News and Information from Bond Buyer

Illinois lawmakers head into their final two-week stretch, and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn plans to press his case with House Democrats for making an expiring temporary income tax permanent.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released new information on its municipal advisor rule that includes "transitional guidance" for market participants who had been anxious about providing advice to funds that might include bond proceeds.

Underwriter Citi terminated a $265 million bond deal after an Anaheim, Calif. activist organization filed a lawsuit May 12 seeking to invalidate the bonds, which were to finance a convention center expansion.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to solve the California State Teachers' Retirement System underfunding could have long-term positive effects, but could pressure school districts in the near-term.

Sharon Zackula has joined the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board as an associate general counsel.

Missouri lawmakers wrapped up a busy 2014 session after passing income tax relief and overriding a veto, adopting a new fiscal 2015 budget, authorizing $600 million in borrowing, and sending to the ballot a sales tax hike for transportation.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its underlying rating to A-plus from A on Monroe County School Board, Fla.'s series 2005 sales surtax revenue bonds.

Moody's said Puerto Rico Gov. García Padilla's proposed budget is a credit positive but that the commonwealth government still has potential challenges.

Market conditions favor the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund's issuance of up to $4 billion in bonds, if needed to pay hurricane-related claims.

Institutional buyers will not be deterred by low yields on Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission's $920.3 million refunding bonds, according to market participants.

President Obama used his weekly address to criticize House Republicans for chopping the TIGER grant program to $100 million in 2015.

The California legislature’s approval of a new rainy day fund measure is a credit positive, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Now is the time for state and local finance officers to advocate for preserving the tax-exemption for municipal bonds, even though federal tax reform is highly unlikely to happen this year, market group officials said at the Government Finance Officers Association's annual conference here.

Oklahoma is selling a rail line that may bring passenger service to the state's two largest cities and tank cars to the "Pipeline Crossroads of the World."

Market participants are divided over the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require a qualifications exam for municipal advisors, with some wanting a uniform exam for all muni finance professionals and others wanting an approach more tailored to specific MA activities.

Tender rates for the Treasury Department's latest 91-day and 182-day discount bills were unchanged, as the three-months incurred a 0.025% high rate, unchanged from 0.025% the prior week, and the six-months incurred a 0.050% high rate, unchanged from 0.050% the week before.

The University of Massachusetts Building Authority's $157.8 million of federally taxable refunding revenue bonds will receive demand because market participants find high-education paper attractive, a Florida trader predicted.

The Treasury Department said Monday it will sell $45 billion of four-week discount bills Tuesday.

State and local officials are worried that small issuers of municipal bonds will be disproportionately exposed to the risk of enforcement action under the Securities and Exchange Commission's continuing self-reporting program on disclosure failures, and plan to pressure the commission to extend the initiative's deadline beyond its current Sept. 10 date and offer more guidance.

Kent Hiteshew, the director of the Treasury Department's new office of state and local finance, described the office's initial areas of focus and asked municipal government finance officials to provide input about how the office could be helpful.