Litigation

The proposed bond-financed Uinta Basin Railway has been hit with regulatory setbacks in the wake of a 2023 federal court ruling.

Opponents of the state's capital gains tax will turn their efforts to a repeal ballot initiative following rejection by the high court.

A 2023 state law gave legislative leaders four appointments to the six-member turnpike board as lawmakers sought to reform the agency in the wake of a controversial, bond-financed expansion project.

The negative outlook on the Phoenix-based university's Ba1 rating is due in part to its battle with federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Education, which it sued in 2021.

Fitch Ratings said the trajectory of the city's AA rating could depend on how Mayor John Whitmire, who took office this week, resolves the years-long impasse over firefighter pay.

The case, which was refiled last week without federal claims from an earlier lawsuit, will have its first hearing in January.

A constitutional amendment approved by Texas voters Nov. 7 will reduce public school property taxes, leaving the state to make up for the revenue reduction.

The decision by the District of Columbia-based U.S. Appeals Court will officially vacate the Surface Transportation Board's environmental approval for the project.

Owners of $284 million of defaulted bonds will get only $2.4 million in cash, along with a minority equity stake in Legacy Park's new owner.

Litigation brought by a state public pension recipient challenges the constitutionality of a 2022 law prohibiting governmental contracts with companies the Oklahoma treasurer determines are "boycotting" energy businesses.

City Attorney Michael Gates said he will appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A group of taxpayers argue that a property tax increase approved by Austin voters in 2020 for light rail cannot be used to support bonds.

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request to hear arguments seeking to overturn a capital gains tax expected to bring in $500 million annually.

The whistleblower who brought the case, Minnesota-based municipal advisor Johan Rosenberg, will receive $14.4 million under the deal.

A $25.5 million cash offer plus some equity was made to acquire Legacy Park, which was financed with $284 million of now-defaulted revenue bonds.

"Nothing is off the table in terms of looking at who we can potentially charge," said Brian Fagel, assistant director of the SEC's Public Finance Abuse Unit.  

At stake is nearly $800 million in Federal Transit Administration funds.

Legacy Cares, which filed for bankruptcy in May, is trying to sell Legacy Park, which was financed with now-defaulted bonds issued in 2020 and 2021.

California lawmakers have asked the state Supreme Court to block a ballot measure that would radically alter the state's tax structure.

Final state approval of the debt was conditioned on the resolution of a petition to the Oklahoma Supreme Court to revisit its Aug. 1 validation of the debt.