Law and legal issues

The North Carolina House voted 81-27 Thursday to cancel the Interstate 77 toll road project and send the bill unwinding the state’s first public-private partnership to the Senate.

Presidential candidate and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has vowed to introduce an alternative bill to one pending before the House that CBO says would cost the territory $370 million over ten years.

New Jersey voter approval of gaming expansion could lead to as many as four casino closures in Atlantic City, but the proposed referendum faces an uphill battle, according to Fitch Ratings.

Former California Public Employees Retirement System chief Federico "Fred" Buenrostro received a prison sentence of four and a half years Tuesday, nearly two years after pleading guilty to accepting bribes in exchange for influencing CalPERS staff.

Hartford, Conn., Mayor Luke Bronin has called a $47 million performance bond on the developer of a minor-league baseball park, citing delays and cost overruns.

The Atlantic City rescue package New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed before the Memorial Day weekend is a credit positive for the cash-strapped gambling hub, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

California’s high-speed rail project appears to have survived one legal challenge, as Kings County, Calif. will not further contest the legality of the bonds supporting the train.

The New Jersey Senate and Assembly passed a compromise rescue package that allows Atlantic City to avoid an immediate default by providing a bridge loan.

A key Puerto Rico leader, David Bernier, said he would sue to block a federal control board over Puerto Rico.

Proposed House legislation designed to help Puerto Rico is moving to the full floor with light amendments after a 29-10 House Natural Resources Committee vote on Wednesday.

Debt gone wild at the teetering Penn Hills, Pa., School District has raised the specter of criminal probes after a scathing report by Pennsylvania's state auditor.

Leaders of the House Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Pedro Pierluisi on Tuesday night urged their colleagues to approve a bill to help debt-ridden Puerto Rico, even though they may not support certain provisions or worry the measure does not go far enough.

A school district in Will County, Illinois faces a federal probe of its former superintendent's dealings, including the handling of bond funds.

Analysts said the minimal allotment to debt service and a lack of other spending cuts add fuel to the argument that an outside control board, as being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives, is needed.

Atlantic City would avoid an immediate default and get more time to avert a state takeover under compromise legislation moving forward in the New Jersey legislature.

Chicago would raise its contributions to its laborers’ pension fund by at least 30% annually under a new plan to stabilize the fund and steer it away from its path to insolvency.

Hedge funds holding more than $750 million of the debt of Puerto Rico’s Government Development Bank revived a lawsuit, accusing the government of “changing the rules of the game” by amending its debt payment moratorium law.

The credit crisis in Puerto Rico may give Congress an opportunity to pass legislation that would allow direct regulation of state and local issuers, municipal market participants said Saturday.

Fitch Ratings upgraded Jefferson County, Ala.’s general obligation and issuer default ratings to A from BBB, saying that the county has put finances on a “strong footing.”

The House Natural Resources Committee will meet to vote on the recently revised Puerto Rico bill starting on Tuesday and continuing the following day.