Washington DC

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva last month introduced a bill to amend the 2016 Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act.

The National League of Cities estimates only $8.8 billion of the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund had gone to municipalities and counties under 500,000 population as of June 10.

Municipalities have been counting on another round of stimulus from the federal government.

A water advocacy group asked policymakers to create a muni bond short-note program specifically for water utilities.

If additional federal aid is not approved in July, one NLC official predicts there will be “a cratering of local budgets.”

Municipalities are making draws on reserves as revenues fall due to the pandemic.

Despite changes made to the Fed's Municipal Liquidity Facility, lawmakers say smaller communities in populous states are left out.

PABs represented 25.4% of all tax-exempt bonds issued in 2017, up from 21.5% in 2016.

A sticking point for dealers is the MSRB's proposal to reserve two seats on its board for municipal advisors.

States that are projecting fiscal 2021 revenue declines of more than 15% include California, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Vermont.

The MSRB is seeking to reduce the size of its board to 15 members and to extend the "cooling off" period for bankers and muni advisors seeking seats as members of the public.

The SEC has asked for more timely, voluntary disclosure from issuers of municipal bonds.

Lawmakers stressed the importance to invest in infrastructure as a way for the country to recover from the pandemic.

Public pension plans already received their 2020 funding by the time that the initial economic shock wave of the pandemic occurred.

Public finance groups expressed hope the bill’s introduction will pave the way for consideration of municipal bond provisions.

All U.S. states will be able to have at least two cities or counties eligible to directly issue notes to the Municipal Liquidity Facility program regardless of population.

Illinois did not use its maximum amount of notes in the Fed program which could mean a possible expansion of eligibility for the muni program.

The monthly drop collectively topped $60 billion.

State and local governments have increasingly filed COVID-19-related disclosures to the market, but only about 931 issuers out of roughly 40,000 have filed over 1,500 material event notices and continuing disclosures since the pandemic began.

Greater pre-trade transparency has been a long-standing Securities and Exchange Commission goal.