Natural disasters

The bonds sold for Paradise, the town nearly leveled by a 2018 fire, remain at speculative grade.

A new state law established the wildfire fund to provide a financial buffer for claims against utilities.

The new letter increases the pressure for federal oversight as the island goes through the long process of rebuilding from the damage caused by Hurricane Maria and reorganizing its debt.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill to establish the wildfire fund, to be seeded with new bonds backed by an old utility ratepayer surcharge.

Lawmakers are plowing through a pile of trailer bills, including two tax increases, that must pass to avoid blowing a hole in their $214.8 billion budget.

The commonwealth overall has been allocated $42.3 billion in disaster aid since Hurricanes Maria and Irma struck the island, not counting the new funding approved by Congress.

The disaster-aid measure was delayed for about six months amid Trump’s objections to additional aid for Puerto Rico.

Natalie Cohen and Lynne Funk Posner discuss climate change — from floods to hurricanes to Superfund sites — and how these issues affect state and local governments.

The new guidance issued Wednesday under Notice 2019-39 covers, among other things, Tribal Economic Development Bonds and direct-pay Build America Bonds.

Climate analytics business risQ is partnering with Municipal Markets Analytics to get a better handle on the risk climate change creates for municipal debt.