By tomorrow, the Senate bipartisan infrastructure bill is expected to pass the Senate, setting up a September fight to get the package through the House prior to the Highway Trustfund running out of funding on September 30th. While the American Infrastructure Bond amendment did not receive a vote during the prolonged debate, the package includes…
Category: Private Placement Activity of Non-Dealer Municipal Advisors
BDA is concerned that non-dealer municipal advisors (MAs) may be violating securities law in certain instances by acting as unregistered dealers in private placements. We encourage the SEC and MSRB to remind MAs that acting as a placement agent is a broker-dealer activity with associated legal requirements.
Direct Pay Amendment Introduced in Senate
Today, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced an amendment to the bipartisan infrastructure agreement that would create a new direct-pay bond, the American Infrastructure Bond. The AIB’s would have a flat 28% reimbursement rate. While not exempt from sequestration, the text provides the ability to increase reimbursement rates to offset any potential negative impacts in the…
Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Clears First Hurdle in Senate – Current Agreement Includes Multiple PAB Provisions
Last night, the Senate voted 67-32 to move the bipartisan infrastructure agreement to debate without full legislative text – a key step in advancing the $1 trillion dollar package. This vote sets up an extensive debate process, kick-starting a week’s worth of debate and more compromise, in an effort to get the package across the…
Ways and Means Holds Hearing on State and Local Tax Tools
MBFA to Submit Comments in Support of Muni Priorities The House Committee on Ways and Means today hosted a hearing titled, “Tax Tools to Help State and Local Governments.” The hearing featured witnesses from all levels of state and local government, representing a swath of the Public Finance Network (PFN) in which the BDA…
BDA Comments on MSRB Strategic Priorities
BDA today filed a comment letter with the MSRB on Notice 2020-19, “MSRB Requests Input on Strategic Goals and Priorities.” The letter can be viewed here. In our letter, we provide views on topics such as the SEC’s proposed Exemptive Order on the role of Municipal Advisors on Private Placements, MSRB finances, retail order periods, the…
Members of Congress -with BDA Support- Urge SEC to Withdraw Exemptive Order
BDA Leads Aggressive Lobbying Against TCE Today, with support and assistance from the BDA, Representatives French Hill (R-AR) and Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX) wrote the SEC in opposition of the Temporary Exemptive Order for Municipal Advisors.The legislators urged the Commission to withdraw the original proposed order and ensure that the TCE expires on December 31st 2020…
BDA Continues to Lobby Against SEC Temporary Conditional Exemption
BDA is your DC based lobbyist and advocate hired by you to aggressively work Washington, DC – boots on the ground lobbying to influence regulation and legislation that impacts the US bond markets. As such, BDA continues to lead the lobbying fight against the TCE and any action by the SEC to make such exemption permanent, whether…
BDA Calls SEC’s Municipal Advisor Exemption “Dangerous.”
BDA today sent a letter to SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on the Temporary Conditional Exemption the SEC issued last month with regard to Municipal Advisors’ role in bank placement transactions. In our letter we highlight the risks associated with the TCE and critique the SEC’s justifications. We cite testimony Chairman Clayton presented last week before…
House Ways and Means Announces Legislation to Reinstate Advance Refundings
BDA Continues Supporting Senate Efforts Today, the House Committee on Ways and Means announced pending legislation titled, the Moving Forward Act, the tax title for the broader House Surface Transportation Reauthorization. The legislation would fully, and permanently reinstate Advance Refundings, allow for expanded usage of Private Activity Bonds, raise the BQ Debt limit, and create a new…
Capitol Hill Update: Infrastructure Push Slowed
Congress Turns Focus Back to Direct Funding to Cities Last week, the House of Representatives announced its push to include a massive infrastructure package into a future “stimulus phase 4” bill. This idea ran into strong Republican push-back in the Senate, and seems to have been tabled for the potential April stimulus legislation. This week,…