On November 27 Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Act 99 of 2019 (HB 1203), which updates the auditing standards for municipal authorities under the Municipal Authorities Act, 53 Pa.C.S. §5612, as well as strengthening municipalities’ right to review the books and accounts of authorities. The passage of Act 99 follows on the heels
Tim Horstmann
Pennsylvania Passes Slate of Laws to Facilitate Use of Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreements
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Municipal Law
On November 7, 2019, Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Acts 80, 81 and 82 of 2019, streamlining the process by which municipalities approve intergovernmental cooperation agreements, as well as making other changes to encourage the use of such agreements.
Act 80 amends the Intergovernmental Cooperation Law, 53 Pa. C.S. § 2301, to permit the…
McNees Paralegal Becomes President of Ladies First – a Nonprofit Organization Dedicated to Supporting Women in the Public Finance Industry
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Public Finance
McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC paralegal Terry Snyder was elected President of Ladies First – The Mid-Atlantic Women’s Public Finance Forum and will serve in this role through 2020.
Ladies First is a professional association that provides educational opportunities, as well as mentoring and networking opportunities to enhance and expand the role of women in…
IRS Finalizing Guidance on Tax Impact of LIBOR Phaseout
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Public Finance, Tax
The IRS recently announced that it will be issuing guidance in the near future on the elimination of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The guidance, long-awaited by the municipal finance industry, is expected to address under what circumstances a reissuance will occur when a floating rate bond using LIBOR as the reference rate is modified to another reference rate.
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IRS Blesses Current Refundings of Targeted Government Bond Programs (With Limits)
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Tax
The Internal Revenue Service recently released Notice 2019-39, clarifying the scope of permitted current refundings of bonds issued under special governmental bond programs. Issuers may rely on this Notice to issue tax-exempt bonds to currently refund any bonds that are issued pursuant to such targeted programs, subject to some limitations.
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PA Assembly Passes Law Aimed at Improving Municipal Authority Fiscal Controls
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Public Finance, State Government
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf recently signed into law Act 4 of 2019 (HB 264), which amends section 12 of the Municipality Authorities Act, 53 Pa.C.S. 5612, to establish minimum standards for an Authority’s financial and operating procedures. Act 4 received unanimous support in both the House and the Senate.
Act 4 makes a number of…
Slate of Municipal Debt Reform Proposals Reintroduced in PA House, Senate
By Tim Horstmann on
A group of elected officials in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate have reintroduced a series of bills making significant changes to the process by which municipalities in Pennsylvania incur debt. The introduction of these bills has become a biennial occurrence; since the 2013-2014 legislative session, similar bills have been introduced, calling for such changes. None of the prior proposals have been enacted into law.
The bills that have been introduced in the 2019-2020 legislative session primarily consist of two packages – one in the House and one in the Senate. The package of reform proposals in the House can be found at House Bills 882-884. The package of reform proposals in the Senate can be found at Senate Bills 204-210. One proposal was introduced as House Bill 320, and is a standalone measure addressing interest rate swaps. We’ve included in this post links to each bill, so that you can monitor the status of the bills.
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EMMA Gets a Makeover: Enhancements Coming in Summer 2019
By Tim Horstmann & Penny Pollick on
Posted in Public Finance, Securities
The MSRB is finalizing some user-friendly enhancements to the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, the website designated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission as the official source for municipal securities data and disclosure documents. The enhancements follow new continuing disclosure rules that will increase the volume of information required to be disclosed on EMMA. The MSRB expects that the enhancements will make it easier for issuers and obligated persons to submit information, and for the public to access it. The enhancements should roll out for public use this summer.
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New Continuing Disclosure Rules Go into Effect – Are You Prepared?
By Tim Horstmann & Penny Pollick on
Posted in Public Finance, Securities
Last week amendments to the SEC continuing disclosure rules for municipal bonds went into effect. Under the new rules, municipalities that are planning a public offering of municipal bonds must update their continuing disclosure agreements to include covenants to disclose each of the following:
- Incurrence of a financial obligation of the obligated person, if material,
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A Look Back at the 2017-2018 Legislative Session
By Tim Horstmann on
Posted in Municipal Law, State Government
With the Pennsylvania General Assembly officially starting its new legislative session this January, now is a good time to take stock of the legislative proposals affecting municipalities that were approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Governor Wolf during the 2017-2018 session. In the last two years close to 250 bills were signed into law by the Governor; this article will examine 13 of them.
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