Law and legal issues

WASHINGTON - The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency has paid $12.3 million to settle tax-law violations and protect the tax-exempt status of its student loan bonds.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A newly appointed member of northwest Florida's Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission, citing what he calls trading irregularities in some of the agency's $116 million of defaulted bonds.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The federal judge assigned to Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy case Tuesday gave attorneys additional time to file briefs concerning how much control the receiver of the county's sewer system is entitled to retain.

CHICAGO - Gov. Rick Snyder dodged a bullet Friday when a divided Michigan Supreme Court affirmed his controversial move to tax retirement income, a measure that balances the two-month-old 2012 budget and is part of the Republican governor's ambitious overhaul of the state's tax code.

Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson urged the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania to require the capital city's new state-appointed receiver to implement her proposed financial recovery plan.

LOS ANGELES - A judge rejected the Las Vegas Monorail Co.'s third amended plan to exit bankruptcy on Friday even though 97% of the bondholders voted in favor of it.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The federal judge in Jefferson County's bankruptcy said Monday that he is inclined not to remove the Alabama state court-appointed receiver of the county's sewer system, though he is expected to decide whether to limit the receiver's rate-setting powers.

The status of a bankruptcy filing of compelling interest to the municipal finance and legal industries will be in the hands of a federal judge in Harrisburg, Pa., this week.

WASHINGTON - An industry group urged a federal bankruptcy judge not to remove the court-appointed receiver for Jefferson County's sewer system, warning such a move would negatively impact revenue bond financing for infrastructure projects nationwide.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett on Friday nominated 30-year public finance veteran David Unkovic to be state-appointed receiver for Harrisburg.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Federal bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett on Monday will hear the first major arguments in Jefferson County's massive bankruptcy case to determine if a receiver should remain in charge of the county's sewer system.

CHICAGO - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said Thursday he expects Detroit officials will soon request a preliminary financial review - the first step toward a state takeover of the city.

A parcel tax that will help the struggling Doctors Medical Center stay afloat passed with nearly three-fourths of the vote on Tuesday.

CHICAGO - Almost out of cash to keep operating, an upscale retirement facility in downtown Chicago financed with $229 million of bonds filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week after the failure of negotiations with a group of investors aimed at buying the facility breathing room.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The first-ever statewide PACE program, which already has $2 billion of validated bonding capacity from a Florida court, is on an aggressive track toward implementation with the selection of nationally recognized financial advisors.

SAN FRANCISCO - After trailing in election-night counts, a sales tax measure in Vallejo, Calif., meant to help the beleaguered city restore services has mounted a comeback in late vote tallies to take a slim lead with ballots left to be counted.

WASHINGTON - UBS Financial Services Inc. was fined $300,000 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for failing to supervise and prevent excessive cross-trading of municipal securities between the customer accounts of one broker for a two-year period.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Assured Guaranty Ltd. said Tuesday that it will reconsider insuring the bonds of municipalities and states that don't have a process to review and approve local bankruptcy petitions, citing Alabama as a primary example.

East Providence has joined Central Falls as a Rhode Island municipality under state oversight.

While Pennsylvania officials prepared to implement a takeover of Harrisburg after a deadline passed for the city to submit a recovery plan, another domino fell in the capital city.