GFOA

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.

Reinstatement of advance refundings could be packaged with infrastructure legislation because many state and local governments have used the savings to finance new infrastructure.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's newest model documents incorporate months of experience with the year-old issue price regulations, which most issuers think are working well.

Issuers and the MSRB are mostly on the same page about primary offering practices that may warrant scrutiny, but some members of the GFOA's debt committee are concerned about "regulatory creep."

The case involves as much as $100 billion in state and local sales tax revenue over the next decade, according the e-commerce retailers that are defendants in the lawsuit.

Muni issuance will pick up next year, said George Friedlander, managing partner of Court Street Research Group.

The MSRB said the paper was prompted in part by the tax law's prohibition on advance refundings and the fact that interest rate swap rules intersect with the board's rules for municipal advisors.

Some states don't remit all of the sales tax funds that are due to local governments from e-commerce retailers.

A sweeping bank regulatory bill under debate in the Senate is very close to achieving something the muni market has been fighting for since 2014: the inclusion of municipal bonds as high-quality liquid assets.

NABL favors shortening to seven from 14 days the advance notice requirement for a public hearing about the issuance of PABs.

The firm announced a $10 million investment and landed California, the muni market's largest issuer, as a client.

Market participants want the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's compliance guidance to be clear and within the scope of its authority.

The Consumer Financial Choice and Capital Markets Protection Act of 2017 would modify 2014 regulations in a way that would benefit municipal bonds and state and local governments.

Banks often demand key terms of private placement documents be redacted when issuers want to disclose them and questions of materiality arise.

Muni issuers want six months to a year on transition relief for advance refundings, which the tax bills would terminate after Dec. 31.

Even though tax bills would have a PAYGO problem, Republicans may have the upper hand.

Advance refundings were 27% of market last year, PABs were 19% and most were 501(c)(3)s.

Undoing the floating net asset value requirement for money market funds would give municipalities more flexibility, GFOA testifies.

Market groups and individuals asked the SEC to reject parts of an MSRB rule intended to improve transparency of dealers' private placements.