News and Information from Bond Buyer

The unpredictable nature of legislating leads most to holding off on disclosure changes until a bill becomes a law.

Native American Tribes are working their way through Congressional committees looking for support on legislation that would allow the tribes to issue municipal bonds using the same rules as state governments.

The muni market produced $512.7 billion of debt issuance in 2024, up 33.1% from $385.1 billion in 2023, according to LSEG data. This surpasses the previous record of $484.6 billion in 2020 by almost $30 billion.

In total, municipal bond insurers wrapped $41.09 billion of debt in 2024, an increase from the $35.38 billion insured in 2023, according to LSEG data.

The 116% surge in healthcare bond sales from 2023 marked "a splash back from depressed issuance the few years prior," said Matt Fabian, partner at Municipal Market Analytics.

The number of transportation issues surged to 529 last year from 405 in 2023, according to LSEG data.

Most states and sectors in the region beat their 2023 issuance by wide margins in 2024. 

Market activity has been somewhat "subdued," and USTs yields have been "relatively well-behaved," though the 10- to 30-year rates have slightly underperformed, moving up three to five basis points, said Barclays strategist Mikhail Foux.

A plan to sharply cut Community Development Block Grant program staffing follows Trump's statement that he is inclined to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Senate move provides an alternative pathway towards a final budget agreement as the House wrestles with an approach that could include key tax policy changes for the muni market.

The Trump administration singled out the Las Vegas-Los Angeles bullet train for praise Thursday, the same day the deal priced.

"Who got rich off this project? Where did those billions of dollars go?" asked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in announcing the federal review of the controversial bullet train.

Nakahata was appointed chief deputy executive director and chief operating officer of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank.

Amid struggling office markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the cities are exploring office-to-residential conversions amid decades-old housing shortages.

Investors added $546.3 million to municipal bond mutual funds in the week ending Wednesday, following $238.5 million of inflows the prior week, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Washington's threats to state and local government funding took center stage when Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker delivered his seventh budget.

Trump's executive order raises concern about whether the SEC will pursue certain fraudsters, even if staff deems action warranted.

Some analysts believe that the muni market will ultimately be insulated from any changes in tax status because of the benefit it already provides.

The bonds are to be sold competitively in April.

Moody's is the latest rating agency to warn about a budget squeeze for Texas schools, which have been prolific issuers of voter-approved bonds in recent years.