The CDFA-Ice Miller Broadband Financing Bootcamp brought together experts from Ice Miller to discuss all aspects of financing broadband infrastructure. Topics included the state of broadband access and adaption, opportunities for expansion and steps to access, and innovative financing and opportunities for funding. Thank you to Ice Miller for their generous support!

Industry groups are pressing lawmakers to include their tax priorities in year-end legislation, setting off a last-minute scramble. Several tax breaks, particularly in the energy sector, have already expired or are set to expire at the end of this year, and groups want Congress to renew or update those tax preferences.

An analysis of almost 400,000 records since the start of 2018 reveals that after starting slowly last year — as states selected zones and the Treasury Department wrote regulations — the number of filings referencing opportunity zones accelerated dramatically. There were at least 356 entities containing acronyms or phrases associated with the tax breaks in June alone, and over 1,800 through the end of September.

The global sustainable finance market has expanded rapidly in recent years, approaching US$320 billion in new issuances in the first 10 months of 2019. Sustainable finance — which is dominated by green bonds, but also includes sustainable bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and loans, and social bonds — represents a growing opportunity for private equity-backed businesses.

Many innovative concepts to mitigating climate change are taking hold in the Great Lakes region. The most notable example is in the Milwaukee area, where the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for an ambitious new public-private partnership (P3).

The revised $90.2 million mixed-use redevelopment plan includes an estimated $15.2 million from a tax increment financing, $9.6 million from sales tax on a community improvement district for the project site, and $3 million in sales tax exemption from industrial revenue bonds issued for the project. The original plan was a $113.3 million project with $31.9 million in public funding.

The IMPACT, or Improving and Reinstating the Monitoring, Prevention, Accountability, Certification, and Transparency Provisions of Opportunity Zones, Act includes a variety of reporting requirements, fully listed below, to provide for the most robust and granular analysis over time on the targeted impacts of investments in Opportunity Zones

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced that it will begin hosting the second round of regional training sessions in partnership with local leaders to educate stakeholders on the benefit of Opportunity Zones.

Hawaii's ability to maintain a strong operating performance as it ramps up efforts to pay down pension and retiree medical liabilities brought a one-notch Fitch Ratings upgrade to AA-plus Tuesday. The new issuer default rating affects $7.7 billion in general obligation bonds.

PACE bond financing in Illinois is picking up steam with the closing of the first such deal — $21.3 million for a new Chicago hotel — and authorizations in place for hundreds of millions of dollars more. The Illinois Finance Authority's board has approved $800 million in borrowing authorization totaling for seven capital providers.

From crowdfunding to co-ops, during this installment of the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast Series, we will learn about the tools that are being used to bridge the financing gap and make local economies work.

Rural communities commonly have difficulty financing middle-mile and last-mile broadband infrastructure. The Massachusetts Broadband Initiative and the Wyoming Broadband Advisory Council represent two state-level entities attempting to bridge the middle-mile and last-mile broadband gaps. One potential solution for this issue is to construct a fiber-optic network for municipal usage and lease the excess capacity (also called "dark fiber") to telecommunications providers to generate revenue. During this webinar, speakers will discuss solutions to financing middle-mile and last-mile fiber-optic networks.

We are looking for the next leader of Business Oregon, someone who has the leadership, skills, passion, and drive to create prosperous opportunities for all Oregon communities, in both the metropolitan and rural areas of our state. Our next leader must have the skills and ability to build relationships and engage with veteran, women, and minority owned businesses and entrepreneurs to help them bring their visions to life here in Oregon.

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