Law and legal issues

The Treasury Department's Antonio Weiss and Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla will testify on Thursday before a Senate Committee on the territory's economy, debt and options that should be considered by Congress.

Pennsylvania Auditor Eugene DePasquale says the Harrisburg School District’s cafeteria is giving him heartburn, and it’s not about the food.

If enacted, Michigan's statutory lien bill will significantly improve recovery value if a municipality defaults, compared to other general creditors, including employees, Fitch Ratings says. However, it will not reduce the risk of default.

South Carolina’s Tuomey Healthcare System has negotiated a reduced settlement of $72.4 million with the Justice Department for filing 21,000 false Medicare claims.

Distribution of an $8.25 million legal settlement fund for investors in a failed Missouri sucralose plant is expected by the end of the year in a class action suit against underwriter Morgan Keegan and law firm Armstrong Teasdale.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the validation of $2 billion in clean energy bonds over challenges brought by banks and a former state legislator.

Puerto Rican civic, political, and business leaders from around the country met in Orlando Wednesday to rally for extending Chapter 9 bankruptcy to Puerto Rico public authorities but one speaker at the event urged caution in throwing support behind such a measure.

Buoyed by court victories challenging city and state pension reform legislation, labor is now taking aim at 2014 legislation that overhauled the Chicago Park District’s pension benefits and contributions.

Former Chicago Public Schools leader Barbara Byrd-Bennett entered a guilty plea Tuesday to one corruption count leveled against her by federal authorities for allegedly steering contracts to her former employer for promised kickbacks.

An attorney for Jefferson County, Ala., has asked an appellate court to consider the analysis of a federal judge who dismissed the final appeal in Detroit’s bankruptcy case.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Municipal Securities is weighing whether to provide legal interpretive guidance to help municipal advisors determine if they are acting as an adviser or broker-dealer when working with an issuer on a bank loan.

Michigan lawmakers joined a national debate by advancing a bill to enact a statutory first lien on local issuers’ unlimited tax general obligation bonds.

The Florida Supreme Court overturned 60 years of case law and made it harder to challenge future bond validations.

In the midst of a spate of municipal bankruptcies and a credit crisis in Puerto Rico, a report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency highlighted a divergence among the credit rating services.

Cincinnati is nearing a historic agreement to remedy its long-standing pension shortfall that sparked downgrades and years of court battles with retirees and unions.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has submitted a revised amended financial recovery plan for the teetering Chester Upland School District.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that it reached an undisclosed settlement with two ex-JPMorgan bankers involved in Jefferson County, Ala.’s sewer deals.

Pittsburgh’s state-appointed overseer is justified in withholding Pennsylvania gaming revenue by law, according to the agency’s executive director.

Six advocacy groups are urging two key Senate Republicans to keep Congress from providing Puerto Rico with access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

Hillview, Ky.’s largest creditor, Truck America LLC, said Thursday that the city may not be eligible for bankruptcy because the state’s law is invalid.