Law and legal issues

Moody's Investors Service dropped its rating on Detroit's $1.5 billion of certificates of participation to C from Ca, saying proposed settlements with insurers mean recoveries well below the Ca category.

Colorado lawmakers did not violate the Colorado constitution by reducing cost of living adjustments for retired public employees, the state Supreme Court ruled.

Alabama House of Representatives speaker Mike Hubbard faces 23 felony ethics law violations after being indicted by a grand jury on Monday.

A Michigan authority created to oversee the disbursement of nearly $200 million of state aid to bankrupt Detroit held its first meeting in Lansing last week.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes is set to rule on Detroit's bankruptcy late in the first week of November, likely putting it past the state's gubernatorial election.

An extra layer of state oversight loosely based on the Harrisburg receivership may evolve from Pennsylvania's new time limit for distressed municipalities to stay in its Act 47 program.

The board of Wayne County, Mich. has rejected a plan to move a half-built abandoned jail site in downtown Detroit, making it more likely the county will restart the controversial, bond-financed project.

Three New Mexico school districts are suing the state to boost funding that ranks among the lowest in the nation per pupil.

Detroit's convention center is hitting the market Wednesday with $300 million of bonds that marks its first public offering since it was taken over by a regional authority in 2009.

In a major boost for California's high-speed rail project, the California Supreme Court declined to consider petitions challenging funding for the state's bullet train.

The mayor of bankrupt San Bernardino and the city's police union both claim the other side attempted to violate the terms of a tentative contract agreement reached in confidential mediations.

Moody's Investor’s Service returned Vadnais Heights, Minn.'s general obligation bonds to low investment grade, now that a resolution is in place on $27 million of bonds that defaulted after the city failed to honor a pledge on a sports complex.

Sound fiscal practices are vital for Pennsylvania's distressed cities, regardless of how long they stay in the state-sponsored Act 47 workout program, analysts say. A new law will limit cities' stay in Act 47.

Detroit reached a settlement with FGIC, the last major holdout creditor in its bankruptcy case, that gives the bond insurer a mix of cash and prime downtown Detroit land to build a new hotel and condominiums.

Officials in Wayne County, Mich., are contemplating the fate of a half-built, bond-financed jail in downtown Detroit that has been abandoned for more than a year amid major cost overruns and an FBI investigation.

Four years after the Sunshine state passed a law authorizing PACE project financing, billions in bonds face legal challenges before the Florida Supreme Court.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott reached a settlement with Houston-area financial advisor R. Craig Rathmann, accused of colluding with RBC Capital Markets to limit competition on bond deals for municipal utility districts.

Investors holding $113 million of bonds issued for the privately owned and operated Branson Airport in Missouri have agreed to a amended forbearance agreement that gives the struggling Ozarks air field more time to pick up operations.

Doral Financial in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has prevailed in its court battle with the territory's Treasury Department over a substantial tax refund.

Attorneys for bankrupt Detroit and bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. said in court that they plan to finalize an agreement by Thursday, a move that would mean the city would have support from all major creditors for its bankruptcy exit plan.