Law and legal issues

Two high-profile local governmental entities in Florida last week agreed to accept settlements as part of the $65.5 million multi-state agreement over JPMorgan's alleged bid-rigging actions with regard to derivatives.

Jefferson County, Ala., has hired George Tablack as its new CFO.

A breakdown of legislative recommendations for congress and of regulatory recommendations for the SEC and MSRB to consider.

A Pennsylvania official Tuesday said the state could relax its Aug. 15 deadline for Scranton to enact a revised recovery plan if it sees the mayor and City Council making progress.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a long-awaited report on the $3.7 trillion municipal securities market Tuesday that recommended at least 15 major legislative and regulatory changes to improve disclosure and price transparency for retail and other investors.

A trustee and an insurer for Jefferson County's defaulted general obligation warrants Tuesday objected to a motion asking the federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy case to set a deadline for the county to file a plan of adjustment for its debts.

The American Bar Association's taxation section sent a letter to lawmakers suggesting 11 options Congress should employ to simplify and reform tax-exempt financing provisions as they consider comprehensive tax reform, including reenacting Build America Bonds.

A Pennsylvania official could relax its Aug. 15 deadline for Scranton enacting a revised recovery plan if it sees the mayor and City Council making progress.

The Michigan-appointed emergency manager of Highland Park Schools has converted the troubled suburban Detroit district into a charter-operated one, and hired a private firm to run the schools starting in the fall.

Illinois Gov. Quinn on Monday called a special legislative session for mid-August, pressing lawmakers to act on elusive pension reforms needed to help stave off further credit deterioration and spare schools, healthcare, and public safety spending from further cuts.

The trustee for $39 million of appropriation revenue bonds issued for a failed artificial sweetener plant in Moberly Missouri has decided to give up on efforts to sell the half built plant to a new developer and now intends to auction off the project's assets this fall.

State Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Bigelow, last week asked the Arkansas State Police to investigate a failed petition drive that sought an increase in the state's production tax on natural gas.

Pennsylvania's Senate has scheduled an Aug. 29 hearing on the incinerator bond deals that left capital city Harrisburg with more than $310 million in debt that it cannot pay.

Nearly broke and seemingly shut off from the capital markets, Scranton has asked its pension board to meet current-year obligations for payroll and debt service.

The California secondary market remains mostly steady to strong as high-profile local municipal bankruptices unfold, but it has not been without some minor turbulence, according to municipal experts.

Former employees of financial firms who have already pleaded guilty to rigging muni bond contracts will be allowed to testify in the upcoming bid-rigging trial against former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Michigan's top court Wednesday heard arguments over the font size on petitions for a ballot referendum to overturn the state's controversial emergency management law.

The Bank of New York Mellon says a suit seeking class-action status in Jefferson County's bankruptcy case is "a procedurally improper attempt to pursue frivolous claims."

Struggling to repay $113 million in debt that financed its privately-owned and operated airport in Missouri's Ozark Mountains, Branson Airport LLC has won a reprieve against enforcement actions from bondholders in the form of an extended forbearance agreement.

The federal judge assigned to the upcoming bid-rigging trial against three former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers has struck down requests to drop all six criminal counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and witness tampering.