Bankruptcy

CHICAGO — A local dispute over a $150 million performing arts center prompted the Indiana attorney general last week to issue an opinion ruling that redevelopment commissions can issue some types of debt without the approval of a city’s legislative body.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Fraternal Order of Police has filed a suit against Miami asking a judge to invoke a process that would essentially place the city’s finances under state control once again.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday announced that it has adopted a temporary rule requiring municipal advisers to register with it by Oct. 1 to comply with the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The California Redevelopment Association Monday submitted its opening brief for its appeal of a trial court decision upholding the state’s shift of more than $2 billion from local redevelopment agencies to help balance the budget.

Dauphin County Wednesday authorized TD Bank to pursue legal action against Harrisburg, as Pennsylvania’s capital city said it will not meet payments due Dec. 15 on $35 million of incinerator bonds.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — A bill to limit the ability of California local governments to file for bankruptcy expired Tuesday in the last-minute frenzy that marked the end of the regular 2010 session for the state’s stalemated Legislature.

WASHINGTON — Bowing to growing concerns from muni issuers, Moody’s Investors Service announced Wednesday that it will stop trying to get state and local issuers to agree to indemnify and hold it and its officers harmless for any mistakes they might make as a precondition to assigning ratings to municipal bond transactions.

WASHINGTON — More than 90% of municipal analysts surveyed believe they are more likely to hear about material events from the news than from issuers’ continuing disclosure notices, according to a new study.

The Treasury Department announced several changes Wednesday to its new issue bond purchase program for housing finance agencies, most notably that it is extending by one year through 2011 its deadline for converting short-term taxable bonds to long-term, tax-exempt bonds.

Policyholders contesting bond insurer MBIA Inc.’s February 2009 restructuring will soon have their chance in court to try and overturn the decision that allowed the transformation to take place.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has ordered a comprehensive audit of funds spent by the state to build a new $40 million courthouse for the First District Court of Appeals.

MENLO PARK, Calif. — The Reno City Council meets next week to discuss how the Nevada city can avoid defaulting on bonds backed by a lease with a defunct casino.

Public finance attorney Kenneth Lind was made partner at Nixon Peabody LLP, the firm announced Tuesday. Lind has served as bond counsel at the firm’s New York City office since leaving the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority in January 2008, where he had been acting finance director.

CHICAGO — The St. Paul Port Authority and lawyers for a group of 876 fund bondholders squared off in Ramsey County district court Monday over whether the agency has misused revenue generated from assets pledged to bondholders.

The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, the builder of three professional sports stadiums, could default on some of its $988 million of debt as early as March 2011, according to calculations by Moody's Investors Service.

Moody’s Investors Service is not pushing municipal bond issuers to agree to indemnification language for ratings as a result of provisions in the new financial regulatory reform law that make it easier for investors to sue rating agencies, a spokesman for the firm said Friday.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board on Friday asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve rule changes that would allow it to expand from 15 to 21 board members, 11 of which would be independent, public representatives not associated with securities or bank-dealer firms.

The Obama administration is calling on the Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that would allow fossil-fuel-burning plants, and potentially publicly owned power utilities, to be sued as contributors to climate change.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is auditing financial and management operations at the Philadelphia Housing Authority in the wake of allegations it asked vendors to donate to certain charities and events benefitting its executive director, Carl Greene.

CHICAGO — The St. Paul Port Authority and lawyers for a group of 876 Fund bondholders will appear at a court hearing Monday on their dispute over the fate of $51 million of outstanding bonds backed by the struggling economic development fund.