Law and legal issues

Rep. Sean Duffy said on Wednesday that final legislation to help Puerto Rico is still taking shape but will include “secret sauce” in the form of a combination of debt restructuring and financial oversight and “sugar and spice” through bipartisan steps to incentivize investment on the island.

Senate Finance Committee chair Orrin Hatch on Wednesday demanded Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla provide detailed financial information by March 1 and said he wants to come up with a plan to help the commonwealth by the end of that month.

New Britain, Conn.'s bond rating has soared, thanks to a turnaround led by twentysomething Mayor Erin Stewart.

Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. will pay $850,000 to settle securities fraud charges brought by Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander over the firm's underwriting of $39 million of bonds issued for a failed artificial sweetener plant.

A House committee will hear Treasury's Antonio Weiss discuss an analysis of Puerto Rico on Feb. 25, as lawmakers coalesce around a bill that would give the territory's authorities bankruptcy access in return for creation of a financial stability council.

Representatives for Puerto Rico on Friday said the cash-strapped commonwealth plans to pursue its recently proposed debt exchange with creditors holding tax-supported debt even if the territory eventually gets access to bankruptcy or some other type of restructuring process.

A judge granted Atlantic City a 45-day reprieve from the Borgata casino seizing city assets to collect $170 million in tax appeals it owes in hopes the two sides can come to a debt payment agreement.

The holders of $50 million in pension obligation bonds have reached a tentative agreement with San Bernardino in its Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

Jefferson County, Ala., faces another court test more than two years after its exit from bankruptcy was approved.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s chief financial officer on Thursday contradicted press reports that the authority may have to have discussions with its bondholders to ease its debt.

The Supreme Court has set March 22 as the date it will hear oral arguments on an appeal of a lower court ruling that a local Puerto Rico restructuring law is not allowed under federal bankruptcy law.

The Port of Oakland has lost its second-largest terminal operator, a blow that Fitch Ratings said should be manageable.

Recent opinions issued by the California attorney general’s office may have some municipal advisors and broker-dealers treading carefully to avoid breaking Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rules.

The Chicago school district, bringing $875 million to market Wednesday after a week's delay, is amplifying its support for the idea that the bonds' pledged tax revenue stream could survive a Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The House Natural Resources Committee will “very soon” begin forming legislation designed to aid Puerto Rico following a hearing one of its panels held on Tuesday on the need for a federal oversight authority in the commonwealth, said committee chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah.

House Natural Resources Committee Chair Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said on Monday he believes the House can meet a March 31 deadline to have a responsible legislative package to help Puerto Rico as the commonwealth is negotiating with creditors on a new bond exchange proposal.

California city attorneys who also provide bond counsel services may not be paid based on a percentage of a city's bond issuances, according to a formal opinion from the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is trying to amend an energy bill pending before the Senate to include a provision that would halt Puerto Rico creditor litigation until April 1.

Moody’s Investors Service has placed Atlantic City’s junk-level Caa1 credit rating under review for a possible downgrade citing the chance at “bondholder impairment” from looming New Jersey legislation.

State and federal authorities advanced efforts Thursday to bring more fiscal help to Flint, Michigan as its copes with a water contamination crisis that market participants say will reach far and wide.