Law and legal issues

Pennsylvania State Sen. Mike Folmer plans to introduce a legislative package to deal with issues related to capital city Harrisburg's debt crisis.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law a bill for fiscally distressed governments, replacing a law voters overturned in a ballot referendum.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee appointed John "J.R." Pagliarini chief of staff to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., the agency under fire over its $75 million loan guarantee to 38 Studios.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Denair Unified School District, Calif., to A from A-plus.

Federal bankruptcy judge Thomas Bennett approved the first debt restructuring in Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy case, for $82.5 million of Ambac-wrapped lease revenue warrants.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury Friday denied the California Public Employees' Retirement System's request to be allowed to sue San Bernardino in California state court over $6.9 million in missed pension payments.

Some state attorneys general are hailing settlements with major tobacco companies resolving a dispute over payments, but Herbert J. Sims analyst Dick Larkin believes tobacco companies may be the big winners.

Providence's agreement with police unions for pension benefit reductions is a credit positive for Rhode Island's struggling capital city, according to Moody's.

Wells Fargo filed a suit for breach of contract against three suburban Atlanta charter schools that are in default on $18.93 million of uninsured bonds.

The SEC approved rule changes that would allow underwriters to fulfill some new-issue reporting requirements by filing information with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s New Issue Information Dissemination Service, or NIIDS.

U.S. attorneys asked a federal judge Monday to order former executives of a General Electric Co. affiliate to pay $6.9 million in restitution to municipal bond issuers for rigging bids on municipal bond reinvestment contracts.

A three-judge panel in Lackawanna County rejected Scranton, Pa.'s request to impose a 1% commuter tax, saying the distressed city wasn't persuasive enough.

In a ruling Wednesday, the federal judge overseeing Jefferson County, Ala.'s Chapter 9 case repeatedly blamed the state of Alabama for precipitating the county's bankruptcy filing in November 2011.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its rating on the town of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.'s certificates of participation to BB-plus from C.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has named the six-member team charged with reviewing Detroit's battered finances in a process that could eventually lead to the appointment of a financial manager.

Bankrupt Jefferson County, Ala., is continuing to negotiate with creditors over the disposition of $3.14 billion of defaulted sewer debt.

Detroit Public Schools has released its comprehensive annual financial report, which shows a general fund deficit of $76.3 million, down from $283.9 million.

Michigan lawmakers passed a new law for distressed communities that gives them the option of choosing a Chapter 9 bankruptcy, which has never happened there.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System filed a motion requesting a hearing, scheduled Friday, to determine San Bernardino's Chapter 9 bankruptcy eligibility be postponed.

Bond market creditors filed final legal challenges on Friday to Stockton, Calif.'s petition for bankruptcy protection, laying the groundwork for a potentially precedent-setting legal battle.