Public Finance Network presses muni agenda to Congress

A newly empowered Public Finance Network sent a letter Tuesday to congressional leaders urging them to advance municipal bond market priorities in the second year of the legislative session.

The Jan. 20 letter outlines traditional market priorities, led by the preservation of the tax exemption and including restoring tax-exempt advance refunding and lifting the cap on bank-qualified debt. The group also urged leaders to eliminate sequestration on direct-pay bonds and explore new policies related to private activity bonds.

The letter marks the first official lobbying act since the PFN became a nonprofit. The 501(c)(4) status allows the PFN to engage in unlimited lobbying or issue advocacy "for the public good," per IRS rules. The 43 groups that make up the PFN ? ranging from airports to universities and states to civil engineers, bond dealers and attorneys ? will pay dues. Government Finance Officers Association federal liaison Emily Brock is volunteer CEO and National Association of Bond Lawyers chief policy officer Brian Egan is volunteer deputy CEO.

The president of the five-member board is Brent Bryant, CFO of the City of Oklahoma, Okla. Matt Orlando, a councilmember of Chandler, Ariz., is treasurer. Rene Couch, the treasurer of Comal County, Texas is the secretary, and Scranton, Penn. Mayor Paige Cognetti and Young Boozer, the treasurer of the state of Alabama, are members.

The new structure allows the PFN to be "quicker, faster and more agile," said the GFOA's Brock. "We can make asks that help advance the market rather than just self-preservation," she said. "The whole goal is to play way more offense than defense."

The muni market spent most of last year on defense during a high-stakes attempt to save the municipal bond tax exemption from being eliminated under Republicans' massive reconciliation bill. The effort was successful but the threat always lingers, especially as Republicans eye a second reconciliation bill.

"As the second session of the 119th Congress begins, and as Congress works to enact infrastructure reauthorization legislation, now is the time to enhance the financing tools available to spur public investment in infrastructure and save taxpayer dollars," the PFN letter said.

Restoring tax-exempt advance refunding remains a top priority as it's been since the tool was lost in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Reinstating the tool would "be one of the most effective actions to provide state and local governments with more financial flexibility to increase infrastructure investment," the letter said, and urged Congress to pass a bipartisan bill introduced last year, Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure Act of 2025, "to restore this vital cost-saving tool."

Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, and introduced a House bill to allow advance refunding with Indiana Republican Rep. Rudy Yakym, remains a big champion of tax-exempt advance refunding as does Yakym, Brock said.

The PFN's emphasis on private activity bonds comes as Congress begins to craft the next surface transportation bill, which transportation groups hope will include lifting or eliminating the $30 billion cap on transportation-related PABs. Brock said lawmakers have expressed curiosity about PABs, which are used by many issuer groups for key sectors like housing. "We stand ready to be a resource for any information that you may need," the PFN said in its letter.