Washington DC

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.

The MSRB's annual Fact Book paints a picture of a 2017 muni market that held fairly steady despite tax reform anxiety, with no major declines or drastic shifts in trading activity or trends.

Maynard Cooper & Gale hires six from Balch & Bingham.

Market participants want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's compliance guidance to be clear and within the scope of its authority.

Third-party vendors are confident their products will help dealers comply with new markup disclosure rules, but need to integrate them to dealers' systems.

Treasury Department sales of state and local government series securities are expected to dramatically decline this month now that issuers no longer need them for tax-exempt advance refunding escrows.

The MSRB has taken the relatively rare step of asking for public comments on a draft set of frequently asked questions related to the board's primary muni advisor rule.

The Government Finance Officers Association's federal liaison center is warning some members against using interest rate swaps and derivatives.