municipal law

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At its meeting on March 1, 2017, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to formally propose and publish for comment amendments to Rule 15c2-12 to add two additional disclosure events to written continuing disclosure undertakings required to be obtained by underwriters in primary securities offerings.
Continue Reading SEC Proposes Amendments to Rule 15c2-12 to Address Bank Loan Disclosure Concerns

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC was ranked fifth in Pennsylvania in the 2016 Bond Counsel Rankings by The Bond Buyer. The firm also was ranked fourth in Pennsylvania in the 2016 Bond Underwriter’s Counsel, and is one of just two firms to appear in the top five in both lists.
Continue Reading McNees Ranked in Top 5 for Bond Counsel and Underwriter’s Counsel in Pennsylvania for 2016

On Tuesday, February 7th, Governor Wolf presented his 2017 budget address to a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.   The Governor’s proposal includes a $1 Billion increase in the tax burden on Pennsylvania businesses and individuals. While the Governor stated that he was proposing no “broad-based tax increases,” his budget does raise revenues significantly while not addressing pension liability. We are currently analyzing the specifics of the Governor’s budget proposal and will provide more information in future posts. For now, however, here are some high level takeaways on the tax front:
Continue Reading Governor Wolf Calls for Major Business Tax Increases in 2017 Budget Proposal

For boroughs, townships, municipalities, and cities, eminent domain is a tool used to better the communities in which we live, whether than means widening an increasingly busy road or constructing a new community park.  While eminent domain is an important and powerful tool, condemnors must be sure that they follow the proper procedures, including notice to all property owners, both those of record and those who are not.
Continue Reading How Adverse Possession Can Affect The Eminent Domain Process

Who has not heard of the Bridgegate scandal?  The George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York City is the busiest motor vehicle bridge in the world.  Two of three toll lanes for a street entrance from Fort Lee, NJ to the George Washington Bridge were closed for five days in September 2013.  This resulted in huge backups in Fort Lee.  As one of the individuals convicted in the incident emailed, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”
Continue Reading Bond Issue Disclosure: When Politics and the Law Intersect

McNees attorney Steve Matzura recently covered for the McNees Energy and Environmental User Blog the proposal by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) of a new rule that would expand the scope of its current authority over projects that withdraw and use water in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. Per Steve’s analysis:

The proposal would…

Just a few short months after essentially re-writing the rules on management contracts for bond-financed property, the IRS is at it again. On January 17th the IRS gave advance notice of the publication of Revenue Procedure 2017-13. While Rev. Proc. 2017-13 won’t officially be published until February 6th, the IRS has made a copy of the new guidance available immediately for review.
Continue Reading IRS Announces Additional Guidance on Management Contracts for Bond-Financed Facilities

You won your lawsuit, and now you want to be paid.  But how do you get an unwilling defendant to cough up the cash?  You have several options.  Part I of this series discussed collecting a money judgment through the garnishment process.  This article explains a second option:  conducting a sheriff’s sale of the defendant’s real or personal property in order to be made whole.

Continue Reading I Have a Judgment, Now What?: Collecting and Enforcing a Money Judgment Through a Sheriff’s Sale

Following its announcement in August that it had entered into settlements with over seventy municipal issuers in connection with the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation (MCDC) initiative, there was speculation as to whether additional settlements would be announced, or if this first round of settlements represented all of the enforcement actions against municipal issuers that…

In this podcast, McNees Public Finance attorney Tim Horstmann discusses the recent announcement by the Internal Revenue Service of a major change in its treatment of management contracts entered into by governmental entities and nonprofit associations exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

View the podcast here.

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