Public Finance

We are delighted and proud to share the news that our colleague Meghan Burke has been selected to receive the Freda Johnson Award for Trailblazing Women in Public Finance at the Bond Buyer's Deal of the Year ceremony in New York on December 3rd.

Last week, the Working Group for the Fiscal and Economic Recovery of Puerto Rico gave the broadest hint yet of the next tactic in Puerto Rico’s ongoing quest to deleverage itself.

The IRS’s recently-published proposed regulations for Section 529A qualified ABLE programs have taken some wind out of the sails of state program administrators and potential program managers who had hoped for regulations that hewed closer to the requirements in effect for qualified tuition programs under Section 529, on which Section 529A was based. 

Treasury and IRS today announced a decision to withdraw the much-criticized portion of the notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on September 16, 2013 (the “2013 Proposed Regulations”) related to the definition of issue price for tax-advantaged obligations and to propose a revised definition of issue price in its place.

The IRS today published, right on deadline, its proposed regulations relating to Section 529A state-sponsored “qualified ABLE programs,” under which  tax-advantaged investment accounts may be established to fund future “qualified disability expenses” of eligible disabled individuals.

A few reactions to today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit regarding the validity of Puerto Rico’s Recovery Act.

Pi Day comes but once a century, on 3/14/15. The Internal Revenue Service receives praise approximately as frequently. But the IRS deserves applause for its Notice 2015-18, released March 10, 2015, giving the green light to states to proceed with the establishment of tax-free investment programs for the disabled under new Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code.

There is little poetry in tobacco bonds these days. Cigarette consumption has declined beyond projections, and the advent of e-cigarettes may exacerbate the decline.

A similar question can be asked now that the federal district court in Puerto Rico has struck down the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act.

The recently-enacted federal ABLE statute provides a long-awaited vehicle for tax-exempt investing to meet future disability-related expenses of disabled individuals.

The IRS recently published a December 9, 2014 Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum to the effect that the defeasance of taxable Build America Bonds (BABs) causes a tax reissuance of the bonds, with the consequence that the municipal issuer ceases to be eligible for federal government interest subsidies for the period from the defeasance date to the redemption date. 

In the aftermath of recent municipal bankruptcies in which issuers proposed and/or implemented bankruptcy plans involving partial discharges of the issuer’s payment obligation on insured bonds, there has been increased focus on whether municipal bond interest paid by a bond insurer after the bankruptcy plan's effective date continues to be tax-exempt.

On December 16, 2014 the U.S. Senate approved the Achieving a Better Life Experience (“ABLE”) legislation previously approved by the House, authorizing state-sponsored tax-exempt savings programs for disability-related expenses.

On October 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2014-67 (the “Notice”), which provides important guidance and increased flexibility for issuers and conduit borrowers of tax-exempt bonds regarding contracting with private parties in a manner that avoids “private use” by such parties of bond-financed facilities.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently settled the first securities fraud charges brought against a municipal official alleging “control person” status under the federal securities laws. 

On October 24, 2014, the IRS issued Notice 2014-67 (the “Notice”), which provides important guidance and increased flexibility for issuers and conduit borrowers of tax-exempt bonds regarding contracting with private parties in a manner that avoids “private use” by such parties of bond-financed facilities.

Pennsylvania’s legislature recently approved House Bill No. 1773, an overhaul to its Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, commonly known as “Act 47.”  HB 1773 was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett on October 31, 2014.

On August 11, Franklin Funds and Oppenheimer Rochester Funds filed a second amended complaint, opposition to motion to dismiss and cross-motion for summary judgment in the litigation they previously filed in the United States District Court for Puerto Rico challenging the constitutionality and validity of Puerto Rico’s so-called Recovery Act.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) yesterday filed separate motions to dismiss the federal court complaint filed last month by some PREPA bondholders seeking to invalidate the recently-enacted Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act.

On Saturday, June 28, Puerto Rico's Governor Padilla signed into effect Puerto Rico's new bankruptcy law for certain revenue bond issuers.