Far West

States and localities pay for a much larger share of transportation and water infrastructure projects than the federal government, but in recent years the total amount of money spent on these projects by all levels of government has declined significantly, according to a 62-page report issued this week by the Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON — Henry T.C. Hu, the head of a relatively new risk division at the Securities and Exchange Commission who provided analysis on municipal and other financial markets, plans to leave the SEC and return to the University of Texas early next year, the commission announced Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Vallejo City Council members are weighing a contentious budget plan as the California city struggles to emerge from Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A lawsuit filed Tuesday by opponents of California’s plans to sell 11 state office buildings for one-time revenue resulted in a one-day delay to the state’s plans to sell $12 billion of notes and bonds this week.

SAN FRANCISCO — Moody’s Investors Service Wednesday downgraded San Francisco’s general obligation rating to Aa2 from Aa1, mainly due to the city’s weak short-term finances.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed guidance for broker’s brokers would force them to go beyond the board’s existing rules, would be inconsistent with their limited roles in the market, and would impede the efficiency of the interdealer market, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned the MSRB this week.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $63.2 million of Build America Bonds that a school district in Finney County, Kan., issued in mid-2009 to finance a new high school and an addition to an elementary school, according to the district’s chief financial officer.

WASHINGTON — The ­Securities and Exchange Commission would violate the Tower Amendment and the principles of federalism if it applies its proposed rules on asset-backed securities to municipal bonds, 14 market groups warned this week.

WASHINGTON — Airport executives made one more attempt this week to convince Senate tax lawmakers to extend two popular bond-financing provisions beyond the end of this year so that airports can continue to borrow at lower rates.

WASHINGTON — A special ethics panel has found New York Rep. Charles Rangel, former Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, guilty on 11 of 13 ethics charges, the panel announced Tuesday.