Northeast

Pennsylvania’s General Assembly passed a pension bill Monday to help the state lower retirement contribution costs that otherwise would increase by more than $2 billion in fiscal 2013.

Silverstein Properties Inc. could use up to $200 million of tax-exempt recovery zone facility bonds to help finance office towers at the World Trade Center site, the developer and deal participants said Monday.

WASHINGTON — Triple-A-rated Prince George’s County, Md., postponed a $25 million qualified school construction bond transaction scheduled for Tuesday because of the need to disclose to investors last week’s arrest of County Executive Jack Johnson and whether it would impact the deal.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Friday announced that Julien Neals will serve as acting business administrator for New Jersey’s largest city, effective Monday.

The gilt-edged New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust Tuesday will sell $130 million of tax-exempt debt by competitive bid to help finance water infrastructure needs throughout the state.

When Adelphi University in Long Island, N.Y., goes to market this week with $25 million of tax-exempt bonds, it will use a resurrected conduit issuer to get around the lack of industrial development agency financing.

Some of the people named to New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s transition team on Thursday are familiar names to the municipal bond industry.

The New York Municipal Bond Bank Agency plans to market $50.7 million of bonds on behalf of five counties next week in its third pooled offering utilizing stimulus programs.

New York City-based law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP will advise Harrisburg’s City Council on its options for either filing for bankruptcy or entering into Pennsylvania’s distressed communities program, called Act. 47.

The state-appointed receiver who took over governing Central Falls, R.I., has appointed a “state receiver’s council” to take over from the elected City Council, state officials announced Tuesday.