Washington

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority has planned a $300 million bond issuance for next month, $100 million of which will be green bonds used to finance a 25-year sewage cleanup project for D.C.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Tuesday announced it will hire Simon Wu, a director with Berkeley Research Group here, to be its chief economist starting on Feb. 6.

A 10-year infrastructure proposal from Senate Democrats would provide $1 trillion of federal funding for roads, schools, and airports.

Arlington Memorial Bridge was closed to vehicles during inaugural weekend to prevent further damage to the historic span.

Airports, high-speed rail, and roads, particularly in dense metropolitan areas, could be particularly appealing targets.

A state task force charged with solving Washington’s K-12 education funding crisis failed to overcome its partisan divide, leaving state lawmakers with serious work to do.

The Internal Revenue Service Whistleblower Office awarded more than $61 million to whistleblowers in fiscal 2016, the agency said Thursday.

The State of Washington's debt burden grew less than 1% in 2016, according to the state's annual Debt Affordability Study.

Municipal market participants see a slowing of Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service guidance and rules in 2017, but plan to closely watch rules on political subdivisions, tweaks to management contract guidance, and rules for public approval of private activity bonds.

State and local groups told members of Congress that tax-exempt bonds are the cornerstone of infrastructure financing, as the lawmakers consider how to increase spending on roads and bridges as well as tax reforms that could entail restrictions on tax exemption.

Financial advisor Montague DeRose & Associates has merged with Annette Yee & Company.

A federal judge denied a request by two Florida counties for additional documents about public financing for the All Aboard Florida private passenger train project, moving their lawsuits closer to a ruling on dismissal.

Six lawmakers are joining the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, while two are joining its counterpart, the Senate Finance Committee.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's enforcement priorities for 2017 will include ensuring municipal advisors are properly registered with regulators, checking broker-dealers' compliance with best execution requirements, and monitoring firms' efforts to avoid unsuitable recommendations of securities.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday in his inaugural speech as Senate Minority Leader that he hopes for more direct spending in President-elect Donald Trump's proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

Nearly three-quarters of state pension plans and more than half of local plans cut benefits and/or raised employee contributions to combat rising employer costs in the five years following the financial crisis, the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College said Tuesday.

Muni participants predict 2017 may bring the first major tax legislation in three decades, and they are pulling out all the stops to make sure the muni exemption is maintained to finance infrastructure.

While most muni market participants agree that 2017 could be the year of comprehensive tax reform, they have mixed views on whether the muni exemption is safe under the tax proposals of President-Elect Donald Trump and House Republicans.

Outlook for Public-Private Partnerships in 2017

Tolls on interstate highways are seen as the only way to provide the revenue stream in President-elect Donald Trump's infrastructure proposal.