News and Information from Bond Buyer

States can compete for $95 million of federal grants for experiments with user-based road funding mechanisms.

Despite two downgrades, Houston reported net present value savings of $49.1 million on a $557 million bond sale that was mostly refunding.

Municipal finance leaders and a bipartisan group of lawmakers met Wednesday on Capitol Hill to discuss how tax laws might be eased so that more public-private arrangements could be used to finance public infrastructure projects.

Top-rated municipal bonds finished stronger on Wednesday, traders said, as big deals from Energy Northwest and the state of New Jersey came to market. Traders wrapped up the last full day of the week and expect a quiet half-day of trading on Thursday ahead of a full market close on Friday.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is pressing Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto to support an Atlantic City intervention bill approved by the State Senate saying failure to do so could lead to a bankruptcy of the gambling hub.

House members are considering legislation for Puerto Rico that would mandate the creation of a federal oversight board and make it responsible for restructuring the territory’s debt and determining the priority of debt obligations and pension payments, several sources said on Wednesday.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law $1 billion in new road and bridge funding for the next two years.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he would allow the nine-months-late fiscal 2016 budget to become law without his signature.

In a move supporters say will bring millions in annual new revenue to New York, lawmakers advanced legislation to legalize professional mixed martial arts.

Joseph Giordano, currently manager of the firm’s collateralized debt obligation (CDO) services division, will take leadership of the two divisions upon the April 15 retirement of executive vice president Terry McRoberts after more than 20 years

New York’s MTA expects to know the fate of its five-year capital program by the end of the month, said Chairman Thomas Prendergast.

Junk-rated California hospital chain Verity Health received an outlook boost Wednesday, when Standard & Poor’s boosted its outlook to stable from negative while affirming its CCC rating.

Top-rated municipal bonds were mixed at mid-session, traders said, as big deals from Energy Northwest and the state of New Jersey came to market.

The Treasury Department Wednesday auctioned $13 billion of one-year 10-month floating rate notes with a high discount margin of 0.240%, at a 0.272% spread, a price of 100.059523.

Indicator Last Report Forecast Actual New Home Sales Jan.: 502,000 Feb.: 510,000 Feb.: 512,000

The West Contra Costa Unified School District’s settlement of a lawsuit over parcel tax revenues is a potential credit hit for parcel tax levying school districts in California and a boost for charter school credits, Moody’s Investors Service said.

A Florida bill that an industry association believes could increase borrowing costs for Gainesville Regional Utilities has been sent to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.

Municipal bond traders on Wednesday were looking at an active day as the last of the big sales are coming to market, including a deal from Energy Northwest and a sale from an infrequent issuer of general obligation bonds – the state of New Jersey

The best execution rule, which took effect this week, may solidify a market shift concentrating retail customers in a few large firms, while others seek just to keep their institutional business running smoothly, market participants said.

Add Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick T. Harker to the list of Fed officials who believe the Federal Open Market Committee should raise the fed funds target rate.