Law and legal issues

Litigation brought by a state public pension recipient challenges the constitutionality of a 2022 law prohibiting governmental contracts with companies the Oklahoma treasurer determines are "boycotting" energy businesses.

City Attorney Michael Gates said he will appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A group of taxpayers argue that a property tax increase approved by Austin voters in 2020 for light rail cannot be used to support bonds.

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request to hear arguments seeking to overturn a capital gains tax expected to bring in $500 million annually.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing Monday will take up the university's winning bid for Mercy Hospital at last week's reopened auction.

The number of municipal bond delinquencies declined in the third quarter, despite some dramatic outliers that Moody's Investors Service characterized as idiosyncratic in a report released Monday.

The whistleblower who brought the case, Minnesota-based municipal advisor Johan Rosenberg, will receive $14.4 million under the deal.

A $25.5 million cash offer plus some equity was made to acquire Legacy Park, which was financed with $284 million of now-defaulted revenue bonds.

"Nothing is off the table in terms of looking at who we can potentially charge," said Brian Fagel, assistant director of the SEC's Public Finance Abuse Unit.  

Georgia Power and Oglethorpe Power agreed to new terms for cost overruns on two new Plant Vogtle nuclear reactors.

At stake is nearly $800 million in Federal Transit Administration funds.

Legacy Cares, which filed for bankruptcy in May, is trying to sell Legacy Park, which was financed with now-defaulted bonds issued in 2020 and 2021.

California lawmakers have asked the state Supreme Court to block a ballot measure that would radically alter the state's tax structure.

Final state approval of the debt was conditioned on the resolution of a petition to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to revisit its Aug. 1 validation of the debt.

The embattled Senator has an extensive understanding of public finance issues and has worked with muni groups on important legislation.

With class certification now in hand, the cities that brought the lawsuit have two weeks to outline how other municipalities will be provided notice of the chance to join.

Kevin Stitt ordered a special session to put the state on a path to zero income taxes and consider a proposal sparked by a dispute over Native American taxation.

Bond trustee UMB Bank informed owners of the defaulted debt they may have actionable claims related to the bonds' sale.

State Controller Malia Cohen said she stepped up to help draft audit guidelines following a charter school fraud case that cost the state $400 million.

The private equity firms accused the bank of concealing key changes to a credit agreement, in part because it wanted to win future muni bond business from Brightline Holdings.