratings.

California revenues in February fell short of projections again in Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget, according to state agencies.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has reached a compromise that will leave just one tax initiative on the November ballot.

LOS ANGELES — The Honolulu Board of Water Supply priced $85.2 million of bonds Wednesday, achieving an expected net savings of $7.15 million over the life of the bonds.

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted 74 to 22 on Wednesday to approve a two-year, $109 billion highway reauthorization bill that would increase the limit for bank-qualified bonds to $30 million from $10 million.

Fourteen municipal market groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to refrain from requiring money market funds' net-asset values to float, warning such a change would hurt state and local governments and money market funds.