Topic: Weekly Quick Hits
Weekly Quick Hits: FY 2013 Budget Edition
Fiscal Year 2013 Budget – This week, President Obama released his Budget for Fiscal Year 2013. (Whitehouse.gov)
Budget Alarms Market – President Obama’s $3.8 trillion fiscal 2013 budget alarmed the muni market by proposing to reduce the value of tax-exempt interest and other tax preferences to 28%. But the budget does include a proposal to resurrect and expand the popular Build America Bond program. (The Bond Buyer)
Obama’s Budget: Govt Still Growing Despite Cuts – The $3.8 trillion election-year budget plan calls for stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and tax hikes on the wealthy to help pay the costs, but does little to reduce government or rein in Medicare and Medicaid. (Boston Globe)
Tax Credit Revived in Budget Proposal – An important note for the public finance community is that the budget extends and modifies the new markets tax credit (NMTC) program. Specifically, the proposal would extend the NMTC through 2013, with an allocation amount of $5 billion. It also revives the Section 1603 Tax Credit for solar projects. (Greentechmedia.com)
Weekly Quick Hits – Redevelopment Fall-Out Edition
In light of the California Supreme Court’s decision regarding ABx1 26 and ABx1 27, which permits the dissolution of redevelopment agencies to proceed, we have aggregated some of the news items on that topic from third-party sources.
Rescuing Redevelopment – An Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times that advocates adopting a bill to extend the time period for abolishing redevelopment agencies and salvage the positive features of the community redevelopment law. (Los Angeles Times)
Unintended Consequences of New RDA Bills – This Op-Ed explores the unintended consequences of new bills that may reignite some of the alleged ills that were ostensibly eliminated by the Supreme Court’s ruling. (Silicon Valley Mercury News)
RDA Doors and Benefits Close – In addition to funding, California redevelopment agencies provided stimulus for jobs and economic development that now must be recovered through another mechanism. (Contra Costa Times)
On Hold: Projects Hit the Brakes with Redevelopment Decision – This article discusses the many projects that are now stalled following the court’s ruling to allow the shutdown of redevelopment agencies. (Bakersfield Californian)
Weekly Quick Hits
Fitch Releases 2012 Outlook for Energy Infrastructure Projects - Fitch Ratings’ Outlook for North American energy infrastructure projects in 2012 is Stable according to its report entitled, “2012 Outlook: Energy Infrastructure North America.” (MarketWatch)
Breakthrough Could Double Solar Output – A chemist at the University of Texas at Austin may have discovered a way to double the efficiency from solar cells. (Los Angeles Times)
Recovery Through High Speed Rail? - An opinion article looks at why building a high-speed rail system in the U.S. is a good way to revitalize America’s economy and reduce the use of foreign oil. (Bloomberg)
Transit’s Not Bleeding the Taxpayer Dry — Roads Are - A discussion of the real cost of maintaining roadway infrastructure. (DC.StreetsBlog)
Weekly Quick Hits
Dirtiest Cities in America – Forbes releases its list of dirtiest cities. (Forbes)
Google Abandons Effort to Make Cheap, Renewable Energy – Google’s ambitious plans to make renewable energy more affordable than coal have ended. (Fox News)
Jefferson County Receiver Lobbies for Continued Authority – The court-appointed receiver managing bankrupt Jefferson County’s sewer system warns of harm to the municipal bond market if a federal judge strips him of his authority. (Bloomberg)
A Step Backward for Hybrid Cars? – Federal officials launched a formal safety defect investigation into GM’s plug-in hybrid vehicle after crash tests on several Volts resulted in fires. (Los Angeles Times)
Weekly Quick Hits
Impact of Fiscal Woes in U.S. Cities – A study on the impact of the recession on local municipalities. (Infrastructurist.com)
Fixed Mortgage Rates at Historic Lows – The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4%, and the average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.31%, both historic lows. (The Washington Post)
The Dark Side of the “Green” City – An op-ed about Phoenix, Arizona’s attempt to be the greenest city in the U.S. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Senate Republicans Block Infrastructure Plan – Republicans in the Senate dealt President Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda, blocking a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure such as roads and rail lines. (Associated Press)
Weekly Quick Hits
Private Sector Picks Up Slack For Aging U.S. Infrastructure – With federal funds unavailable for infrastructure repair and construction, there are at least 70 privately funded and managed infrastructure projects across the United States in various stages of development. (Washington Post)
China May Have Violated Trade Rules, Says U.S. Solar Panel Makers – Seven U.S. makers of solar panels filed a trade case in Washington, D.C., against the Chinese solar industry, claiming it used billions of dollars in government subsidies to help increase sales in the American market. (New York Times)
California, Leading the Nation in Job Growth – Led by the construction and manufacturing industries, California’s unemployment rate went down, although it’s still the second highest in the nation. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Solar Power Going Mainstream – The days of high cost for solar panels may have dissipated leading commercial and residential builders to more installations of solar energy. (Boston Globe)
Weekly Quick Hits
California Has $9 Billion Undeployed Infrastructure Bonds – California is holding unspent proceeds of approximately $9.1 billion in infrastructure bonds, which are costing the state approximately $630 million a year in debt service. (Los Angeles Times)
Infrastructure Bank Means Jobs – Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) is championing a national infrastructure bank that he says could help build roads, fix bridges and create jobs. (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
Infrastructure Deal Possible This Year – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stated last week that, because “the economy is so bad and so many are out of work,” a deal on infrastructure spending could come soon. (Reuters)
7 Billion People! – The world’s population is projected to reach 7 billion on October 31. (Boston Globe)
Weekly Quick Hits
CA Governor Signs Bills to Speed #FarmersField – Last Tuesday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 292 and SB 290, which limit environmental lawsuits and accelerate litigation review. The bills are expected to help facilitate the Los Angeles NFL stadium project. (Los Angeles Times)
$4.75 Billion in Solar Loans Closed – On the final day of eligibility under the Stimulus Act, the U.S. Energy Department approved $4.75 billion in loan guarantees for four solar energy projects. (Bloomberg)
House GOP Changes Approach to Infrastructure – House Republicans abandoned plans to slash U.S. infrastructure spending. Instead House Transportation Committee Chairman John Mica is working on a 6-year plan that would maintain existing funding levels for highway and mass-transit constructi0n. (Wall Street Journal)
Senator Kirk Capitalizes on Lincoln Legacy in Illinois – U.S. Senator Mark Kirk is leading in Illinois with his “infrastructure investment equals job creation message” embodied in his Lincoln Legacy Infrastructure Development Act. (The Courier-News)
Weekly Quick Hits
Deficit Reduction Plan – Monday morning, President Obama is expected to unveil his deficit reduction plan, which is anticipated to include entitlement cuts, tax increases and war savings to reduce government spending by more than $3 trillion over the next 10 years. (New York Times)
American Jobs Act Could Crimp Muni Market – Speaking at The Bond Buyer California Public Finance Conference, California Treasurer Bill Lockyer said the American Jobs Act threatens to raise borrowing costs for municipal bond issuers by eliminating certain tax exemptions for interest on those bonds. (Wall Street Journal)
Fall-Out from Solyndra – After the announced bankruptcy of Solyndra, the solar panel manufacturer that obtained a $535 million federal loan, the White House has spent significant time answering questions about its relationship with the company. (The Washington Post)
California Coastal Clean-Up Day – In an annual tradition, over 10,000 volunteers collected 44,038 tons of trash from California beaches. (Los Angeles Times)
Weekly Quick Hits
Stimulus 2.0? – Editorial on President Obama’s American Jobs Act. (US News and World Report)
The Impact of Federal Investment on Rural Jobs – The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims that it has invested more than $6.2 billion since 2009 to help nearly 10,000 small and emerging rural businesses expand, creating or saving more than 250,000 jobs. But the actual impact of such federal investment is unclear. (New York Times)
Behind the Green Jobs Numbers – A discussion of the benefits and costs of green jobs and how investing in them may help stimulate the economy. (New York Times)
Subway to the Sea Makes Progress – The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transporation Authority began construction on Monday, September 12, 2011, on the second phase of the Expo line which will run from Culver City to Santa Monica. (Los Angeles Times)
