Law and legal issues

Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville, wants the Bluegrass state to study municipal bankruptcy laws around the country, and determine if the state should institute an oversight program.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie allowed legislation to create an Atlantic City financial rescue package to lapse, leaving the struggling gambling hub at risk of running out of cash by April.

Atlantic City Emergency Manager Kevin Lavin stopped short of recommending bankruptcy in his second report on the financially strapped Jersey Shore gambling hub.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is requesting a federal emergency declaration and supporting a shift of more executive powers back to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver as the city grapples with a water crisis that could cost more than $1 billion to fix.

Only Congress can take the necessary steps to fully resolve Puerto Rico's debt crisis, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a letter to congressional leadership on Friday.

Three New Jersey Senators announced plans Tuesday to introduce legislation that would have the state assume management of Atlantic City’s troubled finances.

As BioNitrogen navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Hendry County, Fla., has refused to extend the company’s $300 million private-activity bond allocation.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority will run out of money in the first half of 2016 if it cannot get creditors to agree to a financial restructuring plan, PREPA chief restructuring officer Lisa Donahue said at a House panel hearing on Tuesday.

Former Rhode Island House finance committee chairman Steven Costantino is scheduled to testify before an oversight panel about his role in the passage of the job creation guaranty program that provided a $75 million loan to failed video game company 38 Studios.

A lawsuit filed late last week seeks to block construction Golden State Warriors event center and mixed-use development project in San Francisco.

Christopher Brogdon, facing Securities and Exchange Commission charges for defrauding investors in senior living facility financings, has been ordered by a federal court in New Jersey to create a plan to pay those investors.

Illinois’ not-for-profit hospitals are facing new uncertainty over their local tax exemptions and charity care obligations after an appellate court voided a 2012 law governing their community benefit requirements.

Assured Guaranty Ltd. and Ambac Financial Group Inc. filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Puerto Rico's revenue clawback strategy, fanning concern that a long, messy process lies ahead as the commonwealth seeks to restructure about $70 billion of public bond debt.

A group of Jefferson County, Ala., taxpayers have cross appealed a judge’s recent ruling in hopes of further blocking the county’s plan to issue refunding warrants.

The U.S. Department of Transportation gave All Aboard Florida another year to issue $1.75 billion of private activity bonds for its $3.5 billion passenger train project.

Lisa Donahue, the chief restructuring officer for the heavily indebted Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, will be one of four panelists testifying at a House Natural Resources Committee panel hearing on Jan. 12 about the commonwealth’s energy problems.

A United States government argument in a criminal case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court may backfire, leaving the U.S. responsible for paying Puerto Rico’s debt, a prominent Puerto Rico Senator said.

Two House Natural Resources Committee panels will hold hearings on Puerto Rico this month to discuss the possibility of energy reform and federal oversight for the ailing commonwealth, according to a committee spokesperson.

State Treasurer Seth Magaziner and revenue official Paul Dion will discuss tax credit programs before Rhode Island’s House Oversight Committee in its latest 38 Studios-related hearing.

Jefferson County, Ala., has appealed a judge’s ruling that struck down a state law to allow the county to issue debt; a group of challengers has also pledged to appeal.