Law and legal issues

WASHINGTON — Industry groups are urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to reject a proposal from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to provide it with an additional $17 million in revenue annually by nearly doubling the amount of transaction fees it collects from dealers.

WASHINGTON — Industry groups are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to abandon a proposal to alter its Rule G-37 that would require municipal securities dealers to disclose the names of political action committees controlled by bank holding companies or other affiliates.

Ambac Financial Group announced late Monday it filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

A coalition of Kansas school districts filed suit in a Topeka district court last week seeking to overturn portions of the state’s funding formula for public education.

State and local governments generally will be able to take steps to address the economic turbulence they face without filing for bankruptcy or defaulting on their debt, Standard & Poor's said in a pair of reports released Monday.

Vallejo, Calif., City Council members will weigh a plan to emerge from bankruptcy later this month, but the city is still likely more than half a year away from exiting the largest municipal bankruptcy in more than a decade.

Securities and Exchange Commission member Elisse Walter wants Congress to do away with the exemptions for municipal debt in the federal securities laws, but probably would not want the SEC to collect bond documents from issuers prior to issuance, according to bond attorneys familiar with the matter.

Dauphin County, Pa., Commissioners Wednesday approved a contingent $34.7 million loan from PNC Bank to pay off Harrisburg Authority incinerator notes that will come due on Dec. 15.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Defaults by some Florida community development districts that sold “dirt bonds” to finance infrastructure improvements for residential and commercial real estate projects continued Monday as debt-service payments came due.

The Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously agreed to propose rules for establishing a broad whistleblower program less than a week after an SEC attorney said the agency has obtained numerous queries from muni market participants interested in reporting abuses for awards.

WASHINGTON — The Republican takeover of the House could result in an entirely different perspective on municipal market regulation, if Alabama Republican Spencer Bachus, who has called for greater federal oversight of muni issuers, takes over as chairman of the Financial Services Committee as expected.

WASHINGTON — Municipal borrowers are much slower than corporations to complete annual audited financial reports, confirming many analysts’ claims that muni issuers’ annual financial disclosures are often stale, a new report shows.

DALLAS — An Arkansas district judge gave the state the go-ahead Tuesday to tabulate the votes on a measure lifting the constitutional ceiling on public debt interest rates.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the first batch of proposals to extend to municipal advisers its rules on fair-dealing, disciplinary actions and administrative requirements.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers last week awarded Linda Schakel, a partner at Ballard Spahr in Washington, its Frederick O. Kiel Distinguished Service Award.

SAN ANTONIO — Build America Bond issuers could potentially go years without subsidy payments under the examination process the Internal Revenue Service is currently considering for them, bond attorneys meeting here warned last week.

SAN ANTONIO — Issuers that want to avoid disclosure mishaps — and possible federal enforcement action — should develop and closely follow policies as well as procedures that lay out who must review and sign off on their disclosure documents, Securities and Exchange Commission officials are stressing.

SAN ANTONIO — “Numerous” municipal market participants have queried the ­Securities and Exchange Commission about bringing muni bond ­abuses to its attention under a new ­congressionally mandated program that provides incentives for whistle-blowers, a top SEC enforcement attorney told bond ­attorneys gathered here Thursday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the validation of $29 million of bonds that Sarasota and Sarasota County want to sell to renovate the spring training ­facilities of Major League Baseball’s ­Baltimore Orioles.

A $220 million Pittsburgh Parking Authority borrowing plan hit a snag Thursday as the agency’s board voted against hiring bond professionals to help structure the debt sale.