Law and legal issues

A temporary injunction issued Monday blocks the removal of minority- and women-owned firms from the state's Historically Underutilized Businesses program.

Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles, who served during President Trump's first term, said members of the Fed board should be removable by the president, but that the decentralized structure of the Fed will ensure that monetary policy decisions remain sound.

Less than two weeks after Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a new tax on annual income over $1 million, a lawsuit has been filed seeking to overturn it.

Litigants say $400 million in planned Port of South Louisiana bonds were not properly advertised. It's part of a wider challenge to industrial development plans.

Financial mismanagement and apparent revenue diversion led to events of default for centers owned by and financed through the PFA, the bond trustee said.

The state Supreme Court's decision did not address the 2022 law's governmental contract ban for businesses deemed to be "boycotting" the fossil fuel industry.

The exemption from state income taxes for Native Americans who live and work on federally designated tribal reservation land was at issue in the case.

Judge Laura Taylor Swain is allowing the continued examination of a count in which a trustee is challenging fees, and some proceeds, of pre-bankruptcy bonds.

Otero County addressed an Open Meetings Act violation by reapproving a contract with ICE that generates revenue to pay off bonds for a detention facility.

A lawsuit filed this week seeking to end Austin's transportation user fee comes as the Texas city is launching its fiscal 2027 budget process.

Otero County's March 13 emergency meeting to avoid a bond default did not comply with the Open Meetings Act, the state's Justice Department determined.

Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine is urging Congress to pass legislation for the automatic and timely refunding of "illegal tariffs."

In this Market Intelligence analysis, Jeff Lipton warns that granting states access to Chapter 9 would be deeply disruptive, likely forcing muni yields higher and liquidity lower, while underscoring why states' legal protections and reserves still support strong willingness to pay.

Without that claim, bondholders are fighting for repayment of about $8.5 billion.

Otero County commissioners approved an agreement with the federal immigration agency to avert a bond default despite a state law banning such contracts.

Upper and Lower Basin states are at odds over post-2026 operations for the drought-stricken river, raising litigation risks and highlighting credit uncertainty.

State authorization for $1.35 billion of taxable ratepayer-backed bonds sold in 2022 for Oklahoma Natural Gas Company is being contested in court.

A federal judge wrote in an opinion that a "mountain of evidence" suggests the subpoenas were an effort to push Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates or resign.

MBIA Inc. used National Public Finance Guarantee and MBIA Insurance to "perpetrate a fraud on investors," the COFINA bondholders said.

The offer was revealed in a disclosure statement and plan of reorganization in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy.