Far West

WASHINGTON — Congress is unlikely to authorize the creation of a national infrastructure bank before next summer, despite its potential to spur more private investment in transportation, water, and energy projects, transportation stakeholders from the public and private sectors said yesterday.

The Southern California Public Power Authority is planning to sell next week $53 million of revenue refunding bonds to refinance short-term debt used for its purchase of the Tieton Hydropower Project in Washington for two of its member utilities.

WASHINGTON — Blank Rome LLP has hired three new attorneys for its lobbying shop who are experienced in representing sovereign and municipal governments.

WASHINGTON — California Attorney General Jerry Brown is suing mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, for effectively killing programs that allow the state’s localities to issue bonds to finance energy-efficient upgrades made by homeowners.

WASHINGTON — Municipal bond analysts worry that issuers increasingly are drawing on bond insurance to temporarily pay for debt service without disclosing the action to investors.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., has introduced legislation that would allow new clean renewable energy bonds to be used to finance qualified biogas property.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday secured the 60 votes they will need to ensure passage of the most sweeping changes to financial regulations since the Great Depression, after Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson said he would vote for a version of the bill hammered out by a House-Senate conference late last month.

WASHINGTON — State tax collections grew during the first quarter for the first time since 2008, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reported Tuesday, raising hope that the national economic recovery may finally be improving states’ fiscal fortunes.

The Treasury Department is seeking comments from tribal governments on the tribal economic development bonds authorized by the stimulus law, including whether Congress should permanently repeal the “essential governmental function” standard for all tribal bonds.

Wall Street’s largest securities dealers eased credit terms during the second quarter for hedge funds and private-equity firms that borrow against securities and trade over-the-counter derivatives, according to the results of a Federal Reserve Board survey issued Tuesday.