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, up $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 World Bank's 2019 Green Bond Impact Report shows investors how we are working with our member countries to support their climate finance efforts and deliver results, on a project-by-project basis.

The U.S. Department of Treasury released the long-awaited final Opportunity Zone Treasury Regulations (the "Final Regulations"). The Final Regulations and explanatory materials that span 544 pages, are quite extensive and give some needed clarity into how the Opportunity Zone tax rules work. This client alert is intended to highlight just some of the changes and clarifications in the rules.

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're got clients that are ready to pull the trigger on an opportunity zone investment.

The Treasury Department was convinced by EPA's case that Opportunity Zones need to cater to brownfield redevelopment to be successful. The final regulatory release develops clear and detailed pathways and preferences for real estate redevelopment.

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."

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 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 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.

Municipal market advocates are playing a long game in their effort to persuade Congress to enhance the uses for tax-exempt bonds in 2020. That's because another round of tax legislation is not expected to emerge until the very end of the year after the presidential election or in 2021 after a new Congress is sworn in.

Members of a bipartisan panel appear to agree in principle on a long-term proposal to narrow the state's annual highway funding gap by using more state revenue, adding taxes and fees and lowering annual bonding for transportation.

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 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.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast, hear from our experts as they dive into the data, examine the trends, and offer a preview of the bond market in 2020.

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The World Bank's 2019 Green Bond Impact Report shows investors how we are working with our member countries to support their climate finance efforts and deliver results, on a project-by-project basis.

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