Washington

Municipal analysts and other muni market participants are urging the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to strengthen a proposal to tighten bond-ballot campaign contribution reporting requirements for dealers.

Fewer than 10% of general-obligation bond issuers filed annual audited financial reports within the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's recommended 120-day period in 2011, according to a report from muni research firm Merritt Research Services LLC.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board launched a series of free online training videos Thursday to help dealers and issuers submit primary- and secondary-market disclosures to the board's EMMA system.

Government officials are on a path to regulating municipal advisors, but real reform won't come until issuers demand higher standards from their advisors, a market observer is warning.

The House Financial Services Committee passed a municipal advisor bill Wednesday after striking a requirement that MAs have written agreements with issuers, one of the bill's most contentious provisions.

While dealers are pushing for a House committee to approve a pending municipal advisor bill, non-dealer advisors oppose the bill, claiming it contains too many loopholes that would allow firms to engage in advisory activities without being regulated.

State treasurers voted Monday to urge Moody's Investors Service to carefully consider the consequences of its proposed changes to analyzing public-sector pension data, warning it will muddy already complicated pension issues for the public and financial markets.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has expanded its online guide for municipal bond issuers with new resources, including "EMMA Trade Monitor," a service that allows issuers to download secondary-market trade data to desktop computers.

A pending municipal advisor bill that has been amended to more precisely define the term and to leave a statutorily-mandated federal fiduciary duty in place, could be voted on by the a House committee as early as next week, according to sources.

The SEC could address muni market sectors with the most defaults if Congress gives it authority to enhance municipal issuers' disclosure practices, SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter said in a recent interview.