U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) introduced a proposal to help farmers and manufacturers get financing for their businesses. With the "Modernizing Agriculture and Manufacturing Bonds Act," (MAMBA) Murphy hopes to "modernize decades-old financing tools used by farmers and manufacturers to grow and create more jobs" by streamlining "private activity bonds to help small manufacturers and first-time farmers grow their businesses, invest in new equipment, and hire more workers."

Muni market participants are banking on a surface transportation reauthorization bill passing in the first half of next year before elections get underway in 2020. The November election leaves a small window to pass the American Transportation Infrastructure Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization.

DOT's popular BUILD —formerly TIGER—grants, which received an 11% hike, to $1 billion. On the other hand, lawmakers sliced discretionary federal highway programs 33% to $2.2 billion. For the EPA, the new legislation provides about $9.1 billion, an increase of $208 million from 2019. The Section 179D tax deduction for the cost of energy-efficient buildings was extended through 2020, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank was reauthorized for seven years.

The Fiscal Year 2020 appropriations bill, H.R. 1865, signed into law today by President Trump, includes a one-year, $5 billion extension of the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC). The NMTC, which faced expiration on December 31, instead received a $1.5 billion increase in allocation that will go far to meet the demand for this important resource that revitalizes communities, creates jobs, increases economic opportunity and improves lives.

The US Senate passed a package of tax extenders as part of the year-end appropriations act that the US House of Representatives passed on December 17, 2019. The package includes a one-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) under section 45 for wind and other technologies. It also includes a limited extension of other energy tax incentives that were set to expire and a retroactive extension for some credits that had already expired in 2018.

The Modernizing Agriculture and Manufacturing Bonds Act, H.R. 5422, sponsored by Reps. Stepanie Murphy, D-Fla., and Darin LaHood, R-Ill., expands the definition of a manufacturing facility and eliminates IDB restrictions on "directly related and ancillary facilities." Meanwhile, the limitation for first-time farmers using so-called Aggie Bonds would be raised to $552,500 from $450,000.

The IMPACT, or Improving and Reinstating the Monitoring, Prevention, Accountability, Certification, and Transparency Provisions of Opportunity Zones, Act includes a variety of reporting requirements, fully listed below, to provide for the most robust and granular analysis over time on the targeted impacts of investments in Opportunity Zones

The Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act, a discussion draft distributed to Congress on November 19th, proposes to extend several tax credits for clean energy deployment and expand several others. This independent analysis quantifies the combined impact of most major provisions of the proposal on both technology deployment and GHG emissions, through 2030.

The recently-introduced Toll Credit Marketplace Act would allow states to sell toll credits for revenue that would be used toward match requirements on federally-funded highway and transit projects. States would accrue credits from the federal government when they use toll revenue to fund projects that benefit the interstate commerce or interstate system.

The Office of Indian Energy, which is part of the Department of Energy, invested $25 million in renewable projects on tribal lands between 2010 and 2016. A solar farm the agency is helping to fund on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington state is projected to drop utility bills for most homeowners from about $240 a month to less than $9.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development will make a second round of $550 million in Reconnect Pilot Program funding available in 2020. Nationwide, USDA will make available up to $200 million for grants, up to $200 million for 50/50 grant-loan combinations, and up to $200 million for low-interest loans.

Nearly 300 homes and offices in Tulare County, CA will receive faster internet access in the next decade with $360,000 in funding approved by the Federal Communications Commission. These funds are allocated as part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America.

As we close the books on 2019, NTIA took stock of strides made in the past year on key Administration priorities. Topping the list is our work to make spectrum available for 5G, including completing engineering work to put critical mid-band spectrum to use in the 3.5 GHz band.

In 2019, the Department collaborated with many partners and invested $28.6 billion to spark business development and create jobs in all 50 states and all U.S. territories. USDA worked to bring high-speed internet capacity, modern community facilities, and upgraded water and wastewater infrastructure to rural areas. USDA helped provide homeownership opportunities and reliable electricity.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will receive a $37,823,720 grant to help defray the costs of cleaning up after Hurricane Irma under FEMA's Public Assistance Program. FEMA funds will reimburse the state for the costs of removing and disposing of submerged debris from waterways statewide from Oct. 18, 2017, to March 3, 2018.

Last Thursday, the IRS released final regulations under Section 1400Z-2 that tie together many of the loose ends remaining after the publishing of two sets of proposed regulations, one in October 2018 and another in May 2019. This article will attempt to put it ALL together: the statute, the two proposed regulations, and last week's final regulations — on the off chance that 1) this is the first time you're tackling these rules, and 2) you've got clients that are ready to pull the trigger on an opportunity zone investment.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a proposal to modernize the agencies' regulations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) that have not been substantively updated for nearly 25 years.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development yesterday announced nearly $200 million in grant awards to 52 Native American Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) across the Nation for new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, and critical infrastructure projects. Many of the grantees are located in Opportunity Zones.

The Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corporation was just awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to start a Revolving Loan Fund. The $1.6 million will be matched by $400,000 in local funds. The RLF is expected to help create 200 jobs, retain 55 jobs, and generate $9 million in private investment.