Washington DC

There was friction about the integrity of the muni market during a panel discussion Thursday, but the committee agreed to move along with some disclosure recommendations.

A majority of states leverage their revolving funds to issue municipal bonds to finance local projects.

Only nine states reported making midyear budget cuts totaling $830 million this year compared to 22 states that cut $3.5 billion in 2017.

State officials say the new funds will increase the local share of funding for Gateway and improve the project's chances of getting federal funds.

Navnoor Kang, a former director at the New York State Common Retirement Fund, wants home confinement rather than prison.

The Government Finance Officers Association said Tuesday it generally supports most of the recommendations an SEC panel plans to discuss in Atlanta later this week.

The proposed rules would clarify that an institutional investor could take part in a public-private partnership for a bond-financed project without making the bonds taxable.

An advisory panel suggested modifying the fee structure for tax law violations to encourage more issuers to self-report them.

The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee's vice chairman is Elisse Walter, the former chairman and commissioner of the SEC who was most responsible for the commission's 2012 Report on the Municipal Securities Markets that suggested some of these muni reforms.

States could gain $8 billion to $33.9 billion in additional annual revenue if the high court rules in favor of South Dakota, while a loss would mean the status quo.

Two town officials also received civil penalties totaling $35,000 and were ordered to resign and be temporarily barred from employment with Ramapo, N.Y.

Senate and House Appropriations Committees appropriate more funds for certain transportation and housing programs after the president sought cuts to or elimination of the programs.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman is reportedly crafting infrastructure legislation that could be introduced as soon as this summer.

A proposal by bank and securities regulators to roll back some provisions of the Volcker Rule indicates they may be considering rethinking their previous stance on tender option bonds.

The plan would raise power costs, but analysts say municipal utilities and energy cooperatives can absorb the increases or pass them on to customers.

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility took no action on the misconduct allegation against Brad Waterman, but informed him that a record of it would be kept for 25 years and revisited if needed.

The muni industry's self regulator said issuers have found underwriters' disclosure letters to be too long, filled with boilerplate, and duplicative.

Elad Roisman's main expertise is in equities, corporate debt, mergers, market structure and derivatives.

Wells Fargo Securities and banker Peter Cannava are alleging the SEC was dishonest in crafting investors' statements and failed to turn them over to defense attorneys in the 38 Studios case.

Tax administrators will consult with governors and governors, in turn, will consult with their legislatures before responding to any of several possible rulings in the case by the high court, officials said.