Washington

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Municipal Securities began reporting to SEC chairman Mary Schapiro as of Sept. 24, an attorney in the muni office said Thursday.

States have been operating in fiscal year 2013 for three months already and tax growth is expected to rise in between 1% and 4.9% in nearly three-quarters of the states for the third consecutive year, according to a new report.

Fluctuating fuel prices and a reluctance to raise on customers in a down economy could put pressure on public utilities credits in the near future, analysts from the three major credit agencies warn.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments Tuesday in the case of Corr V. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, a lawsuit that strikes at MWAA's primary mechanism of repaying more than $2 billion of bond debt.

The District of Columbia will sell $700 million of general obligation notes Oct. 11, part of a flurry of borrowing activity to close the calendar year.

Muni dealers should consider advising customers that issuers of Build America Bonds may have the option to call those bonds starting Jan. 2 if budget cuts due to sequestration take effect.

Proposed rules aimed at increasing protection for retail investors who trade munis online would impose undue costs and administrative burdens on muni dealers, industry participants say.

The investment holdings of the 100 largest state and local public pension systems fell 1.5% from $2.76 trillion to $2.72 trillion in the second quarter of 2012, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey released Thursday.

The district of Columbia's quarterly capital expenditures report showed that the district spent $689.3 million on capital projects in fiscal 2012, and debt financing was down about $62 million from the same point is fiscal 2011.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is hoping to quash what they call misconceptions that tax-exemption predominantly benefits upper-income taxpayers, as outlined in an eight-page white paper the group released Monday.

Airports will suffer from American Airlines impending layoffs of more than 4,000 employees, Moody's Investors Service said Monday.

A Wenatchee, Wash. district is set to sell $49 million of bonds to clear up a $42 million default on bond anticipation notes for a sports arena.

Gary Goldsholle, vice president and association general counsel at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, has been named general counsel at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and will join the board in late October.

The House of Representatives passed a bill late Wednesday that would narrow the definition of municipal advisor and exempt a number of market participants from being subject to MA registration and other rules.

State tax collections increased by 3% for the 10th straight quarter from April to June, according to a new report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

State Treasurers Meeting in Alaska Passed a Resolution asking Moody’s for Clarification of its Plans for Changing its Methodology for Evaluating Public Pension Fund Liabilities.

Seattle City Council has reached a tentative agreement to build a $490 million NBA basketball and NHL hockey arena south of downtown.

State Treasurer Catherine Provencher will embark on a "road show" to educate local finance directors and elected officials about disclosure and methodology changes to pension liabilities approved by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.