Washington

When the Build America Bond program ended there were two schools of thought. One argued that BABs would become an orphan class, with prices in the secondary market suffering from illiquidity. Another group thought there would be some scarcity value to the product and they would appreciate in value.

A coalition of House Democrats is calling for Build America Bonds, a national infrastructure bank, and high-speed rail as part of a plan to improve transportation and stimulate job growth.

WASHINGTON Three former officials from CDR Financial Products Inc. are urging a federal judge to dismiss the Justice Department’s charges against them, arguing prosecutors should not proceed to trial on a fraud theory the Supreme Court rejected last year.

The top Democrat on the House tax-writing committee defended itemized tax deductions Friday that would be repealed under some tax reform proposals, but did not take a position on whether to maintain the federal tax exemption for interest earnings from state and local bonds.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington State lawmakers have passed a budget that closed an almost $5 billion hole for the upcoming two fiscal years and includes a compromise on reducing the debt limit.

WASHINGTON — State revenues are expected to rise in fiscal years 2011 and 2012, but a record jump in Medicaid costs, combined with voters’ reluctance to take on new debt, could keep states from issuing bonds for infrastructure and other investment projects, officials and market participants said Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board plunged into the debate over municipal market disclosure Thursday, urging state and local governments to generate more timely financial reports.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has scheduled a second meeting with local officials in Virginia for Friday as he tries to break an impasse over the cost of the second phase of the Washington, D.C., Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport.

Moody’s Investors Service placed $6.7 billion of Aaa-rated municipal debt backed by the federal Bonneville Power Administration under review for possible downgrade Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — State and local transportation decision-making fits no pattern and varies widely cross the country as governments try to cope with needs that overwhelm their available financing, according to a first-of-a-kind report released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — Washington State lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced legislation to create $3 billion of qualified forest conservation bonds that could be used to help spur public-private partnership financing of sustainable ecosystems.

Issuers and independent financial advisers heralded the Securities and Exchange Commission’s endorsement of a proposed rule that would bar dealer-financial advisers from acting as an underwriter and a muni adviser on the same transaction.

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s budget vote last Wednesday jolted local municipal bond investors who could see their taxes jump on Oct. 1 as a result of a provision to tax the interest earnings from munis issued outside the district.

WASHINGTON — Financial reporting delays by state and local governments significantly compromise the usefulness of the information to users, including financial analysts, according to a recent report by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., has filed an audit that “raises substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”

WASHINGTON — House Transportation Committee chairman John Mica wants to take the Northeast rail corridor away from Amtrak and privatize most of it to get true high-speed rail service — trains that can travel at 220 miles per hour.

Senate transportation committee leaders have agreed to fund the TIFIA program at $1 billion per year as part of a six-year highway and transit funding bill that they plan to introduce in two weeks.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a draft of Rule G-44 Wednesday that would require municipal advisers to put in place supervisory systems to ensure they comply with Securities and Exchange Commission and MSRB rules.

Broker-dealers face increasing scrutiny and may be required in some cases to put the interests of municipal issuers ahead of their own, regulatory officials said Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending out questionnaires to 300 issuers asking about their advance-refunding procedures and post-issuance compliance.