Washington

Seattle public finance law firm Gottlieb Fisher PLLC, which ranked 55th nationally as bond counsel last year, has joined Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson.

Within the last month at least eight issuers indicated they will likely take advantage of its extraordinary redemption provisions to refund Build America Bonds due to reduced interest subsidy payments triggered by sequestration.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded to A1 from Aa3 the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority's $5 billion of airport revenue bonds.

Moody's Investors Service said it has revised the outlook on the Port of Seattle's outstanding revenue bonds to negative from stable.

The Internal Revenue Service's adverse ruling about the Village Center Community Development District will not impact other Village CDD bonds that Fitch rates.

Dealer groups said Tuesday that they support Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board proposed rule changes on retail order periods, but non-dealer financial advisors warn issuers can be exploited, with underwriters simply determining for them which "retail" investors can buy the bonds in offerings.

With little fanfare, the Internal Revenue Service has begun requiring issuers of tax credit bonds to file information documents five times a year, adding costs and other burdens to cash-strapped school districts and other small issuers, market sources said this week.

The Highway Trust Fund will need an additional $85 billion in U.S. general fund transfers over the next six years just to keep the program operating despite recent events that have shown that current spending is not enough, a Department of Transportation official told a Senate Panel Thursday.

Higher revenue collections have boosted the short-term outlook for states but the slow economic recovery and stubbornly high unemployment have many states worried that the fiscal improvements may be temporary.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is urging investors and dealers to examine the redemption provisions of Build America Bonds and other direct-pay bonds so they can determine if the bonds' market value could be affected by a redemption stemming from a sequestration-mandated cut in subsidy payments to the issuer.

Dealers generally like the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed rules governing sophisticated municipal market professionals, which need less protection than retail investors, but are seeking some clarifications and suggesting the rules expanded to cover small hedge funds.

The House Ways and Means Committee chairman began meeting one-on-one last week with individual committee members to get feedback on the next steps for comprehensive tax reform, but admitted there is a significant amount of work to still before passing legislation this year.

Broker-dealers charged billions of dollars in excessive markups on municipal bond trades from 2005 to 2013, according to a new study.

Moody's Investors Services is developing a guide for issuers on what to expect when they meet with rating agencies and how its rating process works.

The chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on Monday named Sens. Mark Warner and Richard Blumenthal to lead two subcommittees.

Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth has hired Dan Deshon, a 27-year bond industry veteran, to help expand its utility practice in the Far West.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking market participants to help it craft a definition of retail money market funds as part of a set of reforms that it proposed Wednesday.

In a precedent-setting decision that could have major ramifications for issuers, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled a Florida Community Development District is not a political subdivision that can issue tax-exempt bonds.

Securities and Exchange Commission members on Wednesday unanimously agreed to propose reforms for money market funds, which muni market participants greeted with mixed reaction.

Panelists at a conference here on Monday warned issuer officials to be wary of dealer contracts that might violate municipal securities rules and to make sure they are using properly registered municipal advisors.