Law and legal issues

Lobbying efforts more than doubled in the second quarter of this year over pending legislation that would give Puerto Rico utilities and authorities access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.

Wayne County's proposed consent agreement with the state requires the county to continue to make timely debt payments and enhances the government's power over collective bargaining.

The indictment of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane should have little effect on the prosecution of former Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed, legal observers say.

Are a statutory lien and other state-crafted protections on Detroit's first post-bankruptcy bond sale enough for investors assessing the city's long-term recovery?

Long Island, N.Y., governments will benefit from a New York state appellate court decision to allow a lawsuit to prevent the Long Island Power Authority from challenging the assessment on its Northport, N.Y. power plant, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Continuing patient losses and a 2014 Department of Justice settlement factored into Moody's two-notch downgrade for King's Daughters Medical Center in Kentucky.

Detroit emerged from bankruptcy poised to rebuild through major infrastructure projects, former emergency manager Kevyn Orr said in Boston.

The Rhode Island Commerce Corp. agrees to a $12.5 million proposed settlement with four defendants related to the 38 Studios fiasco.

Standard & Poor's said it would wait to see the terms of Wayne County's consent agreement with the state before taking action on the junk-rated county.

Detroit's bankruptcy and Puerto Rico's default are similar to New York City's mid-1970s crisis, public finance veteran Richard Ravitch says.

Los Angeles has agreed to return control of LA/Ontario International Airport to an Ontario, Calif.-based local authority.

The Wayne County, Mich., board opted to enter a consent agreement with the state government, one of the four choices it had to deal with the county's financial emergency.

All Aboard Florida, the nation's first privately owned passenger rail, plans to quickly begin marketing $1.75 billion of private activity bonds after a key vote sealing the deal late Wednesday.

Detroit is nearing its first public bond sale since bankruptcy as it posted bond documents for the deal on Thursday.

Municipal issuers no longer consider bankruptcy to be taboo and distressed governments are increasingly likely to consider it an option, Moody's analysts said in a report.

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's request for more time to consider whether to appeal the state's high court voiding a 2013 state pension system overhaul.

The San Diego County Water Authority prevailed in a lawsuit targeting, among other things, the $1 billion Carlsbad desalination plant expected to begin operations later this year.

Challenges to $9 billion of bonds to pay for California's $68 billion high speed rail project are far from over.

St. Louis is free to spend tax money to fund a new football stadium, according to a St. Louis Circuit Court ruling overturning a city ordinance aimed at requiring such support go to a public vote.

Within hours of the Obama Administration's release of the final Clean Power Plan on Monday, opponents vowed to take legal action to block the rule while others hailed the measure.