Law and legal issues

CHICAGO — Michigan officials Wednesday said they denied a request by the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck for permission to file for bankruptcy.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s proposed guidance for broker’s brokers would force them to go beyond the board’s existing rules, would be inconsistent with their limited roles in the market, and would impede the efficiency of the interdealer market, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association warned the MSRB this week.

CHICAGO — A Detroit legislator was poised Wednesday to sponsor a package of bills that would allow Michigan to securitize up to $400 million of its tobacco settlement payments to erase the deficits carried by Detroit Public Schools and 41 other state school districts.

WASHINGTON — The ­Securities and Exchange Commission would violate the Tower Amendment and the principles of federalism if it applies its proposed rules on asset-backed securities to municipal bonds, 14 market groups warned this week.

Pittsburgh City Council President Darlene Harris Tuesday introduced a resolution that would direct additional parking-fee revenue into the city’s pension fund to help boost its funding level and ward off a potential state takeover.

WASHINGTON — A special ethics panel has found New York Rep. Charles Rangel, former Democratic chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, guilty on 11 of 13 ethics charges, the panel announced Tuesday.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox last Saturday approved the $1.5 billion sale of the Detroit Medical Center to a for-profit Tennessee-based health care company. The deal awaits federal approval and is expected to close Dec. 31.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Kildare Capital Inc. $25,000 for failing to timely report municipal securities transactions and other rule violations.

Dealer and non-dealer municipal advisers have until Dec. 31 to register with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board under a new system launched Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO — A public employee union is suing to block a California public-private partnership that would design, build, operate, and maintain a six-lane link between San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Defunct bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. reported positive net income for the first three quarters of the year, but said near-term insolvency is still a concern if its insured portfolio ­tumbles.

The Harrisburg Authority Monday night is set to vote on allocating up to $3 million to the city of Harrisburg that, if approved, would give Pennsylvania’s capital a much-needed liquidity boost.

A New York judge ruled last week that opponents of the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn will be able to reargue their case that the Empire State Development Corp. violated the state’s environmental quality review act.

WASHINGTON — The Government Finance Officers Association is asking the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to more clearly explain the importance of its proposal to nearly double the transaction fees it collects from dealers in order to pay for its development of its EMMA system as well as its new oversight of municipal advisers.

CHICAGO — Repayment of $46.6 million of taxable tribal gaming revenue bonds issued for the Lac du Flambeau tribe in Wisconsin is in the hands of a federal appellate panel after lawyers for the tribe and bondholders laid out their arguments in a dispute over whether the trust indenture required federal approval.

WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission should rein in the American Bankers Association’s CUSIP Service Bureau and prevent it from charging market participants unreasonable and unwarranted fees, according to three trade groups.

New York City-based law firm Cravath, Swaine and Moore LLP will advise Harrisburg’s City Council on its options for either filing for bankruptcy or entering into Pennsylvania’s distressed communities program, called Act. 47.

The growing amount of cash that MBIA Inc. expects to see in the coming years from mortgage loan putbacks could boost the company’s balance sheet by billions of dollars, according to a third-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday. That could help restore its ratings so it could begin writing new insurance policies, but ongoing litigation contesting its 2009 ­restructuring continues to hurt the company’s outlook.

The state-appointed receiver who took over governing Central Falls, R.I., has appointed a “state receiver’s council” to take over from the elected City Council, state officials announced Tuesday.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Goldman, Sachs & Co. $650,000 for failing to disclose that two of its registered representatives, including Fabrice Tourre, received “Wells Notices” from the Securities and Exchange ­Commission.