Washington

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wants major cost reductions in Purple Line P3 rail proposal or he'll kill the project.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require dealers to submit new information through its trade reporting system has some support from the two major industry groups, but one is concerned about possible inefficiency and confusion and the other wants a longer implementation period.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials stand behind their disclosure after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an informal inquiry into the district’s compliance with legal guidelines in the use of bond proceeds to buy iPad tablets.

The House on Thursday passed a bill to make the state and local sales tax deduction permanent.

Market participants are concerned and confused about an aspect of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposed municipal advisor core conduct rule that some sources are reading as allowing investment banks to provide advisory services on deals they underwrite.

A $15.1 billion, 16-year transportation package proposed by Washington State House Democrats includes more than $8 billion of new projects to be funded with an increase in the state gasoline tax and up to $4.3 billion of state general obligation bonds.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposed rule governing the core conduct of municipal advisors, including their fiduciary duty to put the interests of state and local government clients ahead of their own.

Tax reform proposals to curb tax exemption for municipal securities would create uncertainty in the market, possibly lead to higher borrowing costs, and hurt infrastructure development, issuer and borrower groups warned a Senate Finance Committee working group this week.

Municipalities are getting themselves into trouble by borrowing to cover operating deficits, Federal Reserve Bank of New York president and chief executive officer William Dudley told attendees at a closed-doors workshop Tuesday.

The new Florida Development Finance Corp. board on Tuesday delayed reconfirming the agency's decision to be the conduit for $1.75 billion in private activity bonds for the All Aboard Florida train project.

U.S. cities have significant long-term liabilities other than pensions that warrant attention, Merritt Research Services president and chief executive officer Richard Ciccarone argues in a report.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association announced that it has developed model sophisticated municipal market professional, or SMMP, documentation to allow firms to comply with muni rules when dealing with investors who need less regulatory protection.

Washington's Multicare Health System received AA-minus ratings with a stable outlook from two rating agencies ahead of plans to price $88 million of new money and a $274 million refunding bonds.

The Department of Transportation is soliciting applications from public entities for $500 million of grants to help finance transportation projects across the country and will hold the first of four webinars on the application process on Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service has granted a school district that experienced "financial distress" a roughly 16-month extension to spend the proceeds of its qualified school construction bonds.

The federal government will run out of money for transportation and other infrastructure projects in late July or August, roughly two months later than expected, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Thursday.

The municipal advisory business has exploded over the past 30 years, as economic, regulatory, and technological developments have combined to create a bigger business that is increasingly dominated by firms focused mostly on MA services.

The American Public Power Association has told the Treasury Department that it supports proposals in President Obama's fiscal 2016 budget that would simplify federal tax law pertaining to municipal bonds and would like the department to take further efforts to simplify private business use rules.

The municipal bond market will have an ally in the top echelon of Senate leadership if Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., becomes the Senate Democratic leader in 2017, as is widely expected, tax and municipal bond experts said.

The Internal Revenue Service has determined that multifamily housing revenue bonds issued by the Tulsa County Industrial Authority in 2003 are taxable, but it is unclear to what extent bondholders will be affected by the Service's conclusion.