Washington

WASHINGTON — Despite an uptick in municipal bond trading during the first quarter of 2012, trading remains below levels seen in the same periods during 2010 and 2011, according to a quarterly statistics report released on Thursday by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Bond Lawyers is urging the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department to update their rules and guidance on management contracts, which are key to making sure many governmental and 501(c)(3) bonds remain tax-exempt and are not private-activity bonds.

A very public feud over the highway funding reauthorization is set to move to a more private venue, as 47 members of a conference committee prepare to hammer out a compromise on divisive issues in the House and Senate bills.

Washington will sell its first ever Garvee bonds next month as it works to raise more money to pay for a replacement floating bridge to help ease traffic in the Seattle region.

Witnesses representing public power providers who testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources Thursday expressed grave concerns that Department of Energy proposals would increase costs and fundamentally alter the public power market.

The top Democrat on a House Ways and Means Committee panel said Build America Bonds are one of his top priorities for renewal as Congress examines more than 100 of the 2011 and 2012 tax extenders.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is looking into the tax compliance of $195 million of lease revenue bonds issued by the Pima County, Ariz., Industrial Development Authority in 2008 for a nonprofit borrower that used them to finance the development of a detention facility for Clark County, Nev.

Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday a new voter-approved sales tax to support a struggling arena that has defaulted on notes is a credit positive for Wenatchee, Wash.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering scaling back its initial proposed definition of municipal advisor in final registration rules, the agency’s chairman said Wednesday.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus wants Congress to consider alternatives to tax-exempt bonds in order to provide uniform subsidies for bondholders, and cites Build America Bonds as a good example.

Five groups representing local governments are urging Senate Finance Committee leaders to maintain the federal tax-exemption for municipal bonds, ensure states and localities retain the authority to set their own tax policies, and refrain from preempting governments and threatening their fiscal health by granting preferential tax treatment to certain industries.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia will price $320 million of income tax-secured tax-exempt bonds next week to refund three previous debt issues, district officials said.

A taxpayer with a marginal income tax rate of 7.5% would have been indifferent to purchasing high-rated tax-exempt or taxable corporate bonds last year because there was only a .35% spread between these bonds, a joint Congressional committee concluded in a report issued Monday.

Market participants are stepping up their efforts in support of muni-friendly provisions in the Senate highway bill, as that body prepares to head to conference with the House to resolve differences in legislation each chamber has passed providing funding for the nation's surface transportation programs.

CHICAGO — The Federal Trade Commission's success so far in challenging two high-profile hospital mergers could signal fresh pressure on the sector, which is in the midst of a transforming consolidation trend.

LAS VEGAS — The National Federation of Municipal Analysts presented awards to market participants, including issuers for the first time, at its annual award dinner here Thursday night.

WASHINGTON — A majority of governments, nonprofits, corporations and institutional investors surveyed would either reduce or discontinue their use of money market funds if the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted certain reforms, such as switching to a floating net-asset value, according to a study done for the Investment Company Institute.

Municipal bond issuers now may be more open to declaring bankruptcy and defaulting on loan payments, panelists said at the National Federation of Municipal Analysts annual meeting here Thursday.

WASHINGTON — State tax revenues at the end of last year rose for the first time above the peak levels at the beginning of the Great Recession after two straight years of growth, the Rockefeller Institute said in a report issued Thursday.

Speakers at a municipal analysts' conference here urged the muni bond community to educate lawmakers and regulators about the importance of tax-free financing, noting that few officials in Washington, D.C., understand the role muni bonds play in financing critical state and local infrastructure projects.