Washington

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives released their 2015 federal income tax reforms on Friday, with neither showing any municipal bond holdings or tax-exempt interest.

Bond Dealers of America will be working on a full plate of issues this year as it helps its members navigate recent and ongoing regulatory developments while maintaining its educational and Capitol Hill-centered work, said new BDA board chair John Fechter.

State officials say a 45% road funding shortfall will cripple Minnesota’s highway expansion plans by 2018.

Two House Republicans presented a committee with their legislative proposals to reform or abolish the federal income tax system, sparking concerns from some members of the municipal bond community.

First Winston Securities, Alton Securities Group, and MidAmerica Financial Services were ordered to pay a total of $115,000 in fines and restitution by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for violation of municipal securities rules.

House Republican leaders plan to hold a policy meeting Friday morning with their members on pending legislation for Puerto Rico to try to gain more support for it.

The long-stalled bipartisan energy modernization bill is expected to move forward in the Senate without an amendment that would have provided Flint, Mich. with $220 million to address its ongoing water crisis.

Members of a House panel rebuffed a request from WMATA for $300 million per year of additional federal funding.

In parallel actions on Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. district attorney for the Southern District of New York filed civil and criminal charges against Ramapo, N.Y., officials for misleading investors in connection with bonds issued to finance a minor league baseball stadium.

Upgrading San Francisco’s vulnerable northern seawall to protect against earthquakes and rising sea level could cost $5 billion.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is calling for the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to revise and re-propose rules that would determine when entities are political subdivisions that can issue tax-exempt bonds.

Maryland legislators have overridden Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill requiring ranking of transportation projects.

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Mary Jo White cited a voluntary municipal continuing disclosure enforcement program for dealer and issuers as one of the commission’s successful efforts at deter securities law violations and change market behavior.

The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation in Texas has paid a penalty and agreed to redeem bonds under the Internal Revenue Service’s voluntary closing agreement program (VCAP) to settle a tax violation relating to bonds it issued in 2008 and refunded in 2012.

Bond Dealers of America is urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to leave unchanged some rules that relate to the municipal securities market’s move to a two- instead of three-day settlement cycle.

Douglass P. Selby will be the new head of public finance at Hunton & Williams, and John O’Neill will lead the public-private partnership practice group.

The District of Columbia’s proposed six-year capital improvements plan includes $6.3 billion in infrastructure spending, nearly $4.3 billion of which will be financed with the issuance of municipal bonds.

The National Development Council is highlighting what it describes as its proven “American model” for social infrastructure public-private partnerships, which uses tax-exempt bonds.

Washington's legislature adjourned after passing modest adjustments to the state's previous two-year budget while taking money from an account used to help fund municipal finance deals.

In the Flint, Mich., case, Congress seems to be making clear it will increase its criticism of state and local leaders, but avoid any fiscal or moral responsibility.