Far West

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. $500,000 for failing to establish and maintain written supervisory procedures to ensure that its representatives considered customers’ state income-tax benefits in their suitability analyses of 529 college saving plans.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined TD Ameritrade Inc., Scottrade Inc., and Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC $35,000 each for failing to disclose the underlying ratings of insured bonds, which it said constituted material information that customers purchasing the bonds needed to know.

SAN FRANCISCO — Los Angeles is kicking around a plan to lease city-owned garages to a public-private partnership to raise cash that could help close a budget gap and defease outstanding bonds.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Some California redevelopment agencies are already working to undermine a plan by Gov. Jerry Brown that would phase them out and use their surplus revenue to help balance the state budget.

State and local government voluntary contributions to the Governmental ­Accounting Standards Board were $1.2 million in 2009, far less than the $6.6 ­million GASB needed to meet expenses, the Government Accountability Office told Congress in a report released Tuesday.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Faced with a $30 million legal judgment after losing two rounds in court, the financial fate of the small ski resort town of Mammoth Lakes is in the hands of the California Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON — Voluntary contributions from states and localities, one of two key revenue streams for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, have dropped precipitously in recent years as localities cut back on funds.

WASHINGTON — The House Ways and Means Committee will hold the first of a series of hearings on tax reform on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s Sutter Health will sell $900 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds this month in the health care provider’s first trip to market in two years.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The battle over the future of redevelopment may be one of the most polarizing issues in what could be a landmark year in California’s long-running budget drama.