Far West

WASHINGTON — Congress is expected as early as this week to take up a $446.8 billion appropriations act for fiscal 2010 that would provide more high-speed rail funds than the Obama administration had requested, along with highway and other transportation infrastructure funds and bond-related community development block grants.

SAN FRANCISCO — California education officials are planning to seek legislation to address legal concerns over the way the state divvied up its allocation for the qualified school construction bond program.

WASHINGTON — Municipal issuers will sell an estimated $450.5 billion of long- and short-term tax-exempt debt in 2010, a 7.9% rise over the $417.5 billion estimated for 2009, while the number of taxable Build America Bonds issued in 2010 could be 50% more than this year’s total, according to a survey of broker-dealers last month compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The House yesterday approved by a vote of 241 to 181 legislation that extends a number of expiring bond-related and other tax provisions, but it is unclear when or whether the Senate will approve similar legislation.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that it has settled its civil litigation against Robert Bradbury, the former chairman and chief executive officer of the now defunct underwriting firm Dolphin & Bradbury Inc., and barred him from the securities markets.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Santa Clara City Council yesterday approved an environmental impact report for a new $937 million football stadium for the San Francisco 49ers, clearing the way for a ballot measure on the partially bond-financed project.

WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee members and their colleagues have drafted almost 250 amendments that they would like to see added to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, including one that would prohibit state and local governments and public pension funds from entering into swaps.

WASHINGTON — Several small local housing finance agencies will not be participating in the new-issue bond purchase program recently rolled out by the Treasury Department. Instead, they have opted to return their allocations because high fees and the Treasury’s refusal to allow escrowed bonds to be sold at a premium make it economically infeasible for them to do the transactions.

President Obama’s announcement yesterday of his administration’s job-creation plan added momentum to the push by municipal market participants for any forthcoming jobs bill to include infrastructure spending and aid to states.

WASHINGTON — New York Liberty Bond issuers — including the Liberty Development Corp., which planned to sell $2.59 billion of the bonds this month to beat the current deadline — would have another year to put together deals under legislation introduced yesterday by the top tax writer in the House.