Washington

Some issuers of transit bonds are concerned that the transportation bill pending in the House might hurt their credit ratings.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a long-range plan to improve transparency in the muni market by collecting a wide range of new information from a variety of sources, integrating that data on the Electronic Municipal Market Access system, and making it available to investors and other market participants in a more user-friendly and searchable format.

WASHINGTON — A Fluvanna County, Va., circuit court judge on Thursday dismissed the lawsuit the county's Board of Supervisors had filed against their former financial advisor, Davenport & Co., after agreeing with the firm that the court could not decide the case under the state constitution's separation of powers doctrine.

Washington House Democrats proposed a budget this week that would close a $1 billion gap in the state’s current two-year budget.

Fluvanna County, Va.'s Board of Supervisors and its former financial advisor, Davenport & Co., present two different versions of the December 2008 bond financing for a new high school in documents filed in connection with the board's lawsuit against the firm.

The Treasury Department is considering issuing interim guidance that would clarify how qualified energy conservation bonds can be used after 12 House Democrats sent a letter to President Obama requesting the guidance, according to congressional staff.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel ordered Memphis-based Morgan Keegan & Co. to pay a Birmingham investor $1.95 million for misrepresenting that the Jefferson County, Ala., sewer bonds he purchased were safe, liquid and tax-free investments.

Fluvanna County, Va., and Davenport & Co., its financial advisor for 15 years, are battling each other in a circuit county court over whether the firm misled the county about $67.5 million of bonds sold in December 2008 to finance construction of a new high school.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $346.6 million of general obligation refunding bonds unlimited tax series and $50.79 million of GO refunding bonds limited tax series issued by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in May 2006.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined five firms a total of $100,000 for violating municipal securities rules, including $40,000 against TD Ameritrade Inc. for failing to disclose negative rating changes for municipal bonds.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve proposed guidance that details how underwriters should treat municipal issuers under its fair-dealing rule, despite dealers' requests for a delay.

WASHINGTON — As both the House and Senate began debating highway reauthorization bills on Wednesday, the associated revenue measures came under attack.

Seventeen muni groups are urging members of Congress to reject President Obama's proposal to place a 28% cap on the value of tax-exempt interest, warning it will hurt the market and that its retroactivity will reverse nearly 100 years of legislative history.

The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that President Obama signed into law Tuesday did not give airports new flexibility to raise fees used to back bonds, but an analysis by Moody's Investors Service said the law will still strengthen airport credits.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association is calling for changes to the so-called Volcker Rule.

President Obama's $3.8 trillion fiscal 2013 budget alarmed the muni market by proposing to reduce the value of tax-exempt interest and other tax preferences to 28%.

The Internal Revenue Service has told the Nebraska Public Power District that $10 million of the $50.36 million of Build America Bonds it issued in June 2009 may not qualify for the 35% interest subsidy it receives from the Treasury Department because of a dispute over the issue price of the bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO – State officials have begun an early effort to find ways for California, Washington and Oregon to save money by cooperating on financing future infrastructure projects pegged in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

While members of Congress have been loathe to take the politically unpopular step of raising the federal gas tax, which provides revenue for bond-financed roadwork and other highway projects, a number of states have increased their gas taxes during the past few years.

WASHINGTON — As part of its initiative to gauge compliance with arbitrage requirements, the Internal Revenue Service is auditing $43.45 million of Series 2006 general obligation refunding bonds that were issued by the St. Vrain Valley, Colo., School District in April 2006 to advance refund its Series 1997 bonds.