Washington

Four port authorities and a wholesale electricity provider are warning that rules proposed by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service earlier this year could hurt their standing as political subdivisions and their ability to issue bonds as well as complicate their governing structures.

U.S. transit operators say reliable, dedicated funding is needed to resolve growing maintenance problems.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a complaint against Phoenix-based Lawson Financial Corp. and the firm's president and chief executive officer, charging them with securities fraud in connection with the sale of millions of dollars of municipal revenue bonds to customers.

House members, government officials, and stakeholders all say the newest version of a bill to help Puerto Rico is a step forward, but their support for the measure seems tepid at best.

A House committee has passed legislation that would block the District of Columbia from having budget autonomy and the ability to spend its local tax dollars without congressional approval.

Both 10-year transportation funding plans proposed by Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton include $2 billion of road bonds.

Despite House Republican threats of criminal prosecution, the District of Columbia Council will hold the first of two votes Tuesday that would give the district budget autonomy and the ability to spend its local tax and fee revenues without annual congressional appropriation.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, a subsidiary of Bank of America, was ordered to pay $422,708 in fines and restitution by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for charging customers excessive markups and markdowns on municipal securities.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton will propose a compromise transportation funding bill to resolve a legislative deadlock.

The next president and new Congress have an opportunity to reverse the ongoing decline in the nation's aging infrastructure.