Far West

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A bill designed to make it harder for California local governments and agencies to file for bankruptcy cleared a key committee Tuesday afternoon.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — With no obvious progress in sight on California’s seriously overdue budget, state financial officials announced plans to defer ­almost $3 billion in payments to schools and county governments next month.

WASHINGTON — The Regional Bond Dealers Association is in the midst of a makeover as it expands from a scrappy startup of just 14 firms into a more established industry group that continues to focus exclusively on domestic fixed-income markets.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has told the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency that if it wants to settle a bond-related tax dispute, the settlement will have to cover all $700 million of its outstanding student loan debt.

Dealers will have to submit bidding information and program documents for auction-rate securities and variable-rate demand obligations in nine months under an expansion of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s transparency system for short-term debt, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The Southern California Public Power Authority Tuesday priced $525.6 million of revenue bonds that will be used to secure power from a wind farm in Washington State.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — State treasurers voted Tuesday to urge Congress to extend the Build America Bond program at the current 35% subsidy rate, flouting those who warn lawmakers will only approve an extension at a reduced rate.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — One of the Obama administration’s priorities is to get Congress to extend the Build America Bond program and federal officials are convinced BABs will remain a “vibrant market” even if the federal subsidy rate is reduced from its current 35% level, a Treasury Department official said ­Monday.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — A financial regulatory reform law provision that would require issuers of asset-backed securities to retain at least 5% of the debt they issue is so broad that some market participants are warning the retention requirements could apply to certain municipal bond transactions.

A California Senate committee Friday voted down a bill that would have banned local agencies from hiring bond underwriters that provided campaign services for the election authorizing the debt.