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On March 30, 2020, President Donald Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the “Commonwealth”) and ordered Federal assistance to supplement Commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) pandemic beginning on January 20, 2020, and continuing.  This declaration follows Governor Tom Wolf’s…

The National Association of Bond Lawyers (“NABL”) recently sent a letter to Congress, outlining some measures it recommends Congress adopt to combat the economic downturn related to the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic.  The suggestions are a mix of previously-made requests and new suggestions to inject additional liquidity into the market.

NABL’s recommendations, addressed to the top…

At McNees, we understand that our clients are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19. In light of these challenges, the McNees Public Finance Group is closely monitoring any legal developments that may impact the municipal market, as well as the continuing disclosure obligations of our issuer clients and…

On October 9, 2019 Steelton Borough Authority (Authority) closed on the sale of its water assets to Pennsylvania-American Water Company for $21.750 million in cash and $35.7 million in committed capital improvements. As a part of the transaction, the Authority and the Borough of Steelton (Borough) repaid or defeased all of their debt, opening the …

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…

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.…
Continue Reading IRS Finalizing Guidance on Tax Impact of LIBOR Phaseout

On May 7, 2019, the City of Baltimore discovered that its integral systems were the subject of a ransomware attack, breaching the City’s phone systems, emails, documents and critical operational databases, affecting roughly 10,000 City computers. The City notified the F.B.I. and took offline as many other systems as possible to prevent the spread of the cyberattack, but not before the malicious software locked and encrypted many of the City’s systems. The hackers responsible for the attack demanded thirteen bitcoins (approximately $100,000), as ransom, to release the City’s inaccessible databases and operational tools. In a move intended to disincentive future attacks, Baltimore rejected hackers’ demands and did not pay the ransom.…
Continue Reading Ransomware Attacks Targeting Cities and Municipalities