Highlights
- Improving Financial Disclosure by State and Local Government Borrowers.
- BDA Submits Comment Letter: Proposed Limited Safe Harbor from FINRA Debt Research Rules for Desk Commentary.
- New MSRB Fee to be Assessed on Underwriters to 529 College Savings Plans.
- INFRA Grant Program Encourages Use of P3s.
- Fitch: Illinois Legislation Gives Chicago New Financing Tool.
- MSRB Webinar: What to Expect from Your Municipal Advisor.
- Assured Guaranty Corporation v. Madison County, Mississippi – In action by bond guarantor against county, Court of Appeals holds that plain language of Contribution Agreement entered into between county and special-purpose district conditioned county’s obligation to advance bond payments on district’s continued performance of its obligation to reimburse county for any such payments within a period of two years.
- Tennessee Republican Party v. Securities and Exchange Commission – Court of Appeals upholds SEC rule limiting campaign activities of persons who advise city and state governments on issuing municipal securities.
- And finally, we ran across this little event and thought to ourselves, “Hey, maybe our fine readers would like to spend a week in Cambridge (so lovely in January) attending a week-long public finance seminar at the Kennedy School of Government. Fun for the entire family!” All for the low, low price of WHAT?! Should I ever elect to shell out $8,500 for a week’s festivities, I’ll be expecting the, uh, perks that JFK himself would have required and which cannot be further enumerated in a family publication such as this. Happy Birthday, Mr. President indeed.
- Ed. Note: Hey, folks. As very little went down this week, please feel free to submit a request for a 1/50 pro rata refund of your subscription price. Send enquires to AirborneSwine@bondcasebriefs.com
- SIFMA Submits Comments to the SEC on Proposed Rule Change to Amend MSRB Rule G-26, on Customer Account Transfers.
- Groups Ask MSRB to Broaden CUSIP Exception for Private Placements.
- Unlocking Value from Public Assets: Leveraging Private-Sector Expertise to Generate New Public Benefits.
- Goldman Leaps Into Ranks of Top Muni Underwriters With Big Sales.
- NABL: Political Subdivision Regs on List of Burdensome Regs.
- Valley Forge Towers Apartments N, LP v. Upper Merion Area School District – Supreme Court of Pennsylvania holds that Uniformity Clause did not permit school district to selectively appeal only assessments of commercial properties, such as apartment complexes, while choosing not to appeal assessments of other types of property, such as single-family residential homes.
- People v. Superior Court – Supreme Court of California holds that an independent contractor can be a public officer or employee prohibited from having a financial interest in a contract made in his official capacity, disapproving People v. Christiansen.
- And finally, Not Exactly the Casino Royale is brought to us this week by McAnally v. Thompson, in which whistleblowing town police captain contacted the FBI to request its assistance in investigating possible municipal malfeasance. The site of their clandestine rendezvous? “In the parking lot behind the Dairy Queen in Wasilla.” Captain MacAnally, I knew Bond, James Bond. Bond, James Bond was a friend of mine. You sir, are no….
- As the Countdown to the New Issue Price Regulations Continues, Let the Document Negotiations Begin!
- Outline For Discussion Of New Issue Price Rules.
- Black & Veatch: 2017 Water Industry Report.
- CDFA Water Finance Resource Center.
- A Comprehensive Look At S&P Global Ratings’ U.S. Public Finance Water And Wastewater Ratings.
- KBRA Rating Letters for Insured Bonds.
- S&P Request for Comment: Limited-Tax General Operating Debt.
- S&P Request for Comment: Issue Credit Ratings Linked To U.S. Public Finance Obligors’ Creditworthiness.
- Couple of interesting tax cases: DirecTV, Inc. v. Town of New Hampton and Upper Moreland Township v. 7 Eleven, Inc.
- Vermillion State Bank v. State by Department of Transportation – Court of Appeal holds – as a matter of first impression – that a landowner is the only person that may petition for attorney fees and costs under statute providing for such awards to landowners in inverse condemnation actions, and an attorney has no right to seek fees and costs under the statute independently of the landowner.
- And finally, The Grinch that Stole Grinchiness is brought to us this week by Carr v. Town of New London, in which the Town went to the mats to contest homeowners’ request for a tax abatement. The petty reason for the homeowners’ whining about their tax bill, against which the Town made such a valiant stand? The home in question HAD BURNED TO THE GROUND. Which, come to think of it, is probably some kind of code violation. Look into that, Town of New London.
- Fitch: Pension Impact Adjusted in U.S. Public Finance Criteria.
- Special Assessment Techniques for Transformative Community Improvements.
- MSRB Seeks Additional Comment on Requirements for Obtaining CUSIP Numbers.
- MSRB Adds Exception in Revised Proposal Requiring CUSIPs for Private Placements.
- BDA Submits Comments to Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Recommendations for the 2017-2018 Priority Guidance Plan.
- Federal Infrastructure Tax Credit Legislation Makes Key Changes from 2015 Proposal.
- The Tavern, LLC v. Town of Alpine – Supreme Court of Wyoming holds that campground owners sufficiently alleged that, in constructing and financing (loans, rather than bonds) new sewer system, town exceeded its constitutional and statutory authority, as required to state a claim for injunctive relief.
- Better Government Association v. Illinois High School Association – Supreme Court of Illinois holds – as a matter of first impression – that voluntary association of public and private high schools was not “subsidiary body” of governmental unit under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and thus was not subject to FOIA’s disclosure requirement.
- And finally, Can Someone Please, Please Explain This? is brought to us this week by Ada County Highway District v. Brooke View, Inc.,, a seemingly garden-variety eminent domain case. Highway District offers subdivision $7,738.47 as just compensation for a 1,425 square foot section of property to complete a sidewalk and drainage project. Subdivision declines. Highway District condemns, subdivision sues over valuation. Court awards $148,390.21, plus prejudgment interest and attorney fees. So far, so good. But, but, but (insert spluttering noises of your choosing). Prejudgment interest = $48,792.66. Non-discretionary costs = $44,051.46. Discretionary costs = $365,703.63. Attorney’s fees = $744,243.56! So the county is rung up to the tune of $1.35 million for utilizing 1,425 sq. ft. of land for a public works project? How is this possible? Is this normal? Can I assume that this is how it’s done in China? Why haven’t they come for us with pitchforks and torches?
- When Should an Issuer of Tax-Advantaged Bonds Use the Hold-the-Offering-Price Method to Establish the Issue Price of the Bonds?
- MSRB Webinar: Municipal Advisor Solicitor Guidance.
- SEC and MSRB to Hold Webinar on Series 50 Exam for Municipal Advisors.
- MSRB Files Amendments to Modernize Customer Account Transfers.
- S&P Global Ratings Announces New Green Evaluation Service.
- Local Governments’ Hidden Reason to Oppose Tax Cuts: Bank Loans.
- Rising Seas May Wipe Out These Jersey Towns, but They’re Still Rated AAA.
- S&P: The Top 10 Management Characteristics of Highly Rated State and Local Borrowers.
- Successful Investing in Charter Schools Part III: Market Advancements
- And finally, the Supreme Court of Colorado this week took up the issue of whether “Blunt Wraps” qualify as “tobacco products” for tax purposes in Colorado Department of Revenue v. Creager Mercantile Co., Inc. The court helpfully informed us that, “Like traditional rolling papers, Blunt Wraps are designed to be filled with tobacco, marijuana, or other smoking material and smoked.” And then this bombshell: “See generally Redman, How to Roll A Blunt, on Whut? Thee Album (Columbia Records 1992).” Wait, the Blue Book now covers the proper citing of rap artists? Mad props to the clerks who snuck this into a Supreme Court opinion. But what on earth were the Justices smoking? Oh. Never mind.
- SIFMA Finalizes Muni Issue Price Model Documents.
- MSRB Holds Quarterly Board Meeting.
- GASB Implementation Guidance Update No. 2017-1
- IRS Teeing Up More Flexible Rules for Public Approval of PABs.
- Munis Could Be Hurt by Plan to Slash Corporate Tax Rates.
- Demys’TIF’ying Tax Incentives.
- IRS Publication 5271, Complying with Arbitrage Requirements: A Guide for Issuers of Tax-Exempt Bonds.
- S&P 2017 U.S. Public Finance Credit Forum.
- BLX Post-Issuance Compliance Workshop.
- KBRA NE Municipal Finance Summit.
- Long v. City of Helen – Supreme Court of Georgia holds that fact that city’s attorney fees and litigation expenses were principally borne by city’s insurer did not preclude city from recovering fees and expenses.
- City and County of Denver v. Expedia, Inc. – Supreme Court of Colorado holds that online travel companies were “vendors” with responsibility to collect lodger’s tax and remit it to city, and that companies’ markup for selling reservations to lodgers, which companies retained, was subject to tax.
- And finally, Adventures in Assessments is brought to us this week by City of North Little Rock v. Pfeifer, in which “The City’s attorney appeared before the Board, explained the uses of its properties within the proposed district, and requested a reassessment. The Board then raised the assessed value of the City’s larger parcel from $530 to $82,850 and lowered the assessment of its smaller parcel from $8200 to $8196.” While first revaluation is genuinely stunning, the second is just plain gobsmacking. (I’d love to tell you that I did a violent double take when I saw the numbers, but it took me a minute or so to do the math.) What conceivable factor(s) could possibly result in a $4 reduction? Once again, we welcome your conjectures.
- Think Trump Tax Cuts Spell Doom for Municipal Bonds? Think Again.
- Owners of These Muni Bonds May Reap Windfall From Trump Tax Plan.
- States to Battle White House for Tax Deduction, Muni Exemption.
- Trump’s Tax Plan And Munis.
- The Yield Curve – What It Is and Why It Matters: Squire Patton Boggs
- Following the Money 2017: Special Districts
- Estermann v. Bose – Supreme Court of Nebraska holds that joint water management entity created by four natural resource districts pursuant to Interlocal Cooperation Act (ICA) was authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain.
- Magnolia 8 Properties, LLC v. City of Maple Plain – Court of Appeal holds, as a matter of first impression, that discretionary-acts exception to municipal liability is absolute and shields a municipality’s planning-level decisions from strict-liability claims.
- And finally, Surreptitious Plumbing, LLC is brought to us this week by Godfrey v. Upland Borough, in which homeowners accused their borough of “surreptitiously” installing storm and sewage-water systems on their property and subsequently engaging in a years-long, elaborate, cover-up in which the raw sewage in their basement was attributed to a crack in their own sewer line, a malicious prosecution for the failure to fix that line, destruction of evidence, etc. etc. Jeez, paranoid much? Wait. What? That’s a thing that actually occurred? Our sincerest apologies to the sewage-spackled Godfreys.
- NFMA Issues Comment on GASB Project No. 3-251, Financial Reporting Model Improvements – Governmental Funds.
- USAFacts: This Goes Way Beyond Open Data.
- MSRB to Mull MA Impact Analysis, Critical Comments at Meeting.
- Funding of Infrastructure: Framing the Issues.
- S&P: U.S. State And Local Governments Wait For The Economic Boost To Kick In.
- Bankable Construction Contracts In P3 Projects: Dentons
- Is the Pendulum of Bond Pricing Beginning to Swing Back Toward Discount Bonds? If So, We Need to Be Prepared for the Resulting Bond Yield Calculations.
- NCPPP Announces Spring, Summer P3Bootcamps.
- Heartland Apartment Association, Inc. v. City of Mission – Supreme Court of Kansas holds that city’s transportation “user fee,” which was assessed on developed real property based on a formula that attempted to estimate the number of vehicle trips a particular property generated, was a prohibited excise tax, rather than a fee.
- And finally, we learned this week that “Dentons is the world’s first polycentric global law firm.” Uh, congratulations? Perhaps fewer Wiccans in the marketing department? What can this possibly mean? The belief in multiple law firms that animate the universe? We welcome your conjectures.
- GASB Issues Omnibus Statement Addressing a Broad Range of Practice Issues.
- SEC Proposes Expansive New Continuing Disclosure Requirements Regarding Private Debt and Other Financial Obligations.
- SEC Seeks Comment on Proposed Amendments to Municipal Securities Disclosure Rule.
- Cambridge, Mass., Community-Sourced Minibonds Could Spark Market Trend.
- Changes in the Audit Process for Tax Advantaged Bonds Related to IRS Division Reorganization.
- Report from TSLI – What Can We Expect in the Near Term from the IRS?
- William Beaumont Hospital System v. Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC – Court of Appeals holds that allegations by nonprofit hospital system that broker-dealers withheld information about structure of auction-rate securities (ARS) market and their support-bidding practices, that they misrepresented availability of fixed-rate versus formulaic-rate structures, and that they failed to warn hospital system about deteriorating ARS market did not satisfy heightened fraud and mistake pleading standard.
- And finally, Great Moments in Judicial Overreach is brought to us this week by Den Hartog v. City of Waterloo, which contains this stupefying zinger, “The exact extent to which we may go in deciding questions of fact from the record is vaguely defined; it lies in a shadow land, a ‘twilight zone,’ whose boundaries do not admit of definite charting.” We’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.
- SEC to Propose Issuer Disclosures on Bank Loans, Private Placements.
- SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to Improve Municipal Securities Disclosures.
- MSRB Draft Rules Would Clarify CUSIPs Needed for Private Placements.
- The Coming Transparency Wave: GASB 77
- Hawkins Advisory: Municipal Market Regulatory Update.
- IRS Publishes Population Figures for Housing Credit, Private Bonds.
- NFMA Municipal Analysts Bulletin.
- MSRB 2016 Fact Book.
- And finally, Great Moments in Misguided Linguistic (Pubic) Hair-Splitting, is brought to us this week by Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City v. Kougl, in which Detective Fletcher Jackson of the Baltimore City Police Department’s Special Enforcement Section, Vice Division, took it upon himself to conduct an undercover investigation at Club Harem, an adult entertainment establishment. During his investigation, one of the Club’s employees, Jamaica Brickhouse, approached Detective Jackson and engaged him in conversation. “After introducing herself, Brickhouse exposed her breasts to Detective Jackson and invited him to touch them. He complied.” While we appreciate your dutiful compliance, Detective, is it not the case that one complies with a directive and accepts an invitation? It remains a distinct possibility that Detective Jackson’s busy – yet rewarding – work schedule will prevent him from delving further into this distinction.
- Forecasting the Bond Market in 2017: CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast
- Student Housing: Comparing Options for Tax Exempt Financing – Orrick
- GOP Expected to Take Aim at Local Tax Deductions.
- Slowing of Muni Tax Regs Seen in 2017, But Three Projects Watched.
- GFOA and Issuer Groups’ Message to Congress: Munis Build Infrastructure.
- New York Federal Reserve Staff Report on Regulation and Bond Market Liquidity.
- Tutor Perini Corporation v. Banc of America Securities LLC – Court of Appeals holds that genuine issues of material fact remained as to whether broker-dealer acted unfairly or deceptively by making material omissions regarding nonviability of auction rate securities market during time that broker-dealer was specifically recommending and selling student loan auction rate securities to investor while market teetered on brink of collapse, thus precluding summary judgment on investor’s state securities law claims against broker-dealer. Beautifully-written opinion, if you got the time.
- And finally, Great Moments in Deadpan Understatement is brought to us this week by Torres v. Faxton St. Lukes Healthcare, in which police were summoned to a home where a violently psychotic Paul Bumbolo was accosting his uncle on the front porch of the family home. Paul had just killed the family dog, because it was “the devil.” After taking this all in, including the fact that Paul couldn’t remember his own name and referred to himself as, “the god of war”, the police reached the conclusion that his behavior was, “abnormal.” The police report also states that the aunt found her nephew’s behavior, “unusual.” This became important after Paul was summarily released from the hospital, only to return home and slaughter the entire family. Which we conclude was “unfortunate”.
- In American Towns, Private Profits From Public Works.
- 5 Hot Topics Hitting Public Finance in 2017.
- Muni Investors: Beware Of The De Minimis Tax Rule.
- NASACT Webinar: Getting Ready for Infrastructure Change.
- Matter of Application of The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority – Supreme Court of Oklahoma holds that bonds requested by Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to finance four turnpike construction projects all related to the construction and/or improvement of turnpikes, and therefore, statute providing funding for the four projects under one bond issue did not violate single subject rule contained in the state constitution.
- And finally, Worth a Try! is brought to us this week by Western Petroleum, LLC v. Williams County Board of Commissioners, in which an oil company set up a trailer park for its itinerant workforce (your editor gets a special tingly feeling each time he hears the term, “man camp”) and was subsequently fined for a violation of the county temporary housing regs. The applicable fine is $1k/day, but the county assessed a $1k/day per (purported) violation fine. Given the number of days, and the number of trailers, Western Petroleum’s tab came to $29,635,000. We did a little digging and learned that the entire 2017 annual operating budget for Williams County is $22.7 million. The ND Supreme Court wasn’t buying it, but ya’ gotta dream. Ya’ gotta dream.
- NABL Teleconference on Final Issue Price Regulations.
- The New Issue Price Regulations – “Bought Deals,” Bored Bidders, and Other Problems.
- Early Views On The US Energy And Infrastructure Sectors Under A Trump Administration: Sherman & Sterling
- KKR Seeks Buyer for Water Ventures, Testing Appetite for Trump-Style Infrastructure Deals.
- In re Transient Occupancy Tax Cases – Supreme Court of California holds that transient occupancy tax was not payable on amounts retained by travel companies above the amounts remitted to hotels as the agreed wholesale costs of room rentals plus the hotel-determined markup.
- Fernandez v. UBS AG – District Court holds that investors in Puerto Rico tax-free closed-end mutual funds had Article III standing to assert breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract claims against broker-dealers, investment advisors, and fund administrator on behalf of putative class of investors; detailed analysis of applicable statutes of limitation.
- And finally, Our Work Here Is Done is brought to us this week by Trimble v. City of Albany, in which firefighters hosed down a minor house fire, struck heroic poses, and instructed the family to pack up a few things and spend the night with relatives. And so they did. The minor glitch in the plan smoldered in a window well as they slept, eventually erupting into flame. The family returned, only to find a pile of ash. The fire department returned, only to find a lawsuit. And the circle of life rolls on.
- Third Circuit Appellate Court Rules That Post-Acceleration Payment in Bankruptcy Constitutes Optional Redemption: Mintz, Levin
- Final Issue Price Rules Make Allowances for Competitive Sales.
- IRS Publishes Issue Price Definition for Tax-Exempt Bonds.
- New Type of Chicago School Debt Gets Investment-Grade Rating.
- Fitch Rates $500MM Chicago Board of Ed (IL) Bonds ‘A’ on Special Revenue Analysis; Outlook Stable.
- Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns the Long-Term Rating of BBB with a Negative Outlook for the Chicago Board of Education Dedicated Capital Improvement Tax Bonds, Series 2016.
- Becker v. Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A. – District Court certifies class action by bondholders against indenture trustee that had failed to maintain perfected security interests in the property securing the bonds, allegedly resulting in a reduced award to the bondholders by the bankruptcy court in issuer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- And finally, The Wheels On the Bus Go Buelta y Buelta is brought to us this week by McNair v. City and County of San Francisco, in which school bus driver Michael McNair’s professional qualifications were called into question after he (oh, so very inter alia) “improperly drove a group of children from San Diego, California to Tijuana, Mexico.” Field trip! Mr. McNair’s explanation for this little incident features the mother of all understatements, “I made a mistake and just didn’t think.” Appreciate the candor, but we’ll be hanging on to the keys all the same.
- IRS Publishes Arbitrage Guidance for Tax-Exempt Bonds.
- How Did Arbitrage “Rebate” Get its Name?: Squire Patton Boggs
- MSRB Reminds Investors of Risks of Rising Interest Rates in Municipal Market.
- MSRB Reminds Dealers of Time of Trade Disclosure Obligations Related to Market Discount Bonds.
- Issuers Took More Time to Complete Financial Audits in 2015.
- TE/GE Announces New Information Document Request Management Process.
- Tutor Perini Corporation v. Banc of America Securities LLC – Court of Appeals reverses District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of broker-dealer and its parent company in investor’s action asserting securities fraud claims under federal and state law by alleged misrepresentations and omissions regarding ARS market that eventually collapsed; finds multiple issues of material fact.
- New Jersey Alliance for Fiscal Integrity, LLC v. New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority – Appeals court authorizes transaction in which the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority will issue Redevelopment Area Bonds and Economic Redevelopment Grant Revenue Bonds and then sell those bonds to the Wisconsin Public Finance Authority, which will raise the money to purchase the bonds by issuing its own bonds and servicing the debt on those bonds with the revenue from the New Jersey bonds.
- And finally, If It Walks Like a Duck, Talks Like a Duck, and Looks So Peaceful and Lifelike Like a Duck is brought to you this week by River’s Edge Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Board of Tullytown Borough, in which the court had to explain to the zoning board (presumably slowly and using very small words) that a business entailing “meeting with clients, arrangements, embalming, cremating, dressing of deceased, casketing, and conducting funeral services” is what we here in America call a “funeral home.” Common sense clearly not a permitted use in Tullytown Borough.
- Pay for Success Project Assessment Tool.
- MSRB Files Proposed Rule Change to Extend MSRB’s Proposed Customer Complaint and Related Rules to Municipal Advisors and to Modernize Those Rules.
- MSRB Seeks New Complaint Process for MAs, Updated One for Dealers.
- Bond Attorneys’ Workshop Round-up: Squire Patton Boggs
- IRS Releases Three-Part Video Series on Conduit Issuers.
- MSRB Municipal Advisor Registration Compliance Webinar.
- Attn. California practitioners – California Debt Limit Allocation Committee Releases Proposed Regulations: Orrick.
- GE Funding Capital Market Services, Inc. v. Nebraska Investment Finance Authority – District Court holds that Investment Agreement entered into between Investment Finance Authority and GE Capital was ambiguous as to whether the redemption of a particular series of revenue bonds automatically terminated the investment account associated with that series of bonds. Check your Investment Agreements to ensure that redemption triggers termination.
- And finally, in our ongoing quest to bring you the answers to questions you haven’t asked, we proudly present State v. Alaska Laser Wash, Inc., which obviously sent us on a quest to ascertain the role of actual laser beams in the Alaska car wash industry. Sadly, the answer is, “none whatsoever.” We did, however, turn up a priceless gem in the Alaska Laser Wash FAQs. (Yep, this is indeed how we fritter away your hard-earned subscription dollars.) The question: “How often should I wash my car?” The answer: “It depends.” Have truer words e’re been spoken?
- Dealers: Proposed MSRB Minimum Denomination Rule Would Hurt Liquidity.
- GASB Proposes Implementation Guidance for Other Postemployment Benefit Plans.
- NABL: TEB Adds Exam Resolution Method.
- TEB Says Muni Audits Can Be Closed After Full Redemption.
- SEC Will Tell All MCDC Submitters If They Face Enforcement Action.
- Ceresney Warning: Expect Continued SEC Enforcement Activity Regarding Municipal Securities.
- S&P Q&A: U.S. State Rating Methodology.
- The Bond Buyer Web Seminar: Muni Compliance Update
- And finally, Just a Little Off the Top, Mr. Escobar is brought to us this week by Thompson v. Civil Service Com’n, in which the union rep was required to get just a little creative when asked to explain how it was that ten city police officers happened to submit hair samples that tested positive for cocaine. That’s right, TEN. That’s right, COCAINE. Fortunately, he proved up to the task by convincing the court that it couldn’t be certain that the positive tests weren’t the result of “environmental” factors, rather than the personal ingestion of a controlled substance. I feel as if there might be something that could help me envision such “environmental” factors (other than, of course, the existence of an environment in which police officers habitually and collectively snort cocaine), as I’m drawing a blank. Johnson & Johnson’s Cali Cartel Conditioner? Doesn’t seem likely. Wait, I know what’s missing! Cocaine!
- SEC Approves Fund Liquidity Rules, Sparking Concern for Munis.
- Dealers to SEC: Markup Proposal Overly Complex, Would Hurt Liquidity.
- With Soaring Demand Come Weaker Assurances for U.S. Municipal Investors.
- Electronic Muni Debt Platform Gains Traction with Ohio.
- More on Rev. Proc. 2016-44: What Light Is Shed on Net Profits Compensation?
- IRS Requests Comments on Tax-Exempt Bond Forms.
- IRS PLR: Organization Is Instrumentality of State Political Subdivisons.
- Nichols v. City of Rehoboth Beach – Court of Appeals holds that debt incurred by city from bond issue approved by special election was insufficient basis for taxpayer to have municipal taxpayer standing in her action against city alleging that election violated the Fourteenth Amendment with regard to requirements to vote in election, where city did not expend funds from bonds on the allegedly illegal elements of the special election.
- In re City of Detroit, Michigan – Court of Appeals holds that equitable mootness is viable doctrine that applies in Chapter 9 cases just as it applies in cases under Chapter 11.
- And finally, Stating the (Painfully) Obvious is brought to you this week by Foust v. Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook County, in which the court ruled that a tree limb was not a condition of a forest preserve trail. Um, ok. And why was this seemingly uncontroversial question at issue? Because the limb in question broke off and crushed a woman to death as she was innocently riding her bike down the trail. That’s one atrociously unlucky cyclist or one viciously homicidal tree. Regardless, we’ll take this as further proof (as if we needed any) that fresh air, nature, exercise, and all that will definitely kill you. Consider yourselves warned.
- Ed. Note: We’ll be off next week, but will return with the proverbial vengeance on 10/18.
- GASB Proposes Omnibus Statement Addressing a Broad Range of Practice Issues.
- MSRB Proposes Standalone Minimum Denomination Rule.
- MSRB Improves Bank Loan Disclosure on EMMA Website.
- MSRB Improves Bank Loan Disclosure on EMMA After Issuer Complaints.
- GASB Webinar on Fiduciary Activities Project.
- DC Water Closes Historic Deal.
- Following Revenue Procedure 2016-44, Is There Still a ‘Facts and Circumstances’ Test for Private Business Use?
- Just in Case You Didn’t Notice – Rev. Proc. 2016-44 Treats as Compensation under a Management Contract the Reimbursement of Amounts Paid by the Manager to its Employees.
- Department of Transportation v. Amerco Real Estate Company – Supreme Court of Colorado holds that general authorization by transportation commission, to the extent it purported to delegate to transportation department the choice of particular properties to be taken for a project to alter a state highway and the manner of their taking, constituted an unlawful delegation of the commission’s statutorily imposed obligation.
- And finally, Goes Without Saying is brought to you this week by 730 Equity Corp. v. New York State Urban Development Corp., in which the court determined that the highest and best use of condemnee’s property was a “12-story budget hotel.” That strike anyone else as oddly specific? No mention of the waffle bar? Or perhaps the court simply believes that to be highest/best use for any and all properties. And who are we to argue? We also ran across Corbett v. County of Lake this week, in which the court noted that the “determinative” factor in deciding whether or not a public path was dangerously overgrown was the fact that the plaintiff and her friends had dubbed it the “bunny trail” due to the abundance of wildlife. We recommend that you preemptively begin referring to every route you may utilize as the “[path, highway, boulevard, etc.] of Immediate and Horrible Death.” Just in case.
- In a First Federal Jury Trial, Miami, Boudreaux Found Guilty.
- SEC’s Miami Win Likely to Embolden Muni Crackdown: Lawyers
- Demographics Can Spell Trouble for a City’s Finances. (Check out the interactive feature.)
- So, Just What Are Appropriation Backed Municipal Bonds?
- Bank Loan Disclosure Enhancements Coming to EMMA.
- Reckoning Time for a City’s Bad Fiscal Decisions.
- Indian River County v. Rogoff – District Court holds that there was substantial likelihood that operator of railway construction project would not proceed with project if DOT did not support project with tax-exempt PABs, and thus counties, through which portion of railway would run, suffered redressable injury, as required for them to have Article III standing in their action challenging DOT’s decision under various federal statutes.
- FMS Bonds, Inc. v. Bank of New York Mellon – District Court declines to dismiss bondholder’s breach of fiduciary duty claims against indenture trustee for failing to accurately track issuers’ transfers of their obligations and for failing to file proofs of claim in issuers’ subsequent bankruptcies; punitive damages available for bondholder’s claim that trustee breached its fiduciary duty by seeking further indemnification from bondholders in order to rectify trustee’s own alleged mistakes and negligence.
- And finally, Unclear on the Concept is brought to you this week by Milbert v. Wells Twp. Haunted House, Inc., in which a Township built and operated a haunted house minus a firm grasp on the understanding that this type of thing should deliver family-friendly thrills and chills and not, you know, actual death. Suppose the silver lining is that the boxes in the “swinging coffin ride” turned out to be dual-use. The court also gifted us a lesson in Newtonian physics when it specified that the coffins were lowered “by gravity.” Thanks for clearing that up.
- SEC Announces MCDC Issuer Enforcement Actions.
- SEC: Issuer Settlements Show Widespread, Pervasive Disclosure Problems.
- Democratizing Tax Increment Financing through Participatory Budgeting – A Tool Kit.
- The Lowdown On Enhancement Programs For School District Bonds.
- Hawkins Advisory: 2016 Final Arbitrage Regulations.
- IRS Issues New Safe Harbors for Management Contracts to Facilitate P3s.
- Rev. Proc. 2016-44 Greatly Expands Rev. Proc. 97-13 Safe Harbor for Management Contracts, Opening the Door for Long-Term Management Contracts.
- Some Lawyers Have Questions About New Management Contract Safe Harbors.
- New IRS Management Guidance is Flexible, Furthers P3s: Ballard Spahr Webinar.
- And finally, Huggies on Conveyance (2nd ed.) this week brings you City of Jackson v. Jordan, in which the Supreme Court of Mississippi informs us that, “An infant’s avoidance of a conveyance of property may be evidenced by any act clearly demonstrating a renunciation of the contract.” We would now like to invite you to close your eyes and envision the infantile act your particular infant would use to demonstrate the renunciation of a contract. Your tool kit includes – but is certainly not limited to – soggy diapers, crayon fragments, curdled mush, miscellaneous choking hazards, regurgitated peas, and a Black’s Law Dictionary covered in drool. Enjoy!
- BDA and Others Submit Comments to the SEC on CDAs.
- Why Market Groups Want SEC Disclosure Guidance.
- MSRB Provides Guidance on Trade Reporting Rule.
- NFMA Issues Comment Letter on Primary and Secondary Market Disclosure in the Municipal Market.
- Issuers: Watch a Step-By-Step Video on Customizing EMMA Issuer Homepages.
- Taming Premium Bonds.
- SIFMA Issues U.S. Municipal Credit Report, Second Quarter 2016
- Ignore the Rules (If They Don’t Apply): Squire Patton Boggs
- CDFA Intro Energy & Water Finance Course.
- GFOA 21st Annual Governmental GAAP Update.
- Columbus, Georgia Board of Tax Assessors v. Medical Center Hospital Authority – Court of Appeals holds that hospital authority’s leasehold interest in a continuing care retirement facility was public property exempt from ad valorem taxation, as revenue bond validation proceedings had conclusively established that the retirement facility furthered a legitimate function of the hospital authority.
- And finally, this week’s BCB Travel Alert (aka Tiptoeing Through the Minefield) is brought to you by Flanigan’s Enterprises, Inc. of Georgia v. City of Sandy Springs, Georgia, in which the Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a Sandy Springs municipal ordinance prohibiting the sale, rental, or lease of obscene material, including “any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.” (I think we can all agree on the prohibition of rentals and leases.) The court held that consenting adults had no fundamental right to engage in private sexual intimacy. Never mind the right, certain of us would settle for the fundamental opportunity. We must leave you now before we say something that results in the cancellation of our sole remaining subscription.
- NFMA Releases Draft White Paper on Disclosure of Statutory Liens.
- Why Issuers Must Increase Statutory Lien Disclosure.
- Black & Veatch 2016 Strategic Directions: U.S. Water Report.
- Expanding Municipal Securities Enforcement: Profound Changes for Issuers and Officials.
- NASACT Releases Voluntary Guidelines for Stable NAV LPIGs.
- NABL: IRS Issues Final Non-Issue Price Arbitrage Regulations.
- What’s in Treasury’s Newly Released Final Arbitrage Rules.
- The SEC’s Municipal Advisor Rule: Webinar.
- And finally, BCB’s Department of the Spectacularly Ill-Conceived gleefully brings you McLean v. Pine Eagle School District, No. 61, in which a high-school teacher claimed to have been traumatized by an active-shooter drill conducted at the school during an in-service day at which only teachers were present on the campus. Oh, boo hoo. Wait, what’s that? School administrators smashed their way into the school dressed in black and wearing masks, ran down the halls throwing firecrackers, busted into classrooms, “shot” teachers at point-blank range with real guns firing blanks, screaming at the teachers that they were dead? This resulted in multiple injuries as the teachers stampeded for the doors? One teacher “wet herself”? Well at least they’d been told to expect a drill right? No? Well, now that you put it that way….
- SEC Hits MAs, Execs With $200,000 Fine in First of a Kind Case.
- GFOA Issues Alert on MCDC Initiative Settlement Terms for Issuers.
- MSRB: Implications for Supervisory Procedures of Newly Effective Rules.
- GFOA Issues Alert on Rule G-42.
- SIFMA to SEC: It’s Time to Revise Rule 15c2-12 on Muni Disclosure.
- MSRB Updates Content Outline for Municipal Advisor Qualification Exam.
- SEC Said to Study Muni Bank Loan Disclosure That Vanguard Wants.
- Defending Wall Street Fees.
- Going Green: Evolution of Renewables ABS Discussed.
- Trail of Defaults Leads to Dark Corner of Tax-Exempt Bond Market.
- Bill Would Create New $5B Category of PABs for Government Buildings.
- NABL: IRS TEB Announces Form 8038-CP Changes.
- And finally, please bow your heads for a moment of silence to commemorate the demise of “adult-content” conventions in Dallas, Texas. While Three Expo Events, L.L.C. claimed that participants in its three-day adult entertainment expo called “Exxxotica” (inclusion of an additional x or two, clearly an oversight) complied with all applicable City regulations, the City begged to differ. As the court’s opinion drily notes, “The City offers a different view of what occurred at the 2015 Exxxotica expo.” The ensuing litany of offenses are, sadly, unfit for enumeration in a fine, upstanding publication such as this, but please feel free to visit the opinion.
- Ed. Note: Surprise! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in your inbox… We’ll actually be taking next week off. We’ll be off the grid (OTG) this week, so please remember that the password is muni.
- MSRB to Launch Permanent Series 50 Exam September 12, 2016.
- Why Market Groups Want MSRB to Abandon Bank Loan Proposal.
- GFOA: The Perils of “Benefit Bonds” and Social Impact Bonds.
- IRS PLR: Management Contract Will Not Result in Private Business Use.
- New Reporting Rules Subject OID on Tax-Exempt Bonds to Information Reporting.
- McGee v. Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC – Court of Appeal holds that school districts are exempt from obtaining competitive bids when entering into “lease-leaseback” agreements to improve school property, even if the districts fund the projects, and regardless of whether the leases are site leases or subleases.
- In re Validation of Tax Anticipation Note, Series 2014 – Supreme Court of Mississippi holds that, under exceptions to mootness doctrine (as the note had been repaid) the Court would consider appeal challenging issuance of tax anticipation note by county board of supervisors; holds that board had authority to issue note that borrowed against total anticipated ad valorem tax revenues; remands for consideration of objector’s evidence regarding validity of signatures on petition to submit matter to public for election. This one’s worth a read-through, including the concurrence/dissent.
- And finally, Embracing the Mystery is brought to you this week by Stanton v. Oceanside Union Free School Dist., in which school district was sued after “inflatable rides” it had leased became airborne and injured festival participants. What were these “rides”? How did they become airborne? Were the passengers taken aloft along with the rides? We’ll never know, so we invite you to close your eyes and envision bouncy castles falling from the heavens. You’re welcome.
- Ed. Note: We’ll be taking next week off. Yes, we can hear your rejoinder that we take every week off, but this time it’s literal, as well as figurative, ok?
- SIFMA Develops Model Documents for Compliance with New MSRB Rule G-42.
- Treasury Paper Outlines Steps to Ensure Success In Identifying, Pursuing P3-Suitable Projects.
- How Groups Want To See Minimum Denomination Exceptions Changed.
- The Hidden Wall Street Fees That Could Be Costing Pensions $20 Billion a Year.
- An Argument For Using Tax-Exempts in P3 Structures.
- Why Groups Are Demanding IRS Withdraw Proposed Political Subdivision Rules.
- NABL and Others Call for Withdrawal of Political Subdivision Regs.
- The Final Allocation and Accounting Regulations – What Do They Mean For “Phantom Investment Proceeds”?
- CDFA Intro to Incentives WebCourse.
- And finally, The Worst Defense is a Worser Offense is brought to you this week by William Marsh Rice University v. Refaey, in which a driver idled at an intersection for several light cycles, responded to 16 texts, and then drove on for two more miles before it dawned on him that the driver of the car with those annoying flashing lights that had been directly behind him this entire time perhaps wanted a word. So the driver finally pulls over, walks to the back of his car, “throws his hands up” and yells, “What the f* * * do you think you’re doing pulling me over?” “Refaey then saw that Officer Spears had his weapon drawn and pointed at Refaey.” Worth a try, no?
- FAF Issues 2015 Annual Report: “Serving the Financial Statement User.”
- What’s Going on With Muni Credits?
- Why Statutory Liens Matter in a Chapter 9 World.
- GASB Posts New Page for Financial Statement Users.
- U.S. Municipal Credit Report, First Quarter 2016.
- Tax-Exempt Bonds: Is It Possible for a Municipal Corporation Not to be a Political Subdivision?
- Schuerman v. Eastwood Local School Dist. – Court of Appeals holds that local voters lacked standing to challenge school district’s agreement with School Facilities Commission to finance new school (via the issuance of Certificates of Participation) after voters had previously rejected two proposed bond issuances to finance the project.
- And finally, what’s the world coming to when mom & pop can’t be left in peace to crush a few aluminum cans on the front porch as part of their self-described “small scale recycling business?” Next thing you know, the Jack-Booted Government Thugs are kicking down the door of your suburban home and carting off your “discarded debris/materials, garbage, rubbish, auto parts, appliances/furniture, all unlicensed and/or inoperable vehicles.” The priceless part is that the Petersons then sued the city to get it all back, claiming that those crooks down at the code enforcement office had converted the property for their own personal use. Just another perk of that sweet, sweet code enforcement gig.
- Deloitte Playbook for Implementing T+2 Settlement Cycle in the U.S.
- MSRB Publishes Educational Resources on Municipal Advisor Conduct Rule.
- BDA Submits Comment Letter to the SEC: FINRA Rule 4210 “TBA” Margin Amendments.
- Municipal Bond Premiums: Separating Fact from Fiction.
- Why Consolidations in Municipal Evaluations Landscape Signal ‘Tectonic Shift’ for Industry.
- Colo. Court Case Puts Spotlight on Special Districts that Issue Munis.
- CDFA Webcast: Financing Water Infrastructure.
- Landmark Towers Association, Inc. v. UMB Bank, N.A. – Court of Appeals holds that organizers’ option contracts for purchase of undivided 1/20 interest in 100-square-foot parcel within proposed special district were sham contracts, and therefore organizers were not eligible electors for purposes of special district bond and tax election; condo purchasers within the district, who were parties to contracts obligating them to close as soon as purchased units were completed and obligating them to pay pro-rated property taxes from date of closing to end of year, qualified as eligible electors.
- City of Chesapeake v. Dominion SecurityPlus Self Storage, L.L.C. – Supreme Court of Virginia holds that subdivision plat that reserved 50-foot right of way in favor of city for purposes of future expansion of highway constituted a waiver of damages to residue of property, including waiver of loss of direct access to highway and loss of visibility, after city condemned right of way.
- And finally, BCB’s Practice Tip of the Week is brought to you by Landmark (above), which provided us with the recipe for creating a foolproof special district. Step one: find ten buddies. Step two: issue each individual an option contract to purchase a 1/20 interest in a 100-square-foot parcel (the square footage of a roomy jail cell). (Bonus tip: don’t bother to collect the $10 down payment for the contracts.) Voila, instant special district. Go forth and issue $35 million in bonds safe in the knowledge that no one will ever dare look askance at this arrangement.
- Enhancing Tax Abatement Transparency.
- NABL: IRS Issues Final Regs on Determining AFRs for Tax-Exempt Bonds.
- Hawkins Advisory: IRS Revenue Procedure 2016-25 Regarding Mortgage Revenue Bonds and Mortgage Credit Certificates.
- MSRB Reminds Municipal Advisors and Dealers of the May 6, 2016 Effective Date of Amendments to Gifts Rule.
- SEC Approves MSRB Rule Changes For Two-Day Settlements.
- When Debt Meets Public Approval: Municipal Bond Elections in San Antonio, Texas.
- MSRB Webinar: What to Expect From Your Municipal Advisor.
- Concerned Citizens of Southeast Polk School Dist. v. City of Pleasant Hill, Iowa – Supreme Court of Iowa holds that City, which had consolidated urban renewal areas in order to use tax increment financing (TIF) from original renewal area across a greater area, lacked authority to extend renewal area and TIF arrangement in light of statute limiting a TIF division based upon an economic development determination to 20 years. (Why can’t we once, just once, get an “Indifferent Citizens vs. Whatever”?)
- And finally, Staggering Irony of the Week is brought to you this particular week by Baker v. Wayne Cty., in which the brain trust at Wayne City elected to erect a statue of – of all things – a deer. These vermin are a sufficient pestilence to motorists while ambulatory, so how in the name of all that is cloven-hoofed was it deemed wise to carve one in stone? Yep, you know where this is going – Kelli Baker loses control of her vehicle, hits the damn things and dies. Oh, deer.
- Webinar: The Ins and Outs of a Negotiated Bond Pricing. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE ON WEDNESDAY, 4/20. We apologize for the short notice.
- SIFMA Releases White Paper Recommending Improvements to Disclosure in the Municipal Securities Market.
- SIFMA Asks SEC To Update 15c2-12, Create Parallel Rule for MAs.
- Wall Street Lobbyist Wants Advisers to Vet Bond Disclosures.
- Why Bond Trustees Are Often Frustrated, Powerless in Today’s Debt Environment.
- GASB Issues Pension Guidance Addressing Issues Raised by Stakeholders During Implementation.
- MSRB Issues Interpretative Guidance for ABLE Programs.
- And finally, this week’s Unclear on the Concept – Cost/Benefit Analysis Edition – is brought to you by City of Fargo v. Rakowski, in which William Rakowski really, really, really didn’t want to fork over a $100 rental inspection fee to the City of Fargo. No particular ideological objection, just didn’t want to pay. But perhaps, just perhaps, taking this matter all the way from small claims court to the North Dakota Supreme Court (where he lost) on his own dime wasn’t the wisest course of action. Kudos to you, Mr. Jonathan T. Garaas (working out of that mighty edifice knowns as the “DeMores Office Park”) for walking your client through the numbers and talking him out of this folly. You’re a credit to the profession.
- IRS Proposed Political Subdivision Rules Would Be Big Change for Munis.
- MSRB 2016 Compliance Advisory.
- George K. Baum FINRA Case Shows Excessive Fee, Bond Ballot Concerns.
- NABL Submits Additional Issue Price Comments.
- FINRA Approves Enhanced Price Disclosure to Retail Investors in Fixed-Income Securities.
- Wheelabrator Bridgeport, L.P. v. City of Bridgeport – Supreme Court of Connecticut holds that trial court’s improper rejection – as a matter of law – of the cash flow approach to property valuation (a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility) required a new trial at which the court could exercise its discretion to determine the credibility of expert testimony regarding the appropriate valuation method and expert’s calculations.
- Lenox Barbeque and Catering, Inc. v. Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County – Court of Appeals holds that landowner’s conveyance of part of a tract of land used for a restaurant to transit authority, pursuant to a settlement of the authority’s condemnation petition, operated as a release of any claim under the state constitution for lost profits based on the loss of the parcel taken by the transit authority, even though there was no express release.
- In re Lewis & Clark Public School Dist. #161 of Ward – Supreme Court of North Dakota holds that catch-all provision of statute governing annexation of property permitting consideration of “all other relevant factors” was not unconstitutionally vague and did not amount to unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority to Board of Public School Education.
- And finally, we highly recommend that one tread very, very lightly when initiating conflict with any entity with the word “barbeque” in its name due to the enormous karmic implications. Conversely, knock yourself out with regard to any entity with the word “colon” in its name. Worst case karmic consequence there is just a colonoscopy. Which isn’t the worst idea, particularly if you eat a lot of barbeque.
- GASB Issues Guidance on Blending Certain Component Units Into Financial Statements.
- Muni Groups Mull Using Auditors, EMMA To Boost Disclosure Compliance.
- IRS Revises Publications for Tax-Exempt Bonds.
- Meet the Canadian Who Developed a Ranking System for All 3,141 U.S. Counties.
- NABL: President Releases FY 2017 Budget Proposals.
- GASB Board Meeting Highlights.
- Energy Investment Partnerships Webinar Series.
- Deloitte 2016 Utility Tax Training Seminars.
- Repko v. County of Georgetown – Court of Appeals holds that county ordinances, which allowed developer to post financial guarantees in lieu of completing required infrastructure improvements before selling undeveloped subdivision lots, imposed special duty on county to purchaser of two undeveloped lots to manage financial guaranty provided by developer, and therefore, county was not immune under public duty rule from owner’s negligence action against county, filed after county allowed several reductions in the guarantee, developer filed bankruptcy, and infrastructure was left unfinished.
- And finally, All In A Day’s Work is brought to you this week by McCaffrey v. City of Wilmington, in which an intoxicated police officer ran a red light, crashed into another vehicle, and then made “inappropriate” sexual advances toward the driver of that vehicle. We find it rather puzzling that the court felt it necessary to point out that the sexual advances were inappropriate. In what conceivable municipality could any element of this scenario be deemed “appropriate?” Please let us know if you’ve identified one, as we’d certainly be interested in taking the tour.
- MCDC Credited with Boosting Muni Disclosure.
- MSRB Holds Quarterly Board Meeting.
- GASB Board Meeting Highlights.
- GASB Proposes to Establish a Single Approach for Reporting Leases of State and Local Governments.
- Fitch Releases Exposure Draft on Adding Enhanced Recovery to U.S. Local Gov’t Criteria.
- Fitch Teleconference: Adding Enhanced Recovery to U.S. Local Gov’t Criteria.
- MSRB to Seek Public Comments On Prevailing Market Price, Bank Loans.
- Jack County Appraisal District v. Jack County Hospital District – Court of Appeals holds that hospital district, a political subdivision of state, was “owner” of leased CT scanner, for purposes of statute exempting from taxation tangible personal property owned by political subdivision.
- Regional Utility Service Systems v. City of Mount Union – Supreme Court of Iowa holds, as matter of first impression, that general funds in a municipal bank account constitute “other public property” exempt from execution/garnishment so long as the funds are necessary and proper for carrying out the general purpose for which the municipality is organized.
- And finally, BCB’s Department of Thankless Jobs is brought to you this week by Kretschmann Farm, LLC v. Township of New Sewickley, a massive NIMBY objection to the siting of a natural gas compression station next to an organic farm. The Board of Supervisors was serenaded by an endless stream of measured, well-reasoned arguments from a completely objective local citizenry. A prime example of which is the testimony of a Mr. Bob Schmetzer, who insisted that the Supes were being “bamboozled” by the gas industry, which had suppressed the fact that gas emissions cause brain lesions. His unimpeachable source for this claim? “Schmetzer asserted that the risk can be confirmed by reports on the internet.” Still awaiting reports concerning the long-term neurological effects of repeatedly bashing one’s own head against the surface of a large, curved podium while being subjected to the Schmetzers of the world. We’ll keep you posted.
- MSRB to Discuss Bank Loans, Markup Disclosure at Meeting.
- Dealer, Advisor Groups Ask for Revisions to MSRB Pay-to-Play Rule.
- BDA Submits Letter to SEC on MSRB Pay-to-Play Rule.
- An Overview of Standard & Poor’s Updated Methodology for Rating U.S. Public Finance Waterworks, Sanitary Sewer, and Drainage Utility Systems.
- Cities’ Pension Liabilities Are About to Look a Lot Worse.
- Nichols v. City of RehoBoth Beach – District court holds that city resident lacked standing to challenge city charter provisions governing voting procedures for special elections to authorize the borrowing of money (i.e. $53 million of general obligation bonds), as resident had the right to vote in the special election and thus lacked the concrete personal injury necessary to bring suit.
- Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District v. City of Bellefontaine Neighbors – Supreme Court of Missouri holds, as a matter of first impression, that a public entity (sewer district) was not entitled to sue another public entity (city) for inverse condemnation.
- And finally, BCB’s Department of Misplaced Priorities this week brings you Estate of Glasoe v. Williams County, N.D., in which the Glasoe children lost the family homestead via tax sale. The kids brought suit, alleging that they were shocked, shocked, by the foreclosure and sale. Uh, despite the fact that Leanne Glasoe – who resided at the property – had been personally served by a deputy sheriff while she was working at her hair salon. “The deputy testified that when he gave the envelope to LeAnne Glasoe he told her ‘it was very important that she pay attention to the contents because it was a Foreclosure Notice.’ LeAnne Glasoe testified, ‘I didn’t even open it, I went right back to work.'” While we commend your commitment to the beautification of the ladies of the greater Williston area, Leanne, maybe shoulda taken the time to open the envelope. Bet you wish you could Curl Up & Dye.
- GFOA Financial Policies Examples.
- Where Have All the Muni-Bond Dealers Gone?
- S&P General Obligation Medians for Counties: Update as of Oct. 9, 2015.
- S&P General Obligation Medians for Municipalities: Update as of Oct. 9, 2015.
- Why Florida May Be the Next Big Source of PACE Bonds.
- Outlook: What’s Ahead for Tax Regulation, Enforcement in 2016.
- McGuire Woods: President Signs Extender Package for PTC and ITC – Renewable Energy Tax Credits.
- Kaplan v. Saint Peter’s Healthcare System – Court of Appeals holds that ERISA provision granting exemptions for churches and qualifying church agencies was unambiguous in requiring that a church, rather than a qualifying church agency, establish a church exempt plan.
- In re City of Stockton, California – In challenge brought by unsecured creditor, United States Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Ninth Circuit issues comprehensive ruling affirming the City of Stockton’s Chapter 9 Confirmation Order.
- And finally, as a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Florida held this week that the act of tattooing is artistic expression protected by the First Amendment. Although not widely known, James Madison did indeed have “Fed Life” tattooed across his torso.
- Doubly Bound: The Cost of Issuing Municipal Bonds.
- Financing Infrastructure Through Resilience Bonds.
- SIFMA Issues 2016 Municipal Issuance Survey.
- Dealers Want MSRB, FINRA to Adopt Same, Less Costly Markup Proposals.
- Moody’s Seminar: Financial Analysis of Local Governments
- MSRB to Implement Core Conduct Rule for Municipal Advisors.
- GASB Issues Guidance for External Investment Pools and Pool Participants Ahead of SEC Rule Change.
- GASB Issues Proposed Guidance on Fiduciary Activities, Asset Retirement Obligations, and Pensions.
- Fish v. Township of Lower Merion – Supreme Court of Pennsylvania holds that Township’s application of business privilege tax to businesses whose sole income consisted of rent payments on leased real property was not barred by provision of Local Tax Enabling Act precluding “any tax” on leases or lease transactions; disapproving Cheltenham Twp. v. Cheltenham Cinema, Inc. and F.J. Busse Co. v. City of Pittsburgh.
- Ordinance 2354-12 of Tp. of West Orange, Essex County v. Township of West Orange – Supreme Court of New Jersey holds that Township’s redevelopment bond ordinance was not subject to referendum, where Township passed ordinance through exercise of redevelopment powers conferred on municipalities by Local Redevelopment and Housing Law.
- And finally, although perhaps not the ideal probationer, the community service participant in Giordanella v. City of New York who attacked his supervisor with a rake is definitely your secret weapon in the event of the dreaded Zucchini Apocalypse. Shouldn’t be hard to find, as he undoubtedly occupies a very, very fixed address.
- Ed. Note: We’ll be taking next week off, but will return (without any particular vengeance) on 12/29 to close out the year. May visions of sugarplums dance in your heads. (Aforementioned seasonal pleasantry not applicable in the event that “Sugarplum” is the nom de pole of a danseur working in your municipality.)
- Green Bond Best Practice Guide Released for Public Sector.
- A Guide to Evaluating Pay for Success Programs and Social Impact Bonds.
- Butler Snow: MSRB’s Execution Guidance Under Rule G-18 – Forward With Flexibility.
- BDA Submits Comment Letter to FINRA and MSRB on Proposed Retail Markup Disclosure and Pricing Reference Rules.
- BDA Proposes Additional Issue Price Safe Harbors.
- GASB Issues New Pension Guidance Designed to Assist Certain Governments.
- Catalina Foothills Unified School Dist. No. 16 v. La Paloma Property Owners Ass’n, Inc. – Court of Appeals holds that school district did not violate statute requiring voter approval for purchase of school sites by condemning private road owned by homeowners association to provide vehicular access into early childhood learning center, as district received approval in bond election in which voters approved proposal to authorize district to acquire property and expend funds for new preschool facility, and district had independent statutory power to acquire property by condemnation at time of bond election.
- Duke Energy Ohio, Inc. v. Cincinnati – Court of Appeals holds that city was responsible for costs incurred by utility to relocate its utilities to accommodate city-owned streetcar project, invalidating local ordinance to the contrary.
- Storino, Ramello and Durkin v. Rackow – After village abandons effort to impose special assessment on property owners, appeals court holds that the law firm representing the property owners was entitled to attorneys’ fees under contingent fee agreements based, not on the total amount recovered, but on a percentage of the savings from the proposed special assessment.
- And finally, BCB’s Department of Irrebuttable Presumptions this week brings you In re Equalization Appeal of Kansas Star Casino, L.L.C., in which the court concluded that a property’s highest and best use was hosting a casino, and not that whole agricultural thing. Should go without saying, no?
- NABL Recommends Revisions to Management Contract Safe Harbors.
- Mintz Levin: Helpful News from IRS on Student Loan Bonds.
- MSRB’s Kelly Highlights Concerns For Retail Muni Investors.
- NABL: Registration For TSLI Is Open.
- Stifel, Nicholaus & Co., Inc. v. Godfrey & Kahn – In dispute over bond issuance, Court of Appeals holds that tribal court lacked jurisdiction over bondholders and brokerage firm; counsel to tribal economic development corporation, who also was bond counsel to bond transaction, could rely on forum selection clauses in bond documents.
- Coves of Highland Community Development Dist. v. SCB Diversified Mun. Portfolio – District Court denies Community Development District’s request for declaratory judgment that $7.6 million of Bonds issued by the District had prescribed, citing factual question as to whether Trustee had acted as District’s agent, such that the debt was acknowledged via Trustee’s making of certain payments from the Debt Services Reserve Account.
- Young’s Market Company v. Superior Court – Trial court’s order granting school district’s petition for a right of entry against the owner of an adjoining building, to assess the possibility of acquiring the property by eminent domain by boring holes in the ground and taking samples of soil and building materials, was within the scope of the Eminent Domain Law entry statutes and did not amount to a taking under the federal and state constitutions.
- And finally, I’d Like to Buy a Vowel is brought to us this week by Coves of Highland Community Development Dist. v. SCB Diversified Mun. Portfolio, in which a subdivision project was abandoned after the Army Corps of Engineers popped up mid-project with the news that the property had previously been used as a practice bombing, rocket, and artillery range, so, uh, maybe keep an eye out for unexploded munitions. And therein lies the origin story of the country’s first municipal ordnance enforcement unit. May they rest in pieces.
- NABL Ethics Teleconference.
- MSRB Provides Implementation Guidance on Best-Execution Rule.
- MSRB Releases Long-Awaited Best Ex Guidance.
- GFOA 20th Annual Governmental GAAP Update (Encore Presentation)
- GASB: On The Horizon.
- Municipalities Pushing Out Payments Spur Balloon Debt Resurgence.
- Hawkins Advisory: Final Allocation & Accounting Regulations under Section 141 of the Internal Revenue Code.
- Otay Mesa Property, L.P. v. United States – Following landowners’ successful takings claim against federal government for easement along the Mexican border, the Court of Federal Claims awards $1.1 million in attorneys’ fees and $276k in costs under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act in very comprehensive, detailed, and informative ruling.
- And finally, Unclear On The Concept is brought to you this week by City of Albany v. Pait, in which a firefighter ran ye olde cost/benefit analysis, concluded that robbing the premises was definitely worth the risk, netted $200 in the heist, and promptly lost his job. The irresistible, pocketable, easily fenceable, untraceable object in question? Diamonds? Cash? Nope, a canoe. An honest-to-god canoe. We now invite you to close your eyes, imagine your favorite heist film, and insert canoes. Makes for a slightly different flick, no?
- Treasury, IRS Issue Rules that Will Help Facilitate P3s.
- Notice of Support Availability: Training and Technical Assistance Services for Pay for Success Initiatives.
- MSRB Extends Deadline for Markup Rule Comments.
- MSRB Best-Ex Guidance Could Come in Nov.; Board Presses SEC on Bank Loans.
- Fitch Tax-Supported Criteria Revision.
- Treasury Issues Final Private Activity Bond Allocation and Accounting Regs.
- IRS Announces Inflation Adjustments for 2016.
- NFMA Advanced Seminar on Higher Education.
- Young v. Red Clay Consolidated School District – Court of Chancery holds that complaint filed by school district residents, who opposed increase in school-related property taxes but did not vote in special election in which increase was passed, sufficiently pled that school district’s interventions affected result of election in resident’s action seeking to void result, based on district’s alleged actions in discouraging and raising impediments to voting by elderly and disabled residents.
- And finally, this week’s Allegorical Day in the Life of a Law Firm Associate is brought to us by Zollar v. City of Chicago Dept. of Administrative Hearings, which includes the following, “the 100–pound male bullmastiff, Eli, attacked Jib, a female Portuguese water dog weighing 39 pounds, in an alley.” Although in the allegory, Eli’s real world punishment – posting a sign alerting passersby of the presence of a dangerous animal, muzzling the dog while off her property, implanting a microchip under the dog’s skin, and sterilization – lands squarely on Jib.
- Intro Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Finance WebCourse.
- NAMA: Some MSRB Gift Rule Changes Are Unclear or Could Lead to Abuse.
- Chicagoans’ Cost to Exit Swap Agreements Approaches $300 Million.
- GASB Proposes Changes to Pension Standards for Certain Governments.
- Appellate Court Upholds TIF District Levy and Collection of Taxes.
- Arras v. Regional School Dist. Number 14 – Supreme Court of Connecticut holds that towns’ failure to strictly comply with statutory notice provisions by publishing an official warning of referendum, on question of whether to approve resolution by board of education authorizing issuance of bonds and notes to finance certain school construction, in legal notice section of newspaper of general circulation, did not require invalidation of the referendum, absent proof that the failure caused the referendum results to be seriously in doubt; overruling Pollard v. Norwalk.
- Florida Bankers Ass’n v. Florida Development Finance Corp. – Supreme Court of Florida holds that bankers association lacked standing to appear in appeal of trial court’s validation of bonds issued by government corporation for qualifying improvements in county, in development finance company’s action seeking to determine validity of series of bonds proposed to be issued under Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Act. See prior coverage here.
- And finally, in Mender v. Chauncey, a standard-issue unlawful termination case brought by a mayor against her town, we encountered this rather startling sentence, “Her husband Stace Mender and her two daughters, Merissa Nicholson and Cassie Gardner, were co-plaintiffs asserting loss of consortium claims.” Either that family has a rather, uh, unique relationship or “loss of consortium” means something a bit different than we had been led to believe.
- Ed. Note: Please note that our weekly newsletter is simply a collection of links to the articles posted on our website that week, and not a stand-alone publication. Consequently, we do not have the ability to forward past “issues.” However, the underlying website – bondcasebriefs.com – contains all our archived postings (6k+), where you can scroll through the items posted to a particular category to catch up on articles you may have missed and/or use the search function to conduct more focused research.
- GASB Proposes Implementation Guidance Designed to Clarify Recent Pronouncements.
- 22 MCDC Settlements With Firms to be Followed by Another Round.
- Butler Snow: Fed’s Proposed Treatment of Municipal Securities as High-Quality Liquid Assets.
- Junk or AAA? Rating Split Plagues Chicago as It Borrows Billions.
- Webcast: Understanding Proposed IRS Rules on Issue Price and the Industry Impact.
- Reynolds v. Leon County Energy Improvement Dist. – Supreme Court of Florida holds that objector who failed to appear at trial level lacked standing to appeal validation of proposed bond issue, as full party status was granted only to those who appeared and pleaded in the circuit court proceeding and thus only such parties were permitted to avail themselves of the statutory right of appeal; receding from Meyers v. City of St. Cloud, Rowe v. St. Johns County, Lozier v. Collier County, and Bruns v. County Water–Sewer Dist.
- Thomas v. Clean Energy Coastal Corridor – Supreme Court of Florida validates bond issuance, but also holds that references to judicial foreclosure as a remedy for collecting unpaid non-ad valorem assessments contained in financing agreement securing bonds for qualifying improvements to real property under Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Act, required remand to circuit court to amend the financing agreement to remove those references, as judicial foreclosure was not a remedy for such collection authorized by Florida law.
- And finally, BCB’s Department of Perhaps Understandable NIMBYism this week brings you Neighbors for Preservation of Big and Little Creek Community v. Board of County Com’rs of Payette County, in which the neighbors kicked up the predictable fuss at the prospect of a minor alteration to their community. But then again, we suppose that the prospect of glow-in-the-dark pets could have that effect. “Turn right at the big cooling tower. We’re the first house on the left.”
- PROGRAM NOTE: As of this week, we are implementing password-protection for the bondcasebriefs.com website. The initial password is: muni. The links contained in the weekly newsletter have the password embedded, so a reader who clicks on a link will be taken directly to the corresponding item hosted on the website without being required to enter a password. The password will be required only in the event that the website is accessed directly. We apologize for any technical glitches that may arise during the implementation process.
- MSRB Requests Comment on Requiring Disclosure of Mark-Ups.
- MSRB: Dealers Would Have to Disclose Markups on Principal Transactions.
- S&P Credit FAQ: Proposed Criteria Changes Will Bring Greater Transparency to U.S. Municipal Water and Sewer Systems.
- Incentive To Pay: How Recent Bankruptcies Inform Analysis Of Distressed Local Government Credits.
- BDA Submits Issue Price Comment Letter to IRS.
- IRS Chief Counsel Blasted for Favorable Ruling on Total Return Swaps.
- NABL Submits Issue Price Comments.
- SIFMA Submits Comments to the IRS on Re-proposed Issue Price Rules.
- And finally, Unclear on the Concept is brought to you this week by Sherman v. Town of Randolph, in which the the court’s opinion included the following, “Four of those candidates are relevant here: Sherman, who was ranked highest on the eligibility list, and the three candidates who ultimately bypassed him, whom we shall call Walter Burton, Blair Lewis, and Martin Duval.” Did the court simply decide to get gratuitously creative with its fictitious naming (“No John Doe for us!”) or was it indeed unclear on the concept? Please direct your inquiries to the opinion’s author, whom we shall call Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly.
- NFMA Introduction to Municipal Bond Credit Analysis.
- SEC Urged to Disapprove Rule on MA Core Conduct.
- Neighborly Raises $5.5M from Joe Lonsdale’s Formation 8, Ashton Kutcher to Transform the Municipal Debt Market.
- How Standard & Poor’s Treats Public-Private Partnerships in U.S. State and Local Government Debt Analysis.
- SIFMA: Alternative Issue Price Method ‘Not Workable’ As Proposed.
- IRS Rules that No Abusive Arbitrage Device Was Used in Connection With Bond Issue: Tax Analysts
- NABL: TEB Announces VCAP Changes.
- City of Seattle v. Department of Revenue – Supreme Court of Oregon holds that cities’ interest in electrical transmission capacity, purchased from electrical cooperative and used to transmit electricity over region’s federally administered power grid, could be taxed by Department of Revenue as a property interest “held” by the cities.
- And finally, Yet Another Reminder of Why People Hate Lawyers is brought to us this week by Parker v. Town of Erwin, in which the court began its opinion thusly, “The evidence in the record tends to show that a Christmas parade was held in Erwin, North Carolina, on 5 December 2011.” “Tends to show?” Were there cars driving down Main Street? Did one of those cars contain a fat man in a red suit? If yes, I tend to think that we can definitively conclude that a bleepin’ Christmas parade was held. Please open your hymnals to page 25 and join us in singing, “We Tend to Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
- NFMA Releases Final Best Practices for State GO Bond Disclosure After Public Comment.
- SEC Asks: Should Muni Bond Pricing Change in Wake of Edward Jones?
- MSRB: Best-Ex Rule Will Not Be Implemented Before Release of Guidance.
- BDA Submits Letter to SEC on MSRB Proposed Rule G-42 Regarding the Core Duties of Municipal Advisors.
- Hedge Funds Fill Gap in the U.S. Municipal Bond Market.
- Bond Ruling Emboldens Abusive Scheme, Former IRS Official Says: Tax Analysts
- Emmet & Co., Inc. v. Catholic Health East – Appeals court holds that issuer’s coupling of tender offer with redemption of municipal bonds, as well as issuer’s synthetic sale of bonds to financial advisor through total return swap, violated indenture.
- And finally, “Now Where Did I Leave My Keys?” is brought to us this week by Caramanno v. City of New York, in which a paving contractor sued the city after it relocated, and subsequently destroyed, an item of contractor’s personal property. The item, you ask? A steam roller. An honest-to-god steam roller. Answers to the absolutely dumfounding questions regarding how one might possibly misplace, relocate, or destroy such an item are far, far beyond the purview of this publication. Our deepest apologies.
- New Rule to Lift Veil on Tax Breaks.
- MSRB Changes MA Conduct Proposal, But Not Principal Transaction Bar.
- MSRB Enables Issuers to Display Bank Loan Disclosures on Customized EMMA Issuer Homepages.
- Municipal Bond Underwriter Didn’t Feel Like Underwriting.
- Edward Jones to Pay $20 Million to Settle SEC Municipal Bond Charges.
- SEC Members Demand Muni Markup Disclosure After Edwards Jones Case.
- UBS Fined $750,000 for Misstating Tax-Exempt Bond Interest.
- And finally, Oddly Specific Facts is brought to us this week by Cordova v. City of Los Angeles, in which the judge, describing a fatal car crash, wrote, “Out of control and spinning counterclockwise, the car struck one of several large magnolia trees planted in the median.” Presumably, his honor’s intent was to honor the memory of the deceased, whose final thought was undoubtedly, “Hey, we’re spinning counterclockwise! Is that a magnolia tree?”
- U.S. Municipal Credit Report, Second Quarter 2015.
- Coalition Creates Guide For Green Muni Bonds.
- MSRB to Revise Proposed Rule on Disclosing Bond Price Markups.
- Dealers, Issuers: Fed Proposal Too Strict on Munis, Would Hurt Market.
- In Post-Detroit Bankruptcy Era, California Protects Investors Before Pensioners.
- How One Mississippi County Played Wall Street’s Fiddle.
- Memo Provides Interim Guidance on Audits of Direct-Pay Bonds.
- AHS Hospital Corp. v. Town of Morristown – Tax Court holds that hospital operated and used its property for profit-making purpose by entangling its activities with affiliated and non-affiliated for-profit entities, such that hospital did not qualify for property tax exemption for nonprofit organizations; calls modern non-profit hospitals “legal fictions.”
- And finally, When Science Attacks is brought to you this week by Fugle v. Sublette County School Dist. No. 9, in which a high school teacher’s practical demonstration of centripetal force spins right along until one kid’s scrawny little arms give out, he lets go of the rope/cart contraption, and slams into the gym wall, fracturing his faith in science teachers in multiple locations. What’s wrong with the traditional kitten in a blender or baby in the dryer?
- Ratings Value Questioned as More Municipal Borrowers Go Without.
- MSRB Considers Creating Municipal Market Data Product for Academic Researchers.
- New California Law Would Secure Local GO Holders in Bankruptcies.
- IRS Rules Student Loan Bonds Still Tax-Exempt in PLR.
- CDFA Intro to Public-Private Partnership (P3) Finance Course.
- CDFA Intro to Tax Increment Finance Course.
- Borough of Keyport v. International Union of Operating Engineers – Supreme Court of New Jersey holds that negotiation would have significantly interfered with management determination of governmental policy, and therefore municipalities’ imposition on certain units of public employees mandatory, but temporary, layoffs, in the form of a reduced number of work days over a specified period of time was non-negotiable, such that municipalities did not violate Employer-Employee Relations Act by imposing layoffs without negotiating with representatives from unions for public employees.
- And finally, that noise you just heard is the collective sigh of relief going up from our nation’s overworked/underpaid schoolteachers as they learn that they can’t be fired for a third offense of using profanity in front of their students. “[Bleep] Yeah!”
- And even more finally, Happy Motoring in the Grand Canyon State is brought to you this week by Fleming v. State Dept. of Public Safety, in which a police officer placed an intoxicated driver in the rear seat of his patrol car, which was immediately obliterated by yet another drunk driver, killing the poor woman in the back seat. Maybe the open bar at the midnight Mad Max screenings wasn’t such a great idea after all.
- Ed. Note: We occasionally receive requests to resend past issues of the newsletter. Unfortunately, the newsletter does not exist as a discrete document, and is merely a program that pulls together the HTMLs for each item posted to our website during the previous week. We can resend the latest issue. Otherwise, please access past content by going directly to bondcasebriefs.com where you can select a topic (e.g. Tax) and scroll down through the entries, which are posted in chronologic order. The website also contains a search function that will allow you to access older content. We’d apologize for any inconvenience, but you know us better than that.
- Frequently Asked Questions on FINRA’s Eligibility Proceedings for Firms Participating in the MCDC
- Initiative.New Player Seeks to Revive VRDO Market.
- Putting the Public Back in Public Finance.
- CDFA Fundamentals of Economic Development Finance Course.
- GAI Consultants, Inc. v. Homestead Borough – Appeals court holds that TIF Agreement is an ongoing contract, and therefore claims for reimbursement of property tax assessment appeal refunds are not subject to the four-year statute of limitations for contract actions.
- Indian River County v. Rogoff – District Court holds that counties lacked standing to request a preliminary injunction vacating the U.S. DOT’s authorization of PABs to construct a rail line traversing the counties; issuance of the PABs would not redress the counties’ alleged environmental injuries, as the developer was prepared to proceed using alternate sources of financing.
- And finally, we do our best to cover each and every inverse condemnation case that comes our way. That being said, should you wish to ensure that your case makes the cut, please be sure that the opinion begins, “In 2011, the City of St. Petersburg demolished Christine Lacy’s house after it was damaged in a shoot-out between St. Petersburg police and Lacy’s husband. Yeah, we’re gonna go ahead and publish that.
- 36 Underwriters to Pay $9.3M to Settle Under SEC MCDC Program.
- Voluntary Reporting of Bank Loans – Best Practice or Sword of Damocles?
- New Resource Available for Municipal Advisors Developing Supervisory and Compliance Systems.
- GFOA Seeks MA Conduct Rule Changes to Reduce Issuer Costs, Burdens.
- The Dirty Business of Paying for Ratings.
- Behind Chicago’s Rift With Moody’s: Rater’s Tough New Stance.
- New Issue Price Regs Proposed.
- NABL Submits Comments to IRS on TEFRA Regulations.
- Dacus v. Parker – Supreme Court of Texas holds that failure of ballot proposition – for a proposed city charter amendment – to mention drainage charges to be imposed on most real property owners across the city rendered drainage systems and streets funding measure invalid.
- And finally, Don’t Quit Your Day Job is brought to you this week by Justice David E. Nahmias of the Georgia Supreme Court, whose opinion in a sexually oriented business ordinance case begins with this zinger, “The [strip club] asserts that when its employees dance nude and serve alcohol, they are clothed with constitutional free speech protection, which the City of Doraville’s Code of Ordinances attempts to strip away. Ouch. And yes, we are fully aware of the rank hypocrisy inherent in this criticism, which is why this entry could just as well have been entitled, “Mr. Pot, meet Mr. Kettle.”
- Fed Is Expected to Shift on Muni Bonds.
- MSRB Files MA Core Conduct Rule With SEC For Approval.
- Conduct Rule ‘Unclear’ on Underwriters Giving Advisory Services.
- Dealers Raise Some Concerns About New Trade Data Requirements.
- He Made $3.8 Million in Fees in an Odd Little Corner of the Muni Bond Market.
- Muni-Bond Insurance Actually Pays Off, Report Says.
- NABL Seeks Guidance Projects on Reissuance, Issue Price.
- Golden State Water Company v. Casitas Municipal Water District – Court of Appeal holds that bonds issued pursuant to the Mello-Roos Act can be used to finance eminent domain actions, in this case the acquisition of a private water utility by a newly-formed community facilities district.
- Clarke County Reservoir Com’n v. Abbott – Supreme Court of Iowa holds, as a matter of first impression, that joint public-private county reservoir commission, organized under joint governmental activity statute and including private members lacking the power of eminent domain, could not itself exercise the power of eminent domain or serve as an acquiring agency seeking a declaratory judgment of public use.
- And finally, Great Moments in Deductive Reasoning is brought to you this week by Wentworth v. Coldwater, in which cop conducts traffic stop of driver and releases him with a stern warning for a lane violation. Driver immediately proceeds to kill some folks (oops!), but court lets cop off the hook due to the fact that there was absolutely nothing to indicate that the driver may have been a wee bit intoxicated. I mean, besides “an odor of alcohol emanating from the vehicle, admission that others in vehicle had been drinking, high rate of speed, erratic driving, that it was 2:37 a.m. on a Saturday night, intoxicated driver’s numerous past driving offenses, including alcohol-related offense, and intoxicated driver’s admission that he was traveling from a local bar.” Other than that…
- SIFMA to SEC: No Exemptions for Non-Dealer MAs.
- MSRB Seeks Approval to Enhance Post-Trade Data Available on EMMA.
- Key Regulator Shows No Sign on Budging on Muni Bank Rule.
- Why Some Public Pensions Could Soon Look Much Worse.
- Moody’s: Modest Credit Impact for GASB Pension Changes, but Contribution Weaknesses Now Highlighted.
- SLGS Sales Halt May Pose Challenges for Small Issues.
- Chicago’s Gamble on Disclosure.
- Cottrell v. Atlanta Development Authority – Supreme Court of Georgia holds that City development authority was not required to actually construct, nor to own, new stadium project in order for it to issue revenue bonds to fund the project or for tax proceeds paid to the authority to be considered as part of the “revenue” to pay for the bonds.
- Greene County Development Authority v. State – Supreme Court of Georgia holds that record supported finding that county development authority’s proposal to issue revenue bonds to finance construction of charter school was not sound, feasible, and reasonable and, thus, validation of bonds was not warranted.
- And finally, appearances to the contrary, Caicedo v. Caicedo is not a divorce case, but rather the bizarre tale of Officer Caicedo running over a young boy also named Caicedo. What the hell are the odds of that? Then we have the the Maine property owner who waged war against approval of his neighbor’s Mother of All Benign Uses – a Frisbee golf course. This guy suffering from some kind of early-onset allergy to hippies?
- Cities Paying Millions to Get Out of Bad Bank Deals.
- NASACT Responds to GASB’s PVs on Leases.
- NASACT Responds to GASB’s PVs on Financial Reporting for Fiduciary Responsibilities.
- Dealer Donations to Mayor’s Fund in LA Legal, But Raise Eyebrows.
- Supremacy’s Claws: How Two Judges are Changing the Pension Debate.
- City of Topeka v. Imming – Court of Appeals holds that, because the state law creating STAR bonds – the method chosen by the City to finance its purchase of property to establish a redevelopment district – permitted a referendum election only in cases where a protest petition is filed, citizen was not entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling an election or repeal of the ordinance, as citizen’s petition was not a protest petition.
- And finally, appeals court, in a shocking turn of events, declines to order the demolition of newly-constructed 40,000 square-foot grocery store and two additional retail commercial buildings. Next time around, fellas, perhaps request injunctive relief pending appeal? Just a thought. And, although it was surely an innocent mistake, BCB is now soliciting amicus briefs for Spellcheck v. Foxxxy Ladyz Adult World, Inc.
- MSRB Publishes New Fact Book of Municipal Market Data and Invites User Feedback.
- MSRB Creates Professional Qualification Standards for Municipal Advisors.
- Best-Ex Rule Presents Liquidity, Compliance Challenges.
- Conduit Issuers, Dealers Face Some MA Challenges.
- Orrick Advises Goldman on Unique Bridge Financing to Propel Transbay Transit Center Project Down the Track.
- S&P: Proposed Criteria Changes Will Bring Greater Transparency to U.S. Municipal Water and Sewer Systems.
- Mixed Reviews on Disclosing Tax Incentives.
- IRS Issues Proposed Regs on Determining AFRs for Tax-Exempt Bonds: Tax Analysts
- Orrick: New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds IRS Notice 2015-12 Application Submission and Requirements.
- Louisiana Local Government Environmental Facilities and Community Development Authority v. All Taxpayers – After District Court declines to validate PACE bonds on due process grounds, Court of Appeal holds that state taxpayers and property owners do not have a protected property interest in challenging the validity of a bond resolution, but that it could not validate the bonds due to the Development Authority’s failure to publish or introduce into evidence the bond resolution, notwithstanding the fact that no objections to the validation had been filed.
- Hartland Glen Development, LLC v. Township of Hartland – Court of Appeal rejects Tax Tribunal’s blanket assertion that special assessments encumbering property can never result in a decrease in the property’s true cash value (TCV); remands for factual inquiry as to whether the outstanding special assessments in this instance can and did decrease the property’s TCV.
- And finally, we learned this week, via Binschus v. State, Dept. of Corrections, that the term “endorsed hallucinations” doesn’t mean what we initially assumed, thus foreclosing a promising source of revenue for this admittedly delusional publication.
- Municipal Legal News – February 2015 – Volume 1, Number 1: Dickinson Wright
- SEC Officials Pushing Harsher Penalties, Streamlined Disclosure.
- Municipal Advisors Concerned About IRMA Exemption.
- March 6 is the Comment Deadline on the GASB’S Proposals on Fiduciary Responsibilities and Lease Accounting.
- Swimming with the Sharks: Goldman Sachs, School Districts, and Capital Appreciation Bonds.
- Draft Accounting Standards Raise Thorny Questions About Accounting for P3 Risks.
- IRS to Allocate Nearly $1.4 Billion in New CREBs Volume Cap: McGuireWoods
- In re City of Stockton, California – Bankruptcy Court confirms the City of Stockton’s chapter 9 plan of adjustment of debts, holding that pension contracts entered into by the City, including its pension administration contract with CalPERS, may be rejected pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 365. 11 U.S.C. § 365; bankruptcy practitioners will want to read this interesting, well-written opinion in its entirety.
- In re Woodham – Supreme Court of Georgia holds that attorney’s conduct in asking developers to pay him 1%($1.3 million!) of the bond amount to dismiss complaints in intervention in bond validation proceedings did not violate rule of professional conduct forbidding an attorney from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; Court seems to be letting him off the hook because he was completely honest about the fact that this was a shakedown.
- In re City of Detroit – In this Amended Opinion and Order Regarding the Reasonableness of Fees Under 11 U.S.C. § 943(b)(3), Bankruptcy Court finds that the fees billed to the Detroit by the professionals engaged in the City’s bankruptcy and restructuring were reasonable; Court extremely complimentary of the lawyers involved in this case; worth a skim.
- In re City of Detroit – Previously-published Detroit bankruptcy opinion now with Westlaw Headnotes, making it much easier to navigate this monster.
- And finally, in its opinion confirming the fees charged by the professionals in the Detroit kerfuffle, the Bankruptcy Court noted that, among others, Jones Day, Debevoise & Plimpton, Lazard, and Pepper Hamilton had filed briefs supporting confirmation. In opposition? A Ms. Angles (sic?) Hunt. The occasional David notwithstanding, the smart money remains on the big guy.
- US Municipal Credit Report, Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2014.
- The Bond Lawyer – Winter 2015
- GFOA GAAFR Supplement.
- Lawyers Recommend Disclosure Strategies in Wake of MCDC.
- What Obama’s 2016 Budget Means for States and Localities.
- Best Bonds Seen Due Beyond 22 Years as U.S. Expands: Muni Credit.
- GFOA Executive Board Approves 10 Best Practices, Advisories.
- Recent Favorable IRS Guidance for Tax-Exempt Bond Financed Facilities: Ballard Spahr.
- Board of Trustees of City of Omaha Police and Fire Retirement System v. City of Omaha – Supreme Court of Nebraska holds that board of trustees of city retirement system had authority to hire actuarial consultant at city’s expense, but lacked authority to hire private legal counsel unless there was a conflict of interest preventing city attorney from serving.
- And finally, for evidence of a little clerk-on-clerk violence going down behind the scenes at the Alabama Supreme Court, see the following: Murdock, J., filed opinion concurring specially; Moore, C.J., filed opinion concurring in the result; Main, J., concurred in the result; Shaw, J., filed dissenting opinion; Bryan, J., filed dissenting opinion. Kumbaya, anyone? Anyone?
- Program Note: This week’s issue includes links to articles published by Tax Analysts, which is a subscription service. It’s a deservedly popular service, so please check with your librarian or tax folks to determine if your firm is already a subscriber. We’re working on obtaining permission to publish full articles.
- MSRB to Discuss MA Exams, Gift Restrictions, Principal Transaction Disclosure.
- Muni Groups: SEC Disclosure Rule Outdated, Needs Overhauling.
- Dealers to MSRB: Withdraw Principal Trade Disclosure Proposal.
- SIFMA Supports Increased Bond Market Price Transparency for Investors; Urges Greater Access to and Usage of Existing Data on FINRA and MSRB Systems.
- QPIBs Provide a Level Playing Field for Public-Private Partnerships.
- S&P: Why U.S. Availability Projects are Not Rated the Same as the Counterparty.
- GASB Adds External Investment Pools to Its Technical Agenda.
- WSJ: Detroit’s Lawyers and Advisers Defend Billing.
- Congress Extends QZABs, New Markets Tax Credits; Continuing Effect of Sequestration: McGuire Woods
- American Federation of Teachers v. State – Supreme Court of New Hampshire upholds statutory amendments affecting the calculation of benefits under the New Hampshire Retirement System, finding that the statute’s defining of “earnable compensation” did not create a contractual right to a fixed definition of that term.
- And finally, Argabrite v. Neer was good enough to provide us this week with the most accurate description of the BCB workplace to date, “atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.”
- Program Note: We’ll be taking next week off to spend some much-dreaded time with our families. We’ll be back on the 30th to wrap up the year.
- S&P: U.S. Local Government Rating Review Shows Varied Economic Conditions Being Met With Sound Financial Underpinnings.
- S&P: U.S. State and Local Government Credit Conditions Forecast: For 2015, the Future is Now.
- MSRB Adopts Best-Execution Rule to Enhance Fairness and Efficiency in the Municipal Securities Market.
- SIFMA Submits Comment Letter to MSRB on MSRB Rule G-20 relating to Gifts, Gratuities and Non-cash Compensation.
- S&P Request for Comment: U.S. Public Finance Waterworks, Sanitary Sewer, and Drainage Utility Systems: Methodology and Assumptions.
- NABL Submits Comments to IRS on Purpose Investment Valuation.
- Nabors, Giblin deviously waits till winter to advertise a public finance associate position in sunny, sunny Tampa, Florida.
- And finally, condo association engages in ruinously expensive litigation to (rather uncharitably) prevent sewer district from running a trunk line across its property, only to eventually be stuck with both a sewer line and a $1,350 payment for the easement, which presumably more than covered its attorneys fees. Is there such a thing as a Pyrrhic Defeat?
- SEC Raises Pressure on Borrowers as Leniency Ends: Muni Credit.
- SEC Seeking Comments on Disclosure Rule.
- MSRB to Accept Disclosures about Municipal Asset-Backed Securities.
- Proskauer: Firms Have Roadmap for Expanding Litigation of Customer Disputes After Second Circuit Holds Forum Selection Clauses Trump FINRA’s Mandatory Arbitration Rule.
- MSRB and FINRA to Host Webinar on Proposals to Provide Pricing Reference Information to Investors.
- Are Muni Bonds Being Replaced by Direct Loans?
- And finally, the Inaugural Easterbrook Prize for Delightfully Written Opinions goes to Judge Charles E. Moylan, Jr. for his opinion in Holloway-Johnson v. Beall, which includes the following: a heading entitled, “A Furiously Contested Moot Question”; “a tempestuous Punch and Judy exchange of irrelevancies”; “The presence or absence of malice, simple or actual, has not been a dispositive factor in this case. It has nonetheless haunted our analysis of the voluminous caselaw on tort claims. What is ‘actual’ malice? Is there indeed some junior varsity level of malice that is less than actual? If not, what possible function is being served by the annoying adjectival qualifier ‘actual’ in the frequently, but not universally, recurring phrase ‘actual malice’?”; and a footnote reading, “This is ‘a maneuver in which a bicycle, motorcycle, or car has its front wheel or wheels momentarily lifted off the ground.’ ‘Wheelie.’ Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.” which may nor may not have been inserted tongue-in-cheek but, regardless, feels cheeky. Thanks, Judge.
- Mea Culpa: The Bond Case Briefs website was down for a few days last week due to a thoroughly preventable problem with our domain registration. Consequently, all emails sent our way during that period were also lost and remain unrecoverable. We sincerely apologize, both for the outage and for our inability to respond to any and all resulting requests for clarification.
- Chan Warns Of Secondary Market Crackdown.
- BDA Sends Letter to SEC on SMMP Exceptions, Requests Bifurcated Affirmation Process.
- Ballard Spahr: Regulators Decline to Exempt TOBs from Risk Retention Rule but Add Helpful Revisions and Clarifications.
- Governments Would Disclose Information on Tax Abatements Under GASB Proposal.
- New Rule Could Require Governments to Report Tax Incentives as Lost Income.
- Brown v. Denton – Court voids settlement agreement between city, public pension board, and union arising from closed-door mediation sessions with federal mediator, finding that mediation constituted collective bargaining, which violated state Sunshine Law.
- Rotz v. Van Kampen Asset Management – Appeals court dismisses shareholder derivative action brought against investment trusts and their financial adviser in connection with the redemption of auction rate securities, finding that the decision of disinterested trustees not to pursue litigation against the adviser – based on a comprehensive report by a disinterested special litigation committee – was protected by the business judgment rule.
- Kozel v. Andrews – Court of Appeals holds that bankruptcy trustee failed to present sufficient evidence that members of bankrupt hospital’s board had consciously disregarded the risk that approval of capital project, including $17.3 million in revenue bonds, would result in injury or damage to the hospital, granting summary judgment in favor of board members sued by trustee.
- And finally, get ready to play a game we call Deposition Transcript or Your Editor’s Typical Saturday Night? “I knew I was coming up to the steps, so I paid attention. I just didn’t see the step there…. The next thing, I just sort of-I was going-I just shot out like that, and my head was going towards the car that was parked there, and I thought I was going to hit the car head-on. And then I just splatted on the sidewalk.”
- Quick Note: We are fully aware that the one category in which BCB exceeds its mandate as a municipal finance publication is our coverage of case law, where we include cases more relevant to city attorneys (e.g. zoning, municipal ordinances) than to those of you representing large issuers and underwriters. If you’ve been scanning through the case briefs and asking yourself, “What the hell does this have to do with me?” please note that all cases relevant to municipal issuance and finance will be featured in the Highlights section.
- MSRB Strengthens Continuing Education Requirements for Municipal Securities Dealers.
- BDA Submits Comment Letter to MSRB on Rule G-37.
- IRS LTR: Income Exempt as Exercise of Essential Government Function.
- MCDC III Podcast is Now Available Online.
- City of San Bernardino, Cal. – Bankruptcy Court holds that city acted in “good faith” when, in response to financial crisis, it filed for Chapter 9 relief although city did not engage in meaningful prepetition negotiations with its creditors and did not seriously consider alternatives to filing for Chapter 9 relief.
- Kohl’s Illinois, Inc. v. Marion Cty. Bd. of Revision – Supreme Court of Ohio holds that Tax Increment Financing agreement’s no-contest covenant, which precluded developer and property owners from contesting assessed valuations of improvements for real property tax purposes, did not impose jurisdictional limitation on county Board of Revision regarding property owner’s valuation complaint and that, as a result, the beneficiaries of the covenant had the burden to come forward and prove their entitlement to a dismissal of the complaint.
- Couple of big public utilities cases below, if you’re into that kind of thing.
- And finally, this week’s Interesting Conflict, Your Honor is brought to you by Ray v. Judicial Corrections Services, Inc., in which a certain Alabama gent served as a part-time judge for a number of municipalities. Oh, did I mention that his full-time job was muni bond salesman? What could possibly go wrong?
- Federal Accounting Board Releases P3 Disclosure Requirements for Comment.
- SEC, FINRA and the MSRB to Hold Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors.
- S&P: The Updated General Obligation Criteria Reflect the U.S. Local Government Sector’s Strength and the Importance of Qualitative Analysis.
- Insurers Build Market Share as Detroit Shows Value: Muni Credit.
- Judge Says Cities in Bankruptcy May Reject Pension Contracts.
- IRS TE/GE Advisory Committee Requests Applications.
- NABL MCDC Teleconference.
- Tulsa Indus. Authority v. City of Tulsa, Oklahoma – Supreme Court of Oklahoma holds that bondholders who purchased bonds used to finance the underlying transaction were necessary parties to declaratory judgment action by city industrial authority seeking to validate authority’s expenditure of public funds, in which taxpayer intervened seeking to enjoin authority from making payment to bondholders, where bondholders could have chosen to prosecute an action separately from the lawsuit, leaving authority subject to a substantial risk of incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent obligations.
- And finally, Great Moments In Commuting is brought to you this week by Alabama Mun. Ins. Corp. v. Allen, in which a perhaps slightly over-eager officer was chided for hitting 103 mph (in a 45 mph zone) while driving his patrol car to work. We also cover the sad tale of an epic eminent domain case that required seven years of litigation, a 100-day trial, and a 19,000 page transcript but will be remembered solely for the phrase, “an overwhelming smell of urine in the stairwells and hallways.” Hopefully, not in the courthouse.
- MSRB Webinar: Request for Comment on Extending MSRB Rule G-37 to Municipal Advisors.
- SIFMA Advanced Muni Bond School.
- NAST, NASACT Make 11th Hour Appeal on Munis to Regulators.
- Fed: Some Munis May Become HQLA in Liquidity Rule.
- Lawmakers Threaten SEC with Ultimatum on MCDC.
- Muni Managers Unearth Secondary Market for Price Discovery.
- Driving Muni Bond Rally: Communities Reluctant to Borrow.
- IRS Approves Proposed Allocations of Build America Bond Proceeds.
- Gary Community School Corp. v. Indiana Dept. of Local Government Finance – Tax Court holds that state Department of Local Government Finance exceeded its authority in reducing School Corporation’s exempt debt service fund levy because the statutory framework for reviewing such levies did not authorize the DLGF to consider other sources of funding available to the school (e.g., its general fund).
- And finally, the judge in Citizens for Restoration of L Street v. City of Fresno noted the following in an historic preservation matter: “[The house] had lost the majority of its historic integrity because of the loss of original woodwork, enclosure of the original front porch, alteration of a character-defining bay window, installation of vinyl sash windows, replacement of the original roof, and other inappropriate restoration and alteration elements. Inspections showed the interior was 90 percent gutted, the upstairs ceiling was collapsing, and the presence of fungus, dry rot, feline and human feces, lead paint and asbestos.” In other words, much like the rest of the Fresno housing stock.
- Ballard Spahr: Industry Concerns Prompt SEC to Modify MCDC Initiative.
- U.S. SEC’s Piwowar Calls for More Price Transparency for Munibonds.
- Lawyers: MCDC Changes Foster More Tension.
- U.S. Treasury to Put Public Pensions Under Scrutiny.
- California High-Speed Rail Bonds Revived by Appeals Court.
- Register for MSRB’s Webinar on Revised Draft Rule G-42.
- California ex rel. California Dept. of Transp. v. U.S. Dept. of Labor – District Court issues interim ruling in dispute between California transit agencies and the Department of Labor arising from DOL’s withholding of over $1 billion in transportation funding in connection with the elimination of certain collective bargaining rights under California’s recently-enacted Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act; motion for summary judgment to be heard on August 28 and we’ll keep you posted.
- Madison Teachers, Inc. v. Walker – Supreme Court of Wisconsin holds, inter alia, that provisions of state budget repair act that prohibited city from paying on behalf of a general employee the employee share of required contributions to the city employees’ retirement system violated neither the Home Rule Amendment, nor the Contract Clause.
- And finally, Great Moments in Pedagogy is brought to us this week by DeYoung v. Commission on Professional Competence of the Hueneme Elementary School District, in which Mr. DeYoung acted out the fantasies of many an elementary school teacher when he became “angry and frustrated with students who were talking and laughing during a classroom movie.” “He grabbed some of the students, told them to ‘shut up,’ called them ‘stupid,’ struck one student in the foot with a chair, hit three students on top of the head with a yardstick or metal desk leg, and threw a pencil or pen at two or three students.” Was it the children, the teacher, or the court who couldn’t manage to distinguish between “a yardstick or metal desk leg?”
- Assessing State and Local Government Debt Refinancing Measures.
- Non-Dealer MAs: Supervision Rule Could Hurt Market.
- Bracewell & Giuliani: SEC Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative Targets Issuers and Underwriters with a “Prisoner’s Dilemma”
- Bond Firm’s Gifts to California School Officials Draw Scrutiny.
- BDA Submits Comment Letter on MSRB Draft Rule G-44.
- Nossaman Posts Draft Model P3 Legislation for Public Buildings and Invites Comments.
- Bond Insurance Then & Now: The Revival of an Industry.
- Pension Reporting Change Has Jurisdictions Reviewing their Funding Policies.
- To Report or Not – The SEC’s New MCDC Initiative: Ballard Spahr Webinar.
- And finally, the thin line between hope and delusion is tripped over by the couple in Jerome v. City of St. Paul who purchased a building that had been occupied at various times by the “Moonlight Magic Bar, a bar called Lucy’s, and Wilebski’s Blues Saloon” and had just a few minor code violations, including “a deteriorated roof, a foundation in need of repair, defective interior ceilings, rodent infestation, mold, open plumbing, loose and open electrical wiring, and the lack of a properly installed and operable smoke detector.” Prior to its demolition by the city, the couple told the zoning commission that the first floor would be used for a retail store “of some kind” and that the second floor would be used for a wedding hall. Wedding planners throughout the midwest scramble to make alternate plans.
- S&P: U.S. State And Local Government Credit Conditions Forecast.
- BondView Releases Free Historical Municipal Bond Pricing Data.
- SIFMA US Municipal Credit Report, First Quarter 2014.
- Orrick: Update on Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative.
- WSJ: Treasury Turns Its Gaze to Municipal-Bond Market.
- Municipal Bond Mark-Ups: Measuring ‘Reasonable’
- Mintz Levin: SEC Steps Up Scrutiny of Municipal Bonds: Recently Filed Enforcement Actions.
- GASB Issues Concepts Statement on Measurement of Assets and Liabilities.
- And finally, your editor was handed a Get Out of Jail Free card by the District Court in Houzenga v. City of Moline, Illinois when it noted that, “it is well-settled that indignities, threats, annoyances, petty oppressions, and other trivialities fail to qualify as outrageous conduct actionable in an IIED claim.” Good to know, as the BCB workplace subsists solely on a diet of “indignities, threats, annoyances, petty oppressions, and other trivialities.”
- SEC Examining Hidden Prices in Bond Trading.
- WSJ: SEC Reviewing Municipalities’ Disclosures.
- SEC Explains Self-Reporting Muni Enforcement Program.
- IRS LTR: Management Contract Will Not Result in Private Business Use.
- Puerto Rico to Detroit Buoyed by Insurance Comeback: Muni Credit.
- S&P: Alternative Financing: Disclosure Is Critical To Credit Analysis In Public Finance.
- GASB Declines to Delay Implementation Date of Pension Standards.
- State Center, LLC v. Lexington Charles Ltd. Partnership – Court concludes that five year gap between commencement of redevelopment project and request by city property owners for declaratory judgment declaring the formative contracts for the project void and for an injunction to halt the project constituted laches, barring the action.
- Morris County Imp. Authority v. Power Partners Mastec, LLC – Appeals court holds that contractor awarded contract to build solar facilities is not entitled to file liens under the Municipal Mechanics’ Lien Law on $50,000,000 in project financing funds received from the sale of taxable municipal bonds because the County Improvement Authorities Law specifically exempts the property of a county improvement authority from “judicial process.”
- We get this nice quote, “After climbing the foothills to this point and with the mountain almost in sight, Appellees’ surviving claims on the merits shall stumble and fall to a figurative death in the crevasse that is the equitable doctrine of laches.”
- And finally, just when you thought high school couldn’t get any more terrifying, we learn that it’s possible to contract HERPES at a wrestling match. Thanks for the new alibi, Candino v. Starpoint Central School Dist.!
- SIFMA Conference: Understanding the SEC’s Municipal Advisor Registration Rule (Note Webinar Option).
- Municipal Time of Trade Disclosure & Suitability: A Paper Prepared by Lumesis Inc.
- MSRB Proposes Professional Qualification Requirements for Municipal Advisors.
- NABL Submits Comments on MSRB Draft Rule G-42.
- Wisconsin Utilizes Delayed Draw Term Loan.
- Comments Requested on Bond Tax Credit Form.
- US Research Quarterly, Q4 and Full Year 2013.
- Haugland v. City of Bismarck – Supreme Court of North Dakota holds that pending authorized renewal projects existed within the renewal area to support continued diversion of property taxes from normal property tax recipients to city’s tax increment financing fund, so as to comply with requirements of Urban Renewal Law for tax increment financing.
- Hasit LLC v. City of Edgewood (Local Improvement Dist. #1) – Assessment imposed on property owners of specially-benefited parcels in local improvement district to pay for installation of sewers were improperly based on costs that resulted in benefit only to future users not assessed under LID, requiring annulment of assessments as to those owners that protested imposition of assessments.
- Wells Fargo Bank v. Leafs Hockey Club, Inc. – After revenue bond default, District Court dismisses guarantor’s counterclaim against indenture trustee alleging that trustee had breached the loan agreement and trust indenture by failing to monitors disbursement and to keep accurate and thorough records regarding the money advanced for the construction of the hockey arena.
- Morrow v. Caldwell – Supreme Court of Alabama holds, as a matter of first impression, that cap on damages for claims against a municipality did not limit the recovery on a claim against a municipal employee in his or her individual capacity.
- Accardo v. Brown – Supreme Court of Florida holds that doctrine of equitable ownership applied to land which was subject to perpetually renewable leases from county, as well as to improvements thereon, subjecting both land and improvements to ad valorem taxation.
- School Bd. of Broward County v. Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville – In dispute between school board and architect regarding payment for change orders resulting from the failure of the initial school-redesign plans to meet building code requirements, appeals court holds that applicable standard of care for architect was whether the initial plans were code-compliant as required by the contract (breach of contract standard), not whether it performed its duties with ordinary and reasonable skill (negligence standard).
- And finally, Yusef Umrani has no choice but to sack his social secretary after she mistakenly schedules both his girlfriend and his baby mama to pick him up from jail and the oh so predictable mayhem ensues.
- BDA Members Meet with MSRB & SEC: Discuss SEC’s Muni Advisor Rule and MSRB’s Regulatory Regime for Municipal Advisors.
- BDA: Chairman Camp’s Tax Reform Draft – Analysis of Bond Provisions and Politics.
- GFOA Board-Approved Best Practices – February 28, 2014.
- BDA Analysis of White House Budget Proposal.
- Piwowar Wants to Improve Muni Price Transparency.
- Obama Again Proposes 28% Cap, AFF Bonds in Fiscal 2015 Budget.
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Derrick Thomas Academy Charter School, Inc. – After charter school defaults on revenue bonds, District Court holds that school owed no duty to the bondholders or successor indenture trustee of the bondholders and, in the absence of any such recognized duty, trustee failed to state a claim for negligence under Missouri law; due to dismissal, court does not rule on case of first impression in Missouri – whether a charter school and its board members are entitled to sovereign immunity.
- Cromeans v. Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc. – District Court holds that, under Missouri Securities Act, issuance of municipal bonds was governmental, rather than proprietary, function, and thus municipality was entitled to sovereign immunity in underwriter’s action against municipality for indemnity and contribution to extent underwriter might be liable to any bond purchaser based on alleged misrepresentations and omissions contained in offering statement.
- RBC Capital Markets, LLC v. Education Loan Trust IV – Supreme Court of Delaware holds that no-action clause of trust indenture, under which noteholder was issued auction rate securities collateralized by student loans owned by trust, did not bar breach of contract action by noteholder alleging that educational loan trust had paid excessive fees to issuer of notes.
- And finally, Great Moments in Public Advocacy is brought to you this week by American Humanist Ass’n v. City of Lake Elsinore, where a citizen, eloquently testifying before the city council on behalf of a proposed war monument, rebutted certain objections that had been raised with, “for so few in this city—and I mean few…. to think that they’re going to have the power and not have been in the military, I don’t know where they came from. They must have come from a third-world country and come over here and just want to start stuff.” Which explains why Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech” wasn’t close-captioned.
- The Municipal Advisor Rule: Complimentary Bond Buyer Web Seminar.
- As Simple as It Can Be but Not Simpler: Science, Taxes, and Bonds.
- Fed Rule May Curb Bank Buying After Holdings Double: Bloomberg Muni Credit.
- Fitch Expects Unwinding, Restructuring of TOB Programs.
- Former Bank of America Executive Pleads Guilty for Role in Conspiracy and Fraud Involving Investment Contracts for Municipal Bonds Proceeds.
- NYT: Preparing for Disaster by Betting Against It.
- City of Willow Park v. E.S. – Section of consulting services contract, entered into between engineering firm and city, purportedly providing that city did not waive its governmental immunity by entering into contract was void as against public policy, such that firm could maintain breach of contract claim against city.
- West Texas Mun. Power Agency v. Republic Power Partners, L.P. – Municipal power agency’s contract with power company to develop new sources of electricity for the agency was a contract for “goods or services” to a “local governmental entity,” and thus was within the coverage of the statute providing for a waiver of governmental immunity from suit in the context of a breach of contract claim, even if the agency assigned its rights and duties under the contract to a local government corporation, where the contract required the power company to perform services such as obtaining necessary feasibility studies and securing private investment capital.
- Do not adjust your sets. Our case law coverage is indeed now limited to naught but public utilities and attempts by certain Texas municipalities to weasel out of their obligations. We’ll try to do better next week or perhaps Texas will at last succeed in seceding.
- And finally, South Jordan City terminated a cop who, bizarrely, repeatedly refused to activate his lights and siren during high speed chases, which had always struck us as the entire point of the gig, and “The Happy/Fun Math Tutor” ran into a spot of bother when it emerged that his other biz – Dave Pounder Productions – was engaged in the production of “explicit adult media.” Now there’s a Renaissance Man if we’ve ever seen one.
- Davis Polk: Explaining the Volcker Rule in 27 Pages.
- Expect a Lot of Enforcement in 2014, Experts Say.
- FT: BlackRock Steps into Detroit Bonds Fight.
- NYT: ‘Safe Harbor’ in Bankruptcy Is Upended in Detroit Case.
- Miami Loses Bid to Dismiss SEC Fraud Lawsuit.
- WSJ: Wells Fargo Unit Ordered to Buy Back Auction-Rate Securities.
- Welch v. Brown – Court of Appeals affirms District Court’s preliminary injunction against modifications of municipal retirees’ health-care benefits proposed by City of Flint’s Emergency Manager.
- Graugnard v. Capital Area Transit System – Court of Appeal holds that sixty-day state statute of limitations applies to a § 1983 federal constitutional equal protection claim challenging the validity of a state ad valorem tax and tax election brought in a Louisiana district court.
- Town of Newburgh v. Town of Chandler – Court of Appeals applies first-in-time rule to conflicting municipal ordinances in which two towns claimed the exclusive right to provide sewer services in an overlapping area in which both towns had previously provided service.
- Local 1963 of United Auto., Aerospace, Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW v. Madison County – Court of Appeals holds that County Commissioners and Council had no authority to execute a CBA interfering with the independence of elected officials in appointing and discharging their deputies and employees.
- And finally, an absolutely delightful opinion – in style and content – by Judge Posner. “That is why, as we said at the outset, we can largely ignore Freddie, instead pretending that Fannie and Freddie are not merely Tweedledum and Tweedledee, but Tweedledumdee.” “Fannie could not, without persuading Congress to revise its charter, decide that it would be a more profitable company if it filmed financial thrillers, financed for-profit no-kill cat shelters, or built and sold perpetual-motion machines, than if it continues to just finance home buying.” Hamer [Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue] makes wild claims for immunity on grounds of sovereign immunity, comity, and federalism, which we’ll ignore.”
- What the Volcker Rule Means for the Municipal Market.
- 12th Annual Tax & Securities Law Institute.
- Getting Creative on Public Workers’ Health-Care Costs.
- District Court Rebukes IRS Church Plan Rulings.
- Market Groups Agree: Proposed Issue Price Rules Unworkable.
- NAIPFA Issues MA Rule Guide; GFOA to Offer Training.
- Banks to Revamp Leveraged Muni Funds After Volcker Curbs.
- Regulators’ Proposal To Exclude Munis From HQLA Status To Dent Demand.
- Orix Public Finance, LLC v. Lake County, Minn. – District Court invokes frustration of purpose doctrine to void BPA between county and bond purchaser after proposed issuance of matching fund revenue bonds is rendered moot when Rural Utilities Service states its intention to void the underlying deal if the bonds were issued.
- Espina v. Prince George’s County – In a matter of first impression, appeals court holds that damages cap set forth in Local Government Tort Claims Act also applies to state constitutional tort claims, reducing $11,505,000 million verdict against county to a downright affordable $405,000.
- Rollins v. Dignity Health – District Court holds that the ERISA statute requires a church plan to have been established by a church, rather than merely requiring that a church plan be maintained by a tax-exempt organization controlled by or associated with a church.
- And finally, BCB is going to go out on a limb here and officially frown on the practice of killing mentally disturbed old men by repeatedly hitting them with the stun gun after they have already been subdued. But hat’s off to you, Mr. Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. for leaving us these immortal last words, “You can’t hide from me. What I’m gonna do is give you a good ass wuppin … Give you a good … Well, I’ll give you a good ass wuppin.”
- Happy New Year!
- Expedia, Inc. v. City of New York Dept. of Finance – Court upholds constitutionality of expansion of city’s tax on hotel occupants to include fees earned by online travel companies.
- Internatl. Bhd. of Elec. Workers Local Union No. 8 v. Bd. of Defiance Cty. Commrs. – Appeals court concludes that federal funds were used in the construction of a public improvement and, therefore, the project was exempted from Ohio prevailing wage laws.
- Hartney Fuel Oil Co. v. Hamer – The Supreme Court of Illinois concludes that the “Jurisdictional Questions” regulations embodied in 86 Ill. Adm.Code 220.115, 270.115, and 320.115 which define situs for retail occupancy tax where purchase order acceptance occurs, with sale at retail and the purchaser taking delivery within the state, impermissibly narrowed the local ROT Acts, contrary to legislature’s intention to allow local governments to collect taxes from retailers in their jurisdictions, and, thus, the regulations were invalid.
- NYT: Detroit Is Ruled Eligible for Bankruptcy.
- Missouri Brings New Case Against Moberly Bond Underwriter.
- GASB Resolves Transition Issue in Pension Standards.
- 5 Big Regulatory Changes Coming in 2014.
- Bond Insurers Charging Less to Take on Risk.
- NABL Seeks Guidance on Political Subdivision Question.
- In the middle of a fairly routine eminent domain action, the court drops this deadpan stunner, “Plaintiff appears to allege that these incidents led to the deprivation of his constitutional rights, which caused physical and emotional injuries, but other parts of the complaint suggest that Plaintiff may be dead.“
- And finally, should you find yourself in the Catskills, drop in for the “monthly pagan brunch” or the “monthly, more secular, bisexual brunch.” Your call.
- IRS LTR: Nonprofit’s Income Is Exempt as Exercise of Essential Government Function.
- NABL Says IRS Ruling Having Chilling Effect on Bonds.
- IRS LTR: Lease Arrangement in Bond-Financed Project Doesn’t Give Rise to Security Interest.
- MSRB Provides Education for Issuers on Disclosure of Bond Ballot Campaign Contributions.
- SIFMA: US Municipal Bond Credit Report, 2013 Q3.
- L.A. Bars Broker-Dealers in FA Bid Process, FirstSouthwest Protests.
- Todd Creek Village Metropolitan District v. Valley Bank & Trust Company – Court holds that the provision of the Colorado Constitution requiring that local government authorities receive voter approval before they may issue general obligation debt does not require that the municipal district seeking voter approval of such debt must identify the specific collateral that will be pledged to secure the debt; worth your time to read through this one.
- Gesler v. Worthington Income Tax Bd. of Appeals – Supreme Court of Ohio holds that state statute containing definition of net profit for purposes of municipal income tax did not invalidate city ordinance excluding federal Schedule C income from net profit subject to municipal tax.
- Pennsylvania Waste Industries Ass’n v. Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority – Court holds that municipal waste disposal authority was not authorized to set the “tipping fee” at landfills in which it did not have a meaningful ownership or operational interest, but was authorized to charge for its administrative services, including debt service.
- Michigan Co-Tenancy Laboratory/Trinity Health v. Michigan Pittsfield Charter Tp. – Appeals court affirms tax tribunal’s determination that lab equipment held by a group of non-profit hospitals that entered into an arrangement whereby they each possessed, as tenants in common, an undivided interest in the equipment, was exempt from taxation by township.
- “As plaintiff crested the hill upon his arrival at the site with his second haul of the day, the brakes of his tri-axle dump truck ceased functioning, causing it to barrel past the paving operation and continue down the hill at a high rate of speed. According to plaintiff, he had to swerve to avoid oncoming civilian traffic as well as construction vehicles and, when it became apparent that he could no longer control the vehicle, he kicked the door open and jumped from the truck, which then ran off the road, through a guardrail and over an embankment.” What’s latin for, “the hilarity speaks for itself”?
- Washoe-Mill Apartments v. U.S. Bank Nat. Ass’n – Pursuant to the Trust Indenture, and Section 11(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, court finds that HUD was entitled to funds remaining in trust account after bonds issued to fund a HUD-subsidized facility were redeemed.
- City of College Station, Tex. v. Star Ins. Co. – In suit against insurer for failure to defend/indemnify, court of appeals holds that zoning-related allegations in underlying complaint against city did not fall within the scope of policy’s “inverse condemnation” exclusion.
- State v. Moore Outdoor Properties, L.P. – In inverse condemnation action, court holds that lessee’s interests in a sign permit, billboard structure, and leasehold form an intertwined property interest – as opposed to personal property – that is compensable in a condemnation proceeding.
- SIFMA Weighing Campaign Against Muni Advisor Rule Provisions.
- NYT: Bonds Backed by Solar Power Payments Get Nod.
- GASB Toolkit Helps Pension Plans Implement New Accounting Standards.
- Moody’s: Detroit’s DIP Proposal Differs Substantially From its Corporate Predecessors.
- Moody’s: Report Analyzes Impact of Elimination of Federal Deductions for State, Local Taxes.
- Use EMMA’s Email Reminder Service for Recurring Financial Disclosures.
- NYT: Jury Finds Pipe Maker Defrauded Governments.
- “While on duty on duty, Mr. O’Hern left his patrol assignment and went to his private vehicle. He drove to the top floor of a downtown parking garage, consumed a bottle of whiskey and ingested nearly a dozen Clonazepam (anti-anxiety) tablets. He then tasered himself and discharged his firearm over twenty times, shooting through the windshield and roof of the vehicle.” Turns out that incidents such as this are likely to end up on your permanent record.
- O’Brien v. New York State Com’r of Educ., in which the appeals court concluded that – for the purpose of calculating a school district’s constitutional and statutory debt limit – indebtedness is not incurred until the authorized bonds are actually sold, i.e., issued, rather than on the date the bonds are authorized.
- Elizabeth River Crossings OpCo, LLC v. Meeks, in which the Supreme Court of Virginia upheld the constitutionality of the Public–Private Transportation Act, a comprehensive agreement regarding construction and operation of a new tunnel and other facilities; exhaustive analysis of delegation of power issues.
- For the SEC, a Continued Focus on the Municipal Bond Market.
- Wenatchee, Wash. Issuer, Others Settle SEC Arena Fraud Case.
- Municipal Bonds and Accountability to the General Electorate.
- Fitch: Stockton Bankruptcy Plan Could Influence Negotiations, Settlement Elsewhere.
- GASB: Pension Standards for State and Local Governments.
- The Role of Issuer’s Counsel in a Municipal Bond Offering.
- The Bond Buyer Announces Finalists for 12th Annual Deal of the Year Awards.
- Other things we learned this week include: courts are likely to be a tad skeptical about alleged 50-year oral employment agreements; before joining “Friends of Forrest,” note that you’re befriending the confederate general Nathan Bedford and not the somewhat less controversial Mr. Gump; and there might be some explaining to do if you inadvertently tase a middle school student during a routine presentation on stun guns.
- And finally, the latest entry into the Annals of Awkward Eulogies is brought to you by City of Atlanta v. Durham. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to think that I’d notice some kind of ruckus outside before the demolition crew literally brought the house down upon me.
- Willow Bend Estates, LLC v. Humphreys County Bd. of Sup’rs, in which the Supreme Court of Mississippi held that Mississippi Code Section 27–35–50(4)(d) – requiring local tax assessors to use the “actual net income” methodology rather than the “cost” methodology – prohibits local governments from including the value of federal tax credits in their valuation of properties for tax assessment purposes.
- Cedar River Water and Sewer Dist. v. King County, in which the Supreme Court of Washington found a sufficient nexus between a county sewage treatment plant and the associated mitigation package paid to the adjoining county on which the plant was built, upholding the mitigation package in challenge brought by local utility districts; also affirmed credit enhancement fee paid by county.
- Borough of Saddle River v. 66 East Allendale, LLC, in which the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that jury in eminent domain valuation case was improperly allowed to hear evidence about the probability of a zoning change that should have been ruled on by the judge both in advance and outside of the jury’s presence.
- Moss v. City of Dunwoody, in which the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the constitutionality of a city ordinance imposing an occupational tax on attorneys who maintained an office and practiced law in the city.
- MSRB Proposal to Consolidate Guidance under MSRB Rule G-17 Published in Federal Register.
- MSRB Proposal to Amend Rule G-11 Published in Federal Register.
- IRS Releases Tax Statistics on Municipal Bonds.
- Bloomberg State & Municipal Finance Conference.
- 2013 Conference on Public Pension Underfunding.
- More Wisconsin Issuers Could Redeem Direct-Pay Bonds.
- We ran across two very nifty interactive tools this week, The Urban Institute’s Data Dashboard and the Tax Policy Center’s State & Local Finance Data Query System. Ask a small child to walk you through them.
- And finally we come to Barna v. Board of School Directors of Panther Valley School Dist., in which a school board attendee declined the invitation to bring like-minded individuals to the meetings because “they carry guns, you wouldn’t want that.” Upon being asked to leave, he remarked to the audience that he might just return and take them all out. Nevertheless, the judge found that the school board president had used these remarks as a “pretext” to claim a “threat” to the school board. What’s a wingnut gotta do to establish a legitimate threat these days? Brandish a flamethrower?
- The good folks at Baker Donelson have kindly provided us with the entire Order Granting Indenture’s MSJ from their win in In re Memorial Corrections, LLC, which we covered last week. The pdf is appended to the case brief. Should you encounter items that may be of interest to the BCB community, please feel free to send them our way and we’ll do our best to make them available to all.
- Ashton Urban Renewal Agency v. Ashton Memorial, Inc., In a matter of first impression, the Supreme Court of Idaho holds that urban renewal agency had a pecuniary interest in board of equalization’s decision to issue tax exemption, such that it had standing to appeal decision to board of tax appeals as an aggrieved person.
- In re City of San Bernardino California, Bankruptcy court confirms city’s eligibility to file a petition under chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code, overruling CalPERS’ objections that the city did not desire to effect a plan of adjustment (§109(c)(4)) and did not file the petition in good faith (§921).
- U.S. v. Murphy, Court applies ten year statute of limitations in bond bid-rigging scheme pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3293(2), which extends the statute of limitations from five years to ten “if the offense affects a financial institution.”
- Hotels.com, L.P. v. Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Com’n, Supreme Court of Arkansas upholds class certification in action by city and county agencies against online travel companies for failure to collect and/or remit full amount of gross-receipts taxes imposed by government entities on hotel accommodations.
- Reuters: U.S. Reopens Bond Sales to State, Local Governments.
- NFMA: Introduction to Municipal Bond Credit Analysis.
- FINRA Publishes Report on Conflicts of Interest.
- NLC Report Finds City Finances Improving, but Remain Tenuous.
- Another fairly quiet week as we stagger off the carnival ride, “Adventures in Constitutional Democracy.” Be sure not to overlook Jimmy Carter vs. Scrooge McDuck (wait, that’s City of Asheville v. Resurgence Developent Co., LLC) in which the court wrestled with the thorny question of whether the granting of a 435 sq. ft. easement to allow a Habitat for Humanity project to connect with the public sewer system “confers a public benefit.” In a shocking twist, turns out it does.
- In re Municipal Corrections, LLC, in which the District Court concluded that an unrecorded Indenture gave the Bond Trustee a mortgage on the real property pledged as security and that the mortgage was enforceable against a bona fide purchaser under principles of constructive and inquiry notice that apply under Georgia law.
- Turner County v. City of Ashburn, in which the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the section of the Local Option Sales Tax Act allowing the superior court to determine distribution of tax proceeds in special taxing district violated separation of powers.
- Mira Mar Development Corp. v. City of Coppell, Texas, in which the Court of Appeals engaged in a very thorough analysis of whether conditions imposed on developer were exactions and, if so, whether the City established (1) an essential nexus to the substantial advancement of a legitimate government interest, and (2) rough proportionality to the projected impact of the development.
- Ray v. Judicial Corrections Services, in which probationers’ civil rights claims against town that hired private company to provide probation and fee-collecting services survived motion to dismiss. This is an interesting case for those municipalities considering outsourcing certain judicial functions.
- U.S. States, Local Gov’ts Slow to Post Finance Reports.
- Debt-Ceiling Alarm Freezes Market With Least Supply: Muni Credit.
- GFOA Executive Board Approves 14 Best Practices.
- SEC Wants Muni Underwriters to Stay on Top of Disclosure.
- MSRB Publishes Introduction to Being Regulated for Municipal Advisors.
- MSRB Publishes Printable Version of its Online Glossary of Municipal Securities Terms.
- It’s been a very quiet week, folks. Almost feels as if certain government agencies are a little distracted, or sent folks home early or something. Not sure why. Columbus Day? Lest you despair at the prospect of perpetual gridlock, please note the ray of light introduced by Chuck Schumer via Senate Bill 1531; the Cider Investment and Development Through Excise Tax Reduction (CIDER) Act. So at least we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice.
- And finally, the concept “firm but fair” is stretched well beyone the breaking point by the Village of Park Forest Manager in an email to the Village Police Chief regarding a local apartment complex in which he states that, “I enjoy shoving it up their ass in a firm but diplomatic and professional manner.”
- IRS Lists Factors for Determining if Entity Is an Instrumentality of State or Local Government.
- Shutdown Halts Rebates on Build America Bonds, Dents Appeal.
- California City Prevails Against Investor Lawsuit.
- NABL Teleconference: Ethical Lessons for Bond Counsel of the GIC Bid-Rigging Trials and Settlement.
- GASB Fact Sheet on Statement 34.
- MSRB Publishes First Report on Timing of Municipal Bond Annual Financial Disclosures.
- In re Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District, in which the District Court affirmed the Bankruptcy Court’s decision that the park district complied with 11 U.S.C. § 109(c)(5)(B)’s good faith negotiation requirements for eligibility as a municipal debtor under Chapter 9; very useful discussion of a municipality’s pre-bankruptcy obligations.
- Wells Fargo Bank, National Association v. Leafs Hockey Club, Inc., in which the court declined to dismiss suit brought by trustee against guarantor in bond default, finding diversity of citizenship and no cause to stay and dismiss under the Colorado River abstention doctrine.
- Tutor Perini Corp. v. Banc of America Securities LLC, in which the court found that ARS investor had failed to state claims for civil conspiracy, breach of contract and conversion, but that its remaining securities law claims were sufficient to comply with the applicable pleading standards and to state a claim for relief.
- Other things we learned this week include: if police officers are literally incapacitated by the ammonia emanating from your home and find “300 snakes and 400 mice, along with a cat, lizards, iguanas, cockroaches, rats, and various feed insects in the maggot, pupae, or larvae stage” you might have some explaining to do; should you find yourself in New Brunswick, NJ, be sure to drop in for a bite at the tastefully-named “Buck Foston’s;” and, shockingly, that a garden gnome is not a “structure.”
- In re Allstate Life Ins. Co. Litigation, in which bond counsel was granted summary judgment on most claims brought against it in complex litigation following failed bond issuance; although it may ultimately be liable for failing to harmonize development agreement and indenture, resulting in inconsistency regarding which party was to hold an escrow account, thus creating disbursement complications.
- In re Oklahoma Development Finance Authority for Approval of Oklahoma State System of Higher Educ. Master Real Property Lease Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2013A, 2013F, in which the Supreme Court of Oklahoma validated bonds issued by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education; because these bonds are payable only by the Regents, they cannot become debts of the state as a matter of law and thus do not violate the state’s balanced budget provisions.
- MSRB to Implement Revised Rules Addressing Retail Order Periods.
- SIFMA to SEC: MSRB Proposals Too Burdensome.
- ABA Meeting: IRS Official Listens as Proposed Bond Arbitrage Regs Are Panned.
- Nebraska Issuer Pays $350K to Settle BAB Dispute With IRS.
- WSJ: Muni Bond Issuers Slow to Report Finances, Study Shows.
- Debt Ceiling Impasse Would Hurt Muni Issuers – Moody’s.
- And finally, “One Man’s Arsonist is Another Man’s Fire Chief,” in which the Chief, upon discovering that it would cost $10k to remove some structures from his property, arranged a “training exercise” in which his boys would simply burn ’em down, “even though gasoline tank batteries were located on nearby property on three sides of his property, trains operated on tracks on the immediate east side of his property, electrical lines were near the structures, and there was a large tree that could have caught fire. Further, there was no water immediately available at the proposed burn site.” What could possibly go wrong?
- It’s been a busy week, folks, so pay attention.
- On the regulatory side, the SEC adopted final Muni Advisor Rules and the MSRB filed proposed rule changes to MSRB Rule G-11 on Bondholder Consents. We highly recommend that you take a look at each of the articles contained in the Regulatory section of this week’s issue.
- On the tax side, the IRS stirred up the proverbial hornets’ nest with its proposed new Issue Price Rules and is preparing to add new Resolution Standards to VCAP.
- We have also included both the full text, and an introductory summary of, the IRS’ recently proposed Regs on Arbitrage Restrictions on Tax-Exempt Bonds and Regs on Arbitrage Rebate Overpayments on Tax-Exempt Bonds. Once again, we highly recommend that you take a look at each of the articles contained in the Tax section of this week’s issue.
- Independent Training and Apprenticeship Program v. California Dept. of Indus. Relations, in which the Court of Appeals held that the California Department of Industrial Relations can require contractors on projects funded by Build America Bonds and tax-exempt municipal bonds to comply with California’s apprenticeship standards, finding no federal preemption.
- Nuveen Mun. High Income Opportunity Fund v. City of Alameda, Cal., in which the Court of Appeals held that an institutional investor that lost money on its purchase of municipal bonds had not shown a triable issue of fact on the issue of loss causation; claim was missing necessary link between the claimed misrepresentations and the economic loss investor suffered.
- Citibank N.A. v. City of Burlington, in which the City of Burlington alleged that Citibank breached an understanding that it would provide additional funding upon request; court discussed enforceability of promises to negotiate in good faith; not enforceable in this instance, but indicated that City possessed a valid promissory estoppel claim.
- Oppenheimer AMT-Free Municipals v. ACA Financial Guar. Corp., in which the appeals court held that the cancellation and replacement of bonds in connection with an issuer’s bankruptcy proceedings did not relieve bond insurer of its obligation to make payments in any subsequent default.
- MSRB Files Revised Amendments to MSRB Rules on Retail Order Periods with SEC.
- WSJ: Muni Advisers Face Tougher SEC Rules.
- Final Regs Remove References to Credit Ratings in Tax Code Rules.
- TEB Phone Forum: Voluntary Compliance and Voluntary Closing Agreement Program.
- GASB Proposes Measurement Concepts for Assets and Liabilities and Standards for Measuring, Applying, and Disclosing Fair Value.
- Board of Educ. of Du Page High School Dist. 88 v. Pollastrini, in which the appeals court articulated the requirements necessary to establish a valid signature on petitions and ballots.
- And finally, Cross v. Baltimore City Police Dept., an employment case in which a Baltimore police officer was terminated after marrying a prison inmate. Apparently a second-degree murder conviction answers the “question” component of “persons of questionable character.” The officer’s better half was also a member of the notorious prison gang, “Dead Man, Inc.” Dead Man, Inc. is, according to the court, organized as follows – “supreme commander, commander, lieutenant commander, a sergeant at arms, and, in some units, an accountant.” Officer’s hubby was a supreme commander. I guess power really is the ultimate aphrodisiac. After reading this case, your editor was left with more questions than answers, including: 1) Where’d the loving couple register – Bloodbath and Beyond? 2) Expands significantly the definition of “mixed marriage,” eh? 3) You can probably tell alot about a person by whether they find the idea of this particular bachelor party terrifying or intriguing. 4) Is Dead Man, Inc.’s accounting GAAP-compliant? 5) Who advised Dead Man, Inc. to incorporate? Was it not made aware of the benefits of pass-through taxation provided by an LLC?
- People ex rel. Cuomo v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., in which the court held that the AG had a) sufficiently stated a claim under the Martin Act, and b) sufficiently pled a nexus with New York, in an enforcement action against registered securities broker-dealer, alleging that broker-dealer engaged in fraudulent and deceptive conduct in the sale of auction rate securities.
- Paff v. Atlantic City Alliance, Inc., in which the court concluded that a private non-profit corporation formed for the purpose of entering into a public-private partnership with a public redevelopment authority was not a “public agency” subject to the provisions of the Open Public Records Act.
- Miami Trace Local School Dist. v. Washington C.H. City School Dist., in which the court held that the 30–percent–payment provision in land transfer agreements between two school districts applied only to the funds received from transferee school districts’ operating levy, but not funds received from its subsequently-enacted permanent levy and bond issue.
- IRS EO Update – e-news for Charities & Nonprofits – August 30, 2013.
- FASB Releases Updates in its Definition of a Nonpublic Entity Project.
- WSJ: Detroit’s Woes Add to Angst Over Municipal Debt.
- Pension Costs Burden Local Government Budgets.
- Bonds: Beware This Major Flaw in Moody’s Rating System.
- In other news, New York courts apparently refer to minors as “infants,” which lead to some hilarious imagery in a New York case in which a beer-fueled brawl broke out between “infants” on a high-school football field. They’re so cute at that age. Finally, we come to a NYT article about the epidemic of POCBS – Power Outages Cause By Squirrels – in which we learned that the country’s foremost squirrel expert “trapped squirrels with a mixture of peanut butter and Valium.” Coincidentally, that’s also how I was trapped into taking this gig.
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