The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today extended the public comment period for proposed changes to the rules implementing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) until April 8, 2020.

The IRS released two items of draft guidance that begin to define how project developers and investors can take advantage of tax incentives for carbon capture and storage, known as the 45Q tax credits. Congress, in a bipartisan budget deal in 2018, expanded and extended the tax credits in what carbon capture advocates and analysts have said could be a boon for carbon capture in the United States.

Over the last two decades, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs have been adopted in 36 states and the District of Columbia. These programs allow state and local governments to fund energy efficiency, renewable energy, disaster resiliency, and water conservation improvements on private property through the use of loans secured by special assessments on the real property.

The Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) will be tasked with administering and allocating $80 million of credits to affordable rental housing developers between 2021 and 2028, with up to $10 million allocated each year. Any unused allocation can be carried forward to later years. The Governor touted the credit as aiming to create nearly 1,000 additional affordable housing units over eight years and increasing Maine's current rate of production by 50%.

Community development tax incentives have tangible positive impacts on the states and individuals they serve. The presidential caucuses and primaries are a useful time to highlight those impacts, as it raises awareness and provides support for advocates who specialize in these community development tax incentives. This look at Nevada, the third in the series.

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.

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) 50th anniversary celebration, the Agency has released its first-ever Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program annual report. Through 2019, the WIFIA program has financed more than $3.5 billion in loans, saving borrowers $1.2 billion and helping improve water quality for more than 20 million Americans.

The Florida House Ways & Means Committee reviewed a wide range of state tax revisions that are certain to be unpacked and dissected over the last month of the legislative session. One proposal is giving cities more control over how tourist development dollars are spent and allowing counties to use TDT revenues for water quality projects.

The Virginia Housing Development Authority, a public-private partnership, has made its first affordable housing investment as part of the Commonwealth's partnership with Amazon. VHDA awarded a $5 million grant and a nearly $83 million mortgage loan for an affordable housing development near Amazon's new headquarters. In addition, the City of Alexandria provided an $8 million loan, and JBG SMITH's Washington Housing Initiative provided a loan of more than $15 million to complete the acquisition.

With demand still as strong as ever and yields at or near record lows, issuers are experiencing extremely friendly market conditions. In the primary market, Massachusetts ( / /AA+) sold $650 million of general obligation bonds in three separate sales. Munis were mixed on the MBIS benchmark scale, with yields rising no more than one basis points in the 10-year maturity and falling by less than a basis point in the 30-year maturity.

From reading recent news, an outsider could conclude that municipal disclosure is in disarray — late annual filings, lack of interim information, and an overall failure of issuers to recognize the needs of investors. The municipal market has been, and will continue to be, essential for all types and sizes of public debt needed for infrastructure improvements across our country.

Join CDFA and experts from across this country as we closely examine the development finance tools that have made these projects successful and how they can be applied to a brownfield site in your community.

During this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series experts will examine the best strategies local governments and analysts are using to determine appropriate TIF assistance levels.

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