Law and legal issues

DALLAS - More than 100 school districts in Texas have passed board resolutions to join a promised legal challenge seeking to reconfigure the state's system for financing public education.

Jefferson County, Ala., commissioners offered the position of county manager to Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos Tuesday. He accepted and will start Tuesday, according to published reports.

Gov. Robert Bentley last week said Alabama would appeal after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refused a request from his state and Florida to reconsider a ruling that allows Atlanta and other surrounding communities to withdraw drinking water from Lake Lanier.

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday began fast-tracking legislation that would enable a takeover of capital city Harrisburg and authorize Gov. Tom Corbett to declare a state of emergency.

RBC Capital Markets LLC will pay $30.4 million to settle charges filed Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing the firm of misconduct for its role in the sale of unsuitably risky investment products to five Wisconsin school districts.

SAN FRANCISCO - Vallejo, Calif., hasn't quite wiggled out of bankruptcy, nearly two months after getting a judge's approval for its exit plan.

Arizona school districts may not use leftover bond money on projects that were not specifically approved by voters, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled.

Supporters of the library in bankrupt Central Falls, R.I. have scheduled a “Save the Library” fundraiser for Sept. 30 to help keep it open.

WASHINGTON - A bond lawyers' group is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow issuers to disclose interim financial action without fear of possible enforcement action by the agency.

Closing in on the one-year anniversary of its bankruptcy filing, Ambac Financial Group has filed a new reorganization plan that all parties involved have agreed on.

BRADENTON, Fla. - A federal judge in Alabama Wednesday dismissed the Securities and Exchange Commission's suit against former Birmingham Mayor and Jefferson County Commission president Larry Langford, ending a case that began more than three years ago.

California Gov. Jerry Brown is weighing one bill that secures bondholders if a hospital declares bankruptcy, and has already signed another that proponents said could help corporate investment in municipal bonds.

CHICAGO - The St. Paul Port Authority and a group of investors holding a portion of $51.7 million of defaulted industrial revenue bonds will ask a judge Thursday to preliminarily approve a proposed class-action settlement that could end five years of litigation over the fate of the long-troubled 876 Bond Fund.

CHICAGO - Holders of $18 million of unrated debt issued for a large suburban Cincinnati mall are working to extend a forbearance agreement with the project's owners, who have failed to make debt service payments on the bonds since 2008.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The trustee for the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority's $115.9 million of defaulted bonds is providing financial support to entice volunteers to serve on the authority's board, according to the Florida state representative who negotiated the deal.

Cash-strapped Jefferson County got a small windfall last week when a local judge ordered the return of $6.4 million from escrowed occupational taxes.

DALLAS - Lenders have repossessed a 33-acre retail and entertainment complex adjoining Glendale, Ariz.'s National Hockey League arena after a failed foreclosure auction.

San Antonio Independent School District trustees voted last week to be a party in a proposed lawsuit seeking to overturn the system for allocating state funds to public school districts.

SAN DIEGO - Though municipal bankruptcies may never become widespread, industry insiders warned during The Bond Buyer's California Public Finance Conference more will come because of the pressure on local governments.

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Jefferson County, Ala., Commission Friday avoided filing the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history by agreeing to a restructuring deal with creditors holding about $3.11 billion of defaulted variable- and auction-rate sewer warrants.