Law and legal issues

Lawsuits targeting validation lawsuits for pension obligation bonds in California generally stop issuers from considering issuance, but two cities have fought and, so far, won.

Oconee County using bond proceeds for a sewer that will benefit only some residents may violate the state constitution.

New York lawmakers are helping a coalition of legal experts, transit riders, and environmental and disability advocates sue the governor for stopping congestion pricing.

The St. Louis-based senior-living facilities operator has almost $80 million in bonds outstanding.

The state attorney general's office said it will appeal the ruling prohibiting enforcement of 2022's Energy Discrimination Elimination Act.

The city had set an Aug. 27 election on a proposition to create tax increment financing districts to help finance an arena project.

The Grants Pass decision was viewed as the most consequential for local governments of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent session.

Officials in East St. Louis, Illinois, sued the local police and firefighter pension boards and the state comptroller to block the use of an intercept law.

The Phoenix-based school's debt was rated a notch above junk — to BBB-minus by Fitch Ratings ahead of a refinancing of bonds from a 2021 issue.

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on the city's AA rating to negative from stable, citing increased debt and costs from a settlement with firefighters.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, recently vetoed anti-ESG legislation similar to Missouri's, saying that it overstepped legal authority.

A 2023 U.S. Appeals Court ruling derailed federal approvals for the Uinta Basin Railway, which plans to seek up to $2 billion in private-activity bonds.

The California Supreme Court issued an opinion Thursday blocking an anti-tax measure from November's ballot.

Puerto Rico's financial oversight board is seeking to reopen a confirmation hearing on a debt-restructuring plan for the island's power utility after an appeals court last week ruled that bondholders have a claim to the agency's future net revenue.

The city and its Austin Transit partnership are seeking court validation for bonds to help finance the multi-billion-dollar project.

The legislature addressed the cost of a $329 million property tax refund in the state's largest county as well as passed a fiscal 2025 budget.

The bonds are part of a proposed settlement with the city's firefighters union that would need court approval.

The lawsuit filed in 2017 points to funding disparities when public school districts turn to local property taxes and bond issuance for capital funding.

Enviva's $353 million in tax-exempt bonds currently are among the liabilities at stake in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

California lawmakers asked the high court to intervene on the measure headed for November's ballot.