News and Information from Bond Buyer

All federal transportation payments to states will stop as of June 1 unless Congress extends the short-term fix to the Highway Trust Fund before it expires May 31, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Monday in a letter to state transportation directors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has frequently pursued recent municipal market enforcement actions in federal court rather than in front of its own administrative law judges, where critics have charged that the SEC enjoys a distinct home field advantage.

The municipal bond market kicked off the week with the pricing of the state of Connecticut’s $500 million of general obligation bonds for retail investors. Meanwhile, prices of top-shelf municipal bonds finished lower in secondary trading on Monday, traders said, with yields on some maturities rising by as much as five basis points.

The commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority may take four to six years to restore liquidity and marketability for their debt, municipal experts told The Bond Buyer

California has $80 billion of highway needs through 2025 with only $20 billion of available transportation funding.

The tax-exempt financing committee of the American Bar Association's taxation section is working on a paper that will identify for tax regulators modifications to tax rules that could facilitate public-private partnerships.

Puerto Rico's General Fund April revenues came in 6.8% short of budget.

Pennsylvania's Senate expects to debate a bill that backers say will begin to tackle an unfunded pension liability problem that has hurt its bond rating.

Moody's Investors Service said it has upgraded Winterset Community School District, Iowa's general obligation unlimited tax rating to A1 from A2.

Arizona's Salt River Project, one of the most highly rated credits in the public power sector, plans to issue $833 million of revenue bonds, an amount that could grow based on market demand.

The Federal Reserve should not specify exactly when it will begin policy normalization, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said in a televised interview Monday.

Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's both downgraded the California Institute of May 11 ahead of a $400 million taxable bond deal it plans to price on May 14.

A series of toll rate reductions and discounts announced by the Maryland Transportation Authority on May 7 are a credit negative for the agency's revenue bonds, according to Moody's Investors Service.

A year after fire closed the Martin Drake Power Plant in the heart of Colorado Springs, the coal-powered plant is back in operation and producing a third of the city’s power, officials said.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its long-term rating two notches to AA-minus from AA-plus and to AA-minus/A-1-plus from AA-plus/A-1-plus on the California Institute of Technology's (Caltech) existing debt, some of which was issued by the California Educational Facilities Authority.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term and underlying ratings on Gaylord, Mich.'s existing general obligation debt to A-plus from A-minus with a stable outlook.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its long-term and underlying ratings on Williamson County Municipal Utility District No. 11, Texas' general obligation debt one notch, to A-minus from BBB-plus.

At least eight school districts in Kansas closed earlier than scheduled due to state budget cuts as the state legislature looks for more ways to reduce a budget shortfall in the coming fiscal year.

Prices of top-shelf municipal bonds were lower at mid-session, traders said, with yields on some maturities up by as much as four basis points.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were higher, as the three-months incurred a 0.020% high rate, up from 0.015% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.085% high rate, up from 0.070% the week before.