Infrastructure

Mark Crisson, president and chief executive officer of the American Public Power Association, plans to retire from the group on April 1, 2014.

Reps. Richard Neal, D-Mass. and Lee Terry, R-Neb., both former public officials, have introduced a resolution on the importance of municipal bonds to state and local governments that they hope will garner a lot of attention and support among House members.

The Senate Budget Committee Democrats' budget resolution for fiscal year 2014 suggests the possibility of percentage or dollar caps on tax preferences such as tax-exempt muni bond interest, pushes traditional tax-credit bonds for transportation, and proposes a $10 billion infrastructure bank to provide loans and loan guarantees for projects.

Changes to the tax code capping the tax exemption of municipal bonds would increase borrowing costs for public power providers of all sizes, according to a new report from the American Public Power Association.

Three Standard and Poor's analysts speaking in the wake of federal sequestration cuts said that public power utilities, water and sewer entities, and the transportation sector should all remain fairly stable for the next year despite a number of pressures.

Florida is seeking qualified firms interested in a public-private partnership to build a $2.1B managed-lanes project on Interstate 4 through Orange and Seminole counties.

The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act has been touted by many as a crucial funding source for major projects, but most states have never used the program and say it has little value for them.

Two northern Virginian House Democrats have introduced legislation that would authorize the study of an expansion of the Washington Metrorail deeper into the commonwealth.

The House approved legislation on Wednesday to fund the government after current authorization expires March 27, over the objections of transportation advocates upset that it would cut millions in highway and transit spending.

Three Senate Democrats wrote to House Speaker John Boehner, urging him to restore transportation funding cut in pending House legislation.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials expressed dismay Monday over a House bill for a continuing resolution to fund the U.S. government.

Build America Bond payments will be delayed by up to six weeks and they will be cut by $171 million due to the automatic spending cuts that went into effect on Friday, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Moody's Investors Service has given its stamp of approval to Virginia's new transportation funding plan, saying that it is a credit positive for the commonwealth at a time when it is highly exposed to risk from federal cuts.

Amid finger-pointing and political grandstanding, President Obama and congressional leaders failed to come to an agreement to avoid $85 billion in sweeping automatic budget cuts, which kicks in on Friday.

Congressional staffers and finance experts speaking at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Washington Briefing said the outlook for highway funding is more uncertain than ever, while two transport-oriented lawmakers vowed to work across the aisle to make sure state and local officials have federal support.

Two Democrats in the Senate who influence transportation policy have introduced legislation to create the American Infrastructure Investment Fund, a $10 billion infrastructure bank.

Moody's Investors Service announced Wednesday that it has changed its outlook for the airport sector to stable from negative, where it had been since August 2008.

The sequestration cuts scheduled to take effect March 1 could throw the muni market into uncertainty and slam the air transport sector, according to market groups and public officials.

The tax exemption on municipal bond interest will not survive tax reform efforts in Washington, D.C., without a grass-roots effort from issuers, according to market experts at the fifth National Municipal Bond Summit.