Far West

ALAMEDA, Calif. — The recently adopted California budget dumps a huge problem into the lap of the next governor and Legislature, according to the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — California has picked a winning bidder for its plan to sell 11 office buildings and lease them back in a deal that will lead to the redemption or defeasance of more than $1 billion in outstanding lease-revenue debt.

WASHINGTON — Municipal market participants have many questions about new rules adopted by the Internal Revenue Service that require paid tax preparers to register with it, possibly take competency tests, and pay penalties for improper filings.

Transportation stakeholders are divided this week on a renewed push by President Obama for Congress to provide $50 billion of funding and the release of a report by the Treasury Department and Council of Economic Advisers that stresses the economic risk of not spending more on infrastructure.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has hired Karen Du Brul as an associate general counsel to work on the rulemaking and policy team as it begins to write rules for muni advisers.

DETROIT — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s executive director on Friday tried to allay some of the concerns nondealer financial advisers have about the regulatory burdens they may face under MSRB oversight.

SAN FRANCISCO — Vallejo, Calif.’s bankruptcy ordeal has served as a harsh, precedent-setting example that will keep other cities from filing despite rising fiscal pressures, officials said Friday.

SAN FRANCISCO — Now that ­California has a budget in place after a 100-day delay, finance officials in ­Sacramento are turning their attention to putting long- and short-term borrowing plans into place.

Education and information have become a more valuable tool in the municipal bond market since the meltdown of 2008, participants in The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference said Wednesday.

The panel kicking off Thursday's events at The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference focused on reforming the state's government, but neither the panelists nor those who came to hear them thought that road would be an easy one.