Infrastructure

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is calling for the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to revise and re-propose rules that would determine when entities are political subdivisions that can issue tax-exempt bonds.

Maryland legislators have overridden Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill requiring ranking of transportation projects.

The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation in Texas has paid a penalty and agreed to redeem bonds under the Internal Revenue Service’s voluntary closing agreement program (VCAP) to settle a tax violation relating to bonds it issued in 2008 and refunded in 2012.

Douglass P. Selby will be the new head of public finance at Hunton & Williams, and John O’Neill will lead the public-private partnership practice group.

Increased federal funding is needed to help state and local governments improve water and wastewater systems Senate committee members agreed during a hearing on Thursday.

U.S. ports and their private-sector partners plan to spend a whopping $154.8 billion on port-related freight and passenger infrastructure over the next five years, according to a survey by the American Association of Port Authorities.

The Maryland Board of Public Works on Wednesday approved a $5.6 billion, 36-year contract with a consortium of companies to design, build, operate and maintain a 16.2 mile light rail line that will link two counties in Maryland as well as connect to Amtrak, MARC and local bus services.

The District of Columbia’s proposed six-year capital improvements plan includes $6.3 billion in infrastructure spending, nearly $4.3 billion of which will be financed with the issuance of municipal bonds.

Drivers’ use of toll roads, bridges and tunnels increased by 7% last year, a record-breaking rate of growth that puts tolling usage on pace to double in less than 10 years, according to a report.

Kentucky lawmakers sent Gov. Matt Bevin a sweeping bill authorizing public-private partnerships, although it prohibits tolls on any state transportation projects that connect with Ohio.

The Federal Transit Administration will distribute $266 million of competitive grants this year for transit infrastructure and environmentally friendly bus projects.

In the Flint, Mich., case, Congress seems to be making clear it will increase its criticism of state and local leaders, but avoid any fiscal or moral responsibility.

Private investors in Maryland’s multi-billion dollar Purple Line P3 rail project will finance their share of construction with a federal loan and private-activity bonds.

Mississippi state senators approve a placeholder measure that keeps a proposed gas tax increase on the table.

Chicago Transit Authority will use a $255 million federal TIFIA loan to replace more than 800 rail cars.

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

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.

The U.S. Army’s cost-cutting efforts include renewable energy P3 power projects at installations across the country.

Sierra Club and other environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit to stop Colorado’s $1.8 billon P3 rebuild of I-70.

As the 2016 presidential race narrows down to a handful of candidates, it appears likely that business mogul Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be the nominees with the most votes at the Republican and Democratic conventions.