GFOA

The Government Finance Officers Association said Tuesday it generally supports most of the recommendations an SEC panel plans to discuss in Atlanta later this week.

The MSRB's controversial commentary about selective disclosure got some support from a top SEC official on Wednesday.

Muni market groups got a long-awaited win when the House passed banking legislation classifying certain munis as high-quality liquid assets, even if it wasn't as big a win as hoped.

Local, county and state officials said they took initial steps Wednesday in what will become a much larger contingent of elected officials who will jawbone their federal counterparts with testimonials about the cost savings attributable to advance refundings.

A deal struck between House and Senate leaders could lead to a vote as soon as next week on a banking bill that would classify munis as high-quality liquid assets and make them more attractive investments for banks.

The Government Finance Officers Association's new president does not see its top goals changing this year.

April was a pretty good month for the municipal bond market following the 30% drop in first quarter issuance, said a market expert.

Many lawmakers in Congress have deferred to the high court on the issue in the belief that helping state and local governments collect sales tax for e-commerce might be construed as a new tax rather than an enforcement measure.

The expected GFOA guidance will come as governmental units prepare to meet a Jan. 1, 2020 deadline set by the Government Accounting Standards Board for treating all leases as financings for the right to use an underlying asset.

Build America Mutual's Les Richmond said that state and local governments might want to consider their disclosure obligations in the light of the more robust risk assessments they'll soon begin getting from their actuaries.