Far West

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California’s governor-elect, Jerry Brown, has to deliver a budget proposal on Jan. 10.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is giving the market advance notice that, as of Feb. 14, it will begin requiring dealers acting as underwriters, placement agents, or remarketing agents to provide its EMMA website with certain information about the continuing disclosure agreements for new bond issues.

The House is expected Thursday to take up an $857 billion tax package that contains neither an extension of the Build America Bond program nor the increased small issuer limit for bank-qualified bonds, both of which expire Dec. 31.

Brian Thomas, chief financial officer of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will join PFM Group in January as a managing director in its Los Angeles office, the firm announced Wednesday.

Overall tax-exempt and taxable municipal bond issuance will increase to more than $502 billion next year from $435 billion this year if the Build America Bond program expires on Dec. 31, according to an annual survey conducted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined New York-based Citigroup Global Markets Inc. $400,000 for violations of securities rules involving municipal and corporate bonds.

Senate Democrats are pushing for an omnibus appropriations measure to keep the federal government and bond-related programs funded through Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2011, instead of moving forward with a continuing resolution that was approved by the House last week.

San Francisco officials are pushing ahead with a controversial plan to charge a toll to motorists entering and the exiting the city's downtown during peak hours.

A state appellate court has at least temporarily halted California's sale of 11 state-owned buildings to private investors. The deal was slated to close Wednesday, but will now be delayed until at least Dec. 29 after the appeals court granted a temporary stay.

The Internal Revenue Service appears to be escalating its audit of $15 million of school improvement bonds that were issued by Cave Creek Unified School District No. 93 of Maricopa County, Ariz., in 2006 to finance a renovation project.