CDFA Bond Finance Update - April 20, 2021

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Features

House Joins Senate in Reintroducing Tax-Exempt Advance Refunding Bill

Members of the House of Representatives reintroduced a bill to bring back tax-exempt advance refunding, a move made days before the Biden administration is set to roll out its infrastructure plan. Reps. Steve Stivers, R-OH, and Dutch Ruppersberger, D-MD, on Monday reintroduced their Investing in Our Communities Act.

Puerto Rico Seizes on Junk-Bond Rally with $1.8B Sale

Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory still in the midst of a four-year-long bankruptcy, is seizing on demand for risky bonds. The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, the island's main water supplier, is planning to refinance as much as $1.8 billion of debt after the yield penalty it faces in the bond market tumbled.

Oracle Submits Plans for $1.2B Investment Into New Nashville, TN Hub, Creating 8.5k Jobs

Oracle has announced plans to invest $1.2 billion into a new hub in Nashville. If approved, the company plans to create 8,500 new jobs in the area by 2031 with an average yearly salary of $110,000. The mayor's announcement also said Oracle will bring a potential capital investment that includes $175 million in public infrastructure.

Proposed Legislation by Cantwell, DelBene Would Build Millions of New Affordable Housing Units

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene have introduced legislation to increase investment in affordable housing, build tens of thousands of new affordable units around the state, and provide more resources and stronger protections for at-risk groups. The bill would increase the amount of LIHTC credits allocated to each state and increase the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds.

For Kent Hiteshew, Fed Muni Backstop Sent Crucial Message

Kent Hiteshew is no stranger to the municipal market. In 2020, he helped the Federal Reserve put together the $500 billion Municipal Liquidity Facility. While the entity didn't make a lot of emergency loans, it did restore equilibrium after the pandemic shattered investor confidence.

President Biden Unveils Massive Infrastructure Plan

President Biden's roughly $2 trillion plan aims to improve U.S. infrastructure and shift to greener energy over the next eight years. The infrastructure spending plan is the first of a two-part proposal to help the nation's economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The President is expected to unveil his package focusing on the "care economy," including investments in education and child care, in coming weeks.

Build America Bonds May Be Key to Financing Biden's Infrastructure Plans

Republicans and Democrats agree that the U.S. is in dire need of a major infrastructure overhaul and, at the very least, that Congress should authorize significant repairs to roads and bridges. Democrats may soon turn to an Obama-era tool to finance their infrastructure plans: Build America Bonds.

SEC Enforcement 2021 Exam Priorities – Focus on Municipal Securities and Municipal Advisors

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Enforcement announced its 2021 examination priorities on March 3, 2021. The Division's examination priorities reflect areas that present "heightened risks to investors or the integrity of U.S. Capital Markets."

Market Reports

Upcoming Events

Intro Bond Finance Course
August 4-5, 2021 - Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

The Intro Bond Finance WebCourse provides an in-depth look at governmental and qualified private activity bonds, with a focus on industrial development bonds (IDBs), 501(c)(3) non-profit bonds, exempt facility bonds, and other special bond programs authorized by the federal government.

News from

The latest municipal finance headlines from The Bond Buyer.

New Bills Would Promote Multifamily Housing, Reinstate Advance Refunding

Two bills expanding the use of tax-exempt bond financing have been reintroduced in Congress with a good chance of being incorporated into infrastructure legislation. One three-pronged bill includes restoration of tax-exempt advance refunding, a tripling of the cap on bank-qualified debt, and the reinstatement of Build America Bonds under another name. The other has several provisions for expanding the use of tax-exempt Private Activity Bonds for financing multifamily housing.

Ohio Shuts Off Valve to Tainted $1B Bailout

Ohio formally put an end to the $1 billion ratepayer bailout for two nuclear power plants owned by then-bankrupt FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. at the center of a $60 million pay-to-play scheme that led to the arrest of Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder on federal corruption charges. Gov. Mike DeWine last week signed a partial repeal - House Bill 128.

Lumesis Brings On ICE Data Services' Yield Curve to Its Platform

Financial technology company Lumesis has brought on ICE Data Services' yield curve data sets to bring another layer of information for its municipal bond clients, the firm announced on Monday. The tax-exempt ICE Municipal Yield Curve and spreads for all underlying trades are available to Lumesis customers using its DIVER New Issue and Secondary Pricing services.

CDFA is proud to partner with The Bond Buyer as our Official Media Sponsor. Read more about this partnership and all of its benefits here.

Bond Finance Headlines

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Highlights from the Online Resource Database

During this installment of the CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series, we explored how investing in food-centered redevelopment can restore local food systems infrastructure, catalyze additional neighborhood development, and protect healthy, sustainable communities.

IRS Publication 4079 - Tax-Exempt Governmental Bonds
Bond Finance

This publication provides an overview of the federal tax law rules that apply to municipal financing arrangements commonly known as "governmental bonds." It is intended to help issuers meet federal tax law requirements to ensure that interest earned by bondholders is exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 103.

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