Washington DC

Natural disaster disclosure warrants 'a special focus,' NFMA's 2025 chair says.

Mesirow's George Barbar said the group's top legislative focus is preserving the municipal bond tax exemption.

As lobbying efforts happen behind the scenes in the House, the ongoing battle over the Washington, D.C., budget is attracting attention from the market and the credit rating agencies who are hedging their bets on a successful outcome.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is pressing public transit agencies to beef up their commuter safety protocols or lose federal funding while the recently passed continuing resolution raises appropriation levels for the sector by less than a half percent.

"If you're an issuer, this is fly-in season," said Jarrod Loadholt, partner at Ice Miller LLP. "Don't hope someone else is going to solve this for you — they're not."

A $1.1 billion dollar cut to the Washington, D.C., budget by way of Congressional action is on hold thanks to intensive lobbying and an intervention by the Senate as the city vows to meet its financial obligations.

The MSRB has said it is amending a pending rule change that would greatly shorten the reporting time standard for municipal bond trades, which could cause problems for certain transactions, dealer firms said.

Citibank, which holds the government funds, said it froze the money following a request from the FBI.

All of fiscal 2025 will be funded under a continuing resolution instead of the traditional appropriations package.

The Department of Transportation is signaling moves away from Biden-era infrastructure spending tied to environmental concerns and heading back to more formula funding, which is welcome news for transportation heads.

The Tax Policy Center examined which cities and states would be the most affected if Congress eliminates the tax exemption.

Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington, Louisiana and New York have the worst-performing, least cost-effective roads and bridges, according to Reason Foundation's latest report.

The U.S. Congress is considering eliminating the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds, the single most important financing tool for cities and towns across America. If they do, the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure — roads, bridges, schools, water systems, and even broadband networks — will skyrocket.

SEC probe relating to a cyberattack on a Michigan township's bond sale could involve looking into whether investors are getting an accurate picture of the issuer's credit risk, a former SEC enforcement attorney said.

The new continuing resolution passed in the House omits key language that allows Washington to implement its approved budget, which is threatening to cancel planned capital projects.

Court challenges to self-regulatory organizations may have the potential to trigger a financial crisis, a law professor warns.

The government funding measure now heads to the Senate where it needs Democratic support to pass.

The BDA met last week ahead of the House Ways and Means launching talks on what the reconciliation tax package may include.

Muni advocates are stepping up pressure on Congress to take the elimination of municipal bond tax exemption off the menu by exploring alternatives and providing numbers showing how short term gains will become long term losses.

In 2017, the BDA hired a lobbying firm as Congress wrote a tax reform bill. This time, the group opted for a strategic communications firm.