Washington

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.

A Senate subcommittee hearing on bridge and tunnel tolls turned into a battleground as state and authority officials defended rising tolls and opposed legislation sponsored by subcommittee chairman Frank Lautenberg, warning it could cripple their abilities to raise revenue and finance projects.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of American Health Foundation Inc., raising questions about the tax-exemption of $28.96 million of refunding and revenue bonds that issuers in five states sold for three of its subordinate entities.

The tale of the tape continued Wednesday in the municipal bond bid-rigging trial in Manhattan, as prosecutors, interspersing audio tapes and transcripts with bid documents, called to the stand another former employee of brokerage CDR Financial Services, seeking to establish a pattern of fraud by three former executives of General Electric Co. subsidiaries.

WASHINGTON — Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad, D-Neb., on Tuesday introduced the Bowles-Simpson budget deficit reduction proposal as his long-term budget plan and said the committee will begin considering it Wednesday.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, chairman of a House Ways and Means Committee panel, called for the elimination of most tax expenditures as part of comprehensive tax reform, which he said should be as pro-growth as possible and simplify the tax code.

WASHINGTON — Virginia won applause from Moody's Investors Service this week following an overhaul of its pension system, but neighboring Maryland received flak as the credit rating agency warned its proposed budget cuts could harm the credit of local governments.

The federal prosecutors in a municipal bond bid-rigging trial that began in New York accused three executives of fraud that cost cities and towns, and the IRS, millions of dollars.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered six firms to pay a total of $234,924 in fines and restitution for violations of municipal securities rules, the self-regulator announced Monday.

WASHINGTON — Industry groups and municipal market professionals are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to modify proposed rules aimed at ensuring underwriters and dealers comply with issuers' so-called retail-order periods.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved a $422 million TIFIA loan for construction of a new midtown tunnel and rehabilitation of existing tunnels in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Va.

WASHINGTON — As President Obama and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney battle over tax fairness and who has the lowest income tax rate, it turns out they both pay less in taxes than the average American who earns much less.

WASHINGTON — In the absence of clearer federal tax rules on issue price, a handful of bond lawyers have taken it upon themselves to assist issuers in reviewing and understanding the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA pricing data for new muni bonds, sources said.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday that Matthew C. Solomon will be the new deputy chief litigation counsel in the division of enforcement, effective in June.

WASHINGTON — A recently released Fitch Ratings report projects a sharp increase in the use of "managed" or HOT lanes on highways, but warns that such toll lanes will be more volatile than traditional toll roads because they are located next to non-toll roads.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is warning it will report to enforcement agencies dealers that redact critical information from documents submitted to the MSRB's Short-term Obligation Rate Transparency system, known as SHORT.

WASHINGTON — Municipal issuer and bond dealer groups support the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to bar underwriters from using the "not reoffered" or "NRO" designation for new bonds without including price or yield information, but have suggested enhancements.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington lawmakers passed a supplemental budget, finishing a marathon session early Wednesday morning after weeks of deadlock.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday proposed rule changes that would eliminate some duplicative reporting requirements faced by underwriters of new-issue muni securities.