Washington DC

A sweeping bank regulatory bill under debate in the Senate is very close to achieving something the muni market has been fighting for since 2014: the inclusion of municipal bonds as high-quality liquid assets.

NABL favors shortening to seven from 14 days the advance notice requirement for a public hearing about the issuance of PABs.

The $1 trillion infrastructure plan unveiled by Senate Democrats would be paid for by a rollback of some of the recently enacted Republican tax law provisions.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confirmed a report that President Trump lobbied House Speaker Paul Ryan against putting any funding for the project in an omnibus spending bill.

The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of four senators weigh in on the states' ability to collect online sales taxes in friend-of-the-court briefs filed with the Supreme Court.

Analysts have noticed a definite hesitance of issuers to talk to them one-on-one and blame the MSRB's market advisory warning issuers against revealing material information to select investors.

The Securities Exchange Commission and the former town attorney for Oyster Bay, N.Y. have agreed to a proposed settlement of SEC charges.

Bipartisan bills pending in the House and Senate would allow private activity bonds to be used for state and local government buildings.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said career employees within her department calculated only a 5% local funding commitment because the two states are relying on federal loan guarantees.

Groups representing both dealer and non-dealer muni advisors are opposed to the MSRB's new rule and rule changes on advertising because they are too dissimilar from FINRA's rules and could be confusing.

The 29% tax exposure rate is up for a readjustment because the new tax bill slashed the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35% and also lowered individual tax rates.

Rosselló is seeking assistance from Congressional leaders as Puerto Rico struggles to get on its feet financially five months after Hurricane Maria.

South Dakota, which has no state income tax and relies on sales and use taxes for much of its revenue, will make its oral arguments to the high court on April 17.

Justice Elena Kagan said a ruling in favor of Janus would overturn laws in 23 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and invalidate thousands of municipal contracts covering millions of public employees invalid.

There is no consensus on the content or how to pay for it in an election year where nothing is expected to get done after the summer and everything will be very politically sensitive.

John Cross, the Treasury Department's associate tax legislative counsel, said the existing tax rules are clear on advance refundings of taxable debt.

The plan would expand flexibility and broaden the uses of tax-exempt private activity bonds.

As bond lawyers meeting in Phoenix discussed current topics in securities law and enforcement on Thursday, one theme that emerged was the importance of a smart response to SEC inquiries.

While there are aspects to the proposal that a municipal professional may admire, it’s not inherently obvious that the shift to a 20/80 split between federal and local funding will produce results.

The administration would cut funds for the Water Infrastructure and Finance Innovation Act program.