Puerto Rico's fragile economy is facing an uncertain future after the island's governor rejected a settlement announced with bondholders that would reduce the U.S. territory's public debt by 70%. The settlement is the biggest one to date since the island's government announced in 2015 that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt load and filed for the largest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in May 2017.

High demand for municipal bonds, low-interest rates, and top marks for the town's financial operation have combined to give taxpayers the best deal possible on the money they borrowed for public projects, town officials said. The town just sold $15 million in general obligation bonds at a historically low net interest rate of 1.868 percent.

The Tarrant County Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corporation is expected to issue $193 million in Hospital Revenue Bonds this week. The negotiated sale is scheduled for February 6th with J.P. Morgan as the lead manager. Proceeds from the sale of the Bonds will be used to refund Series 2010 Bonds and to finance and reimburse the costs of constructing a new capital project.

Thanks to a public-private partnership (P3) between the Public Finance Authority (PFA) and Proton International (PI), cancer patients in Delray Beach, FL, and Birmingham, AL will have access to all the benefits of proton therapy treatment. PFA and PI work with hospitals and physician groups to develop one- and two-room proton treatment centers, to help address cost and financing constraints.

The House Ways and Means Committee has released its much-anticipated infrastructure proposal. It includes $760 billion over five years for transportation, broadband, water, wastewater, and brownfields redevelopment. It also would expand many existing clean energy financing programs as well as tax credits like the NMTC, LIHTC, and HTC.

As part of the CDFA Federal Policy Conference, we will head to Capitol Hill to conduct legislative briefings on the importance of bond legislation such as MAMBA. Join CDFA and our members and partners as we visit with Congressional leaders to reinforce the importance of federal economic development finance solutions and proactive approaches.

The second half of 2019 saw U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement activity focused on municipal advisor registration and investor protections in addition to continued review of Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) rules and guidance.

Intro Bond Finance WebCourse
February 26-27, 2020 - Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series: To TIF or Not to TIF, is TIF the Right Tool For Your Project?
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 - 1:00 PM Eastern

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The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit examined how Kansas and other states used private activity bonds in calendar years 2016 through 2018. In this audit, they used data from CDFA and other states to determine how states used private activity bonds from 2016 to 2018.

Please be advised that on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service released a revised Form 8038-CP, Return for Credit Payments to Issuers of Qualified Bonds ("IRS Form 8038-CP").

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