Bankruptcy

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and several other Senate Democrats introduced two bills on Monday to give Puerto Rico broad restructuring powers as well as better federal tax and healthcare treatment, but the legislative package is likely to face stiff resistance in Congress where many Republicans have opposed territory-wide debt adjustments.

The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District near Houston has filed a disclosure notice about the case for investors in the district’s bonds.

A settlement over back pay for the city’s police and fire unions is a major step to financial recovery in Scranton, Pa., says Mayor Bill Courtright.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s Feb. 29 decision to not hear an appeal by New Jersey labor groups challenging Gov. Chris Christie’s authority to cut pension payments is a credit positive for the Garden State since it retains an ability to annually determine contribution levels, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

A bill to give New Jersey increased power over Atlantic City finances advanced in the State Senate.

Detroit Public Schools may run out of funds to meet payroll after April 8, the district’s new transition leader told state lawmakers who are being asked to approve $50 million in emergency aid.

A bribery investigation of bond-funded projects in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District has led to indictments of a construction manager, a school board member and a commissioner for the city of Richmond, Texas.

In a case that could prove pivotal to New Jersey’s future credit rating, the state’s Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on March 14 to determine if annual cost of living adjustments to retirees' pension benefits need to be restored.

Pennsylvania’s budget impasse may force the Red Lion Area School District into bankruptcy, its superintendent said.

Rhode Island Commerce Corp., whose predecessor agency the SEC charged with defrauding investors in the 38 Studios bond fiasco, says the filing parallels its own clawback attempts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged a Rhode Island agency, its underwriter, and three individuals associated with $75 million of 2010 bonds for a startup video game company with defrauding investors by not revealing the complete financial status of the company or the extent of the compensation arrangement with the underwriter.

The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation filed a lawsuit against Connecticut, asserting a casino law is unconstitutional.

House Natural Resources Committee chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah, visited Puerto Rico Friday as part of a multi-day trip to meet with commonwealth officials and groups as Congress continues to debate a reasonable solution for the territory’s fiscal problems.

Water contamination-related lawsuits filed in Chicago and Flint, Mich. stand to influence the sector nationally as the cases draw more scrutiny to the dangers associated with older lead pipe-based systems, Fitch Rating says in a new report.

The trustee for Port St. Lucie, Fla.’s $64 million of bonds to finance the defunct Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute questioned whether the city will honor its guarantee to pay debt service, although the city attorney said it will make good on the promise.

The State Highway 130 Concession Company led by toll road developer Cintra will try to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy after revenues from the $1.35 billion project fell far short of projections.

An investment banker hired as an expert witness in lawsuits challenging All Aboard Florida’s passenger train service said tax-exempt financing is critical to funding the $3.5 billion project, although the private company says that’s not true.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla this week bristled at a deadline to provide information to the U.S. Congress, while a candidate to succeed the governor sent an unsolicited response to the information request.

To address the lack of clarity of chapter 9 and to root it in municipal realities, attorney David Dubrow of Arent Fox LLP lists the top five critical changes that should be made to protect the capital markets.

Experts and Puerto Rican lawmakers are encouraging Congress and commonwealth officials to include fiscal responsibility laws in any legislative package designed to help the island.