Washington

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.

Issuer officials expressed trepidation Saturday about upcoming Securities and Exchange Commission rulemaking and the prospects of SEC bringing more disclosure-based enforcement cases against them.

U.S. toll roads are maintaining high investment-grade ratings, despite the slow economic recovery, Fitch Ratings said Thursday, releasing its first annual review of the toll roads it rates.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved revisions that will tighten the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's rule on telemarketing so that it require dealers, among other things, to respect customers "do not call" requests indefinitely rather than for just five years.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., has introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow states ravaged by Hurricane Sandy to issue billions of dollars of private activity bonds outside federal and state volume caps to pay for the rebuilding of docks, commuting facilities, multi-family housing and infrastructure facilities.

A former investment banker at Goldman, Sachs, & Co. has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and be barred from the securities industry for five years for his involvement in a pay to play scheme involving a Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate.

Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., has introduced a bipartisan bill that would create an American Infrastructure Fund to provide loans and loan guarantees to state and local governments to help finance certain infrastructure projects.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged South Miami, Fla. with defrauding investors by negligently making misstatements and failing to disclose actions it took that jeopardized the tax-exempt status of $12 million of bonds.

While municipal bond market participants oppose President Obama's proposal to limit the value of tax-expenditures, including the muni bond interest exclusion, to 28%, Republican proposals would be even harsher, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said in a recent paper.

The Treasury Department has made no decision about whether to continue or halt sales of State and Local Government Series Securities when the suspension of the debt ceiling expires on May 19, but in either case would honor any subscriptions received before that date, an official said.

The National Federation of Municipal Analysts has given Washington state its Excellence in Disclosure Award.