The American Rescue Plan will provide $350 billion in payments to U.S. territories, states, and local and tribal governments as crucial assistance for budgets depleted by COVID-19. Of the amounts to be provided to states and local governments, states will receive 60 percent and local governments will receive 40 percent of the distributions.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published the Internal Revenue Bulletin No. 2021-11, which includes the calendar year 2021 resident population figures to calculate state allocations of the 9% low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and private activity bond (PAB) cap. Nationally, 9% population-based LIHTC allocations will increase by 0.4% ($3.7 million) in 2021 and PAB allocations will increase by 0.5% ($182 million).

America's municipal bonds are proving to be a haven for fixed-income investors. Even as speculation about resurgent economic growth drove up yields on corporate bonds and Treasuries this month -- saddling investors with losses -- tax-exempt debt moved in the opposite direction. Benchmark municipal-bond yields have dropped so far in March, delivering investors a return of 0.72%, according to the Bloomberg Barclays index.

Bonds have been approved to help finance a new $850 million facility that would recycle red mud pond waste from an alumina plant in St. James Parish. The board of trustees for the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority approved a "significant allocation" of tax-exempt private activity bonds that will be used to fund the construction of the new facility in St. James Parish.

The SEC sent a very clear signal about one of its chief enforcement priorities by announcing the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force within the Division of Enforcement. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance.

On March 3, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year 2021 application period for the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. A total of up to $500 million in bond guarantee authority is available for Eligible Community Development Financial Institutions in FY 2021.

Rhode Island voters have approved seven bond questions authorizing $400 million in borrowing to fund projects across the state. This funding directs $107 million to projects at state colleges, $74 million for green initiatives, $65 million for affordable housing development, $72 million for transportation infrastructure, $15 million for early childhood education, $7 million for arts and culture, and $60 million for industrial development.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that USDOT's Build America Bureau has provided a $908 million loan under the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit for the Silver Line Regional Rail Project. This transaction is estimated to save DART approximately $190 million in interest costs.

CDFA Rural Development Finance Webinar Series: Financing Disaster Resiliency in Rural Communities
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Eastern

Advanced Bond Finance WebCourse
May 24-25, 2021 - Daily: 12:00 - 5:00 PM Eastern

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The 2021 Report Card for America's Infrastructure reveals we've made some incremental progress toward restoring our nation's infrastructure. For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. While this report grades 17 categories individually, our infrastructure is a system of systems and more connected than ever before.

The New Partnership on Infrastructure seeks to advance national policies driven by local innovation, with cities serving as testbeds for experimentation and transferable solutions. This document champions that idea. It is a summation of local practices and insights from across the country - cities large and small, red and blue, coastal and inland - that aggregate into America's New Playbook for Infrastructure.

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