Washington

Kristin Franceschi practices corporate, securities and public finance law at DLA Piper. She represents clients and helps colleagues on structured financings, conduit deals, tax increment financings, defeasance transactions, arbitrage issues, and general municipal law.

DENVER - A dealer group said the issuer community must mobilize to defend the federal tax exemption for municipal securities, which has been called into question by recent Obama administration proposals.

SAN FRANCISCO - California has received a favorable private-letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that will allow it to remarket Build America Bonds this month while keeping the federal subsidy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., plans to seek a cloture vote Tuesday that would limit debate on a modified version of the jobs bill that was recently proposed by President Obama.

DENVER - Almost one year after Meredith Whitney forecast widespread defaults by state and local governments, a new threat looms over the municipal securities market: the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a market expert said here Thursday.

WASHINGTON - Fitch Ratings sees no widespread threat to state ratings from efforts to cut the federal deficit or from a slowing economy. Both, however, "present much uncertainty and risk," according to a report released on Thursday.

WASHINGTON - President Obama offered potentially good and bad news for the municipal market on Thursday.

SAN FRANCISCO - Washington State will sell $1.29 billion of general obligation bonds next week, its largest deal ever, partly to finance a new floating bridge.

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the Cascade Medical Center in Chelan County to BBB-minus from BBB.

DENVER - Municipal borrowers continue to lag behind corporations in completing their annual audited financial reports, and state and local governments are only incrementally faster than a year ago, a new report concludes.

WASHINGTON - Two key Democratic lawmakers are urging financial regulators to protect the ability of pension plans and state and local governments to use interest rate swaps cost-effectively.

WASHINGTON - There are perceptible signs that a long-awaited surface transportation bill may actually be approved by Congress early next year.

WASHINGTON - Market participants urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to reject or delay the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed interpretive guidance for Rule G-17 on fair dealing for underwriters, saying it would impose a fiduciary-like regimen of disclosure obligations that would only confuse issuers.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has adopted rule changes allowing it to have 21 board members on a permanent basis after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the larger size.

WASHINGTON - As lawmakers and regulators debate improvements to secondary market disclosure, the new chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board stresses it is ready to expand its role to disseminate issuers' interim financial information through its EMMA system.

Fitch Ratings warned it may have to lower ratings on Garvee bonds if Congress only approves more short-term extensions of a surface transportation bill through 2012 instead of a multi-year bill.

WASHINGTON - President Obama has sent draft legislation to the congressional deficit reduction committee that would have the potential to further limit the value of tax-exempt interest for higher-income taxpayers below the 28% level proposed in his jobs bill.

WASHINGTON - With the 2012 election cycle intensifying, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board warned broker-dealers Wednesday that its rule banning pay-to-play political contributions applies to issuer officials who are running for president.

The municipal bond market is fragmented and lacks an overarching theme as it enters the final quarter of 2011.

Securities and Exchange Commission staff are pressing forward with a final municipal advisor registration scheme and a report that will recommend improvements in disclosure and other areas of the muni market, commissioner Elisse Walter said Tuesday.