Washington

The National Association of Municipal Advisors is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to create exemptions from broker-dealer and investment adviser registration for MA firms engaged in activities understood to be normal municipal advisory services.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined two firms a total of $7,500 for violations of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rules, FINRA said in its monthly disciplinary report Monday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has received many comments on its rule 15c2-12, but is able to respond on only a limited basis because the request for comment is limited in scope, members of the commission's muni office told issuers Thursday.

A federal judge in Chicago has signed off on Harvey, Ill.'s settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over charges it misled investors by diverting bond proceeds from their intended use.

Teaming with state and local investigators, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is launching a sweeping investigation of public corruption in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

Offering document misstatements related to continuing disclosure violations has been widespread and upcoming enforcement actions will provide guidance on the Securities and Exchange Commission's views, the SEC's muni enforcement chief told issuers Thursday.

Dealers said the MSRB's proposal to extend gifts and gratuities regulation to municipal advisors should be reworked to establish uniform recordkeeping requirements for both dealer and non-dealer firms, while a major non-dealer firm said the proposal should be an opportunity to fix a gap in the existing rule.

State budgets are expected to show moderate growth and stability in fiscal 2015, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers' fall fiscal survey of states.

The Airport Commission of the City and County of San Francisco has agreed to pay the Treasury $67,000 and retire $1.145 million of Series A variable rate revenue refunding bonds issued in 2010 to settle a tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's proposal to require muni dealers to seek the most favorable price possible when executing transactions for most investors.