Public officials in Minnesota and across the nation are scrambling to head off a proposal they say would deliver a devastating blow to their ability to fund infrastructure and economic development projects.

Norton Rose Fulbright announced that 18 members of Sidley Austin's public finance practice will be transferring to the firm as part of a change that includes opening a new San Francisco office. Eight of the lawyers will join the New York office, two to the DC office, and eight to the San Francisco office.

Bond financing facilitated by WHEFA will be used to help The Medical College of Wisconsin finance the construction and equipping of an approximately 240,000 square foot professional office building, the renovation and equipping of the existing facilities to integrate the office building and to accommodate the operations of a new school of pharmacy, and other renovation, remodeling and equipping of existing facilities for educational, health and research programs.

Tax-exempt bonds give municipal issuers a unique advantage in negotiating public-private partnerships, a factor that some municipal market and legal advocates say should not be overshadowed.

Invest Atlanta approved a $55 million revenue bond for Legacy Ventures' planned 21-story Homewood Suites and Canopy Hilton combo hotel. Invest Atlanta also approved $325,000 for the renovation of Georgia Pacific's headquarters.

Atlantic City, New Jersey's cash-strapped gambling hub, avoided a default last month by making its $1.8 million debt service payment, Mayor Don Guardian said. The city is nearly insolvent and could soon run out of money. He could not guarantee June bond payments, he said.

The East Rutherford Borough Council voted to shift responsibility for issuing $675 million in bonds for the completion of American Dream Meadowlands, the massive shopping and entertainment complex, to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.

Market participants need to continue working toward broad disclosure of bank loans, possibly by amending the Securities and Exchange Commission's disclosure rule to classify the loans as material events for issuers.

Rep. Hultgren (R-IL) expressed strong support for the preservation of municipal bonds as a tool for financing economic development before the House Ways & Means subcommittee hearing. He also pledged to submit written testimony in support of the MAMBA to encourage improvements to IDBs.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Illinois are among the states with the worst fiscal health and provide examples of problematic strains on state and local finances, according to a report by researchers from George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

Municipal advisor professionals who have not already passed the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's pilot qualification exam will have one year from Sept. 12 to pass the permanent exam, the self-regulator announced.

Colin MacNaught, the former Massachusetts assistant treasurer, on Monday launched BondLink, a tech company he co-founded to help municipal issuers manage debt management programs.

Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Ill., warned House subcommittee leaders considering tax reform proposals on Thursday that a cap or elimination of tax exemption for municipal bonds could raise the cost of infrastructure projects in their own districts.

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