Washington

NABL is urging Treasury and the IRS to provide guidance ensuring that tax-exempt private-activity bonds don’t become taxable if the issuing governments and nonprofit hospitals take steps to implement President Obama’s health care reform law.

Standard & Poor's announced Thursday evening it has upgraded the District of Columbia's general obligation bonds to AA- from A+.

One of the options presented by the Senate Finance Committee to simplify the tax code is to repeal the alternative minimum tax, which is applied to private activity bonds and increases their borrowing costs.

A U.S. Senate panel gave its stamp of approval this week to legislation that would create a federal loan and loan guarantee program for water infrastructure that could augment bond financing and public private partnerships.

Congress passed a short-term funding measure Thursday to keep the federal government operating and avoid a shutdown next week.

Four firms agreed to pay $105,000 in fines for violations of pricing, political contribution, supervisory and other rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal court in Birmingham, Ala., to set a trial date for two former JPMorgan bankers facing charges related to bankrupt Jefferson County's defaulted sewer deals.

The Joint Committee on Taxation issued a report Friday that summarizes the federal code tax provisions that affect state and local governments, including those for tax-exempt, traditional tax-credit tax, and direct-pay bonds.

Smaller banks and securities firms are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board not to shorten its current 15-minute trade reporting deadline or make changes to current trade reporting procedures.

The Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office has issued a report that examines the potential problems that can occur during the three main phases of a bond transaction and suggests how issuers can avoid them. But some lawyers attending the National Association of Bond Lawyers' 13th annual Tax and Securities Law Institute questioned whether the IRS should be writing a report that is oriented toward providing best practices rather than the tax law.

Though sequestration prevented two federal regulators from sharing their perspectives, other panelists speaking to bond lawyers in San Francisco predicted more enforcement and whistleblower activity.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is still months away from finalizing its definition of municipal advisor, but is poised to step up muni bond enforcement efforts in general, the head of the SEC's Office of Municipal Securities told bond lawyers meeting here.

The recent settlement by Illinois with the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of shoddy pension disclosure will lead to better disclosure overall and boost the credit of the entire municipal securities market, according to a report Moody's Investors Services released Friday.

The Senate Budget Committee Democrats' budget resolution for fiscal year 2014 suggests the possibility of percentage or dollar caps on tax preferences such as tax-exempt muni bond interest, pushes traditional tax-credit bonds for transportation, and proposes a $10 billion infrastructure bank to provide loans and loan guarantees for projects.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United ruling should alleviate concerns by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board that additional regulation of bond ballot campaign contributions could violate free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment, according to the National Association of Independent Public Finance Advisors.

House Republicans unveiled their fiscal 2014 budget Tuesday that would overhaul the tax code without raising new revenue, slash federally-funded high-speed rail, repeal President Obama's healthcare law, and cut domestic programs.

Mary Jo White, President Obama's nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told lawmakers Tuesday that her work representing high-profile clients as a criminal defense attorney will not create undue conflicts of interest or affect her ability effectively run the SEC.

A dozen Senate Democrats and an Independent lawmaker have re-introduced a bill that would impose a minimum 30% tax on high income tax payers who earn more than $1 million as a way to help reduce the ballooning federal deficit.

Three Standard and Poor's analysts speaking in the wake of federal sequestration cuts said that public power utilities, water and sewer entities, and the transportation sector should all remain fairly stable for the next year despite a number of pressures.