On October 4, APGA staff presented to the attendees of the 2024 Black Belt Energy Conference. This was a great opportunity to engage many of the stakeholders involved in utilizing prepaid municipal bonds to purchase natural gas.
There was conversation on legislation to create American Infrastructure Bonds (AIBs). If created, an AIB would be modeled as a “direct-pay” taxable bond, with the U.S. Treasury paying a percentage of the bond’s interest to the issuing entity to reduce costs for state and local governments. In plain terms, this legislation could boost investment in infrastructure and other important public projects, including prepaid natural gas deals, at a critical time. AIBs would allow affordable access to the large taxable bond market. With the elections only weeks away, it is likely that AIB legislation won’t be considered before then or during the “lame duck” period between the election and the end of the year. There are conversations planned for after the election to be sure AIBs are re-introduced in the 119th Congress.
The group also discussed positive developments with recently proposed capital banking regulations, commonly referred to as Basel III Endgame. Because of advocacy efforts from APGA and others, the banking regulators are planning to re-propose these requirements, and the soon-to-be re-issued rules are expected to be better for entities, like public gas utilities, that engage in hedging transactions.
Lastly, there was conversation on the need for infrastructure permitting reform legislation. The results of the November elections could impact what happens, but policymakers on both sides of the aisle believe reforms need to happen, and hopefully, the work will continue in 2025.
APGA always appreciates speaking and would be happy to consider other invitations. Please reach out if you would like to speak further about having APGA staff present.
For questions on this article, please contact Erin Kurilla of APGA staff at ekurilla@apga.org.