MINT Act

On March 3, 2026, Rep. McClain (R-MI) introduced HR7769, the Municipal Investment and Neighborhood Transformation (MINT) Act. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and has had no further action. A companion bill (S3941) was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Finance Committee. The bill is in early legislative stages with low momentum.

The bill does not authorize or appropriate any federal funding. It amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove a sunset provision that had limited the tax-exempt treatment of state/local bonds guaranteed by Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) to those issued before December 31, 2010. It also updates safety and soundness requirements for FHLB letters of credit. The mechanism is a tax code change, not a spending program.

Structural winners: The 11 Federal Home Loan Banks (GSEs) would benefit from increased demand for their credit enhancement services. However, FHLBs are not publicly traded companies. Municipal bond issuers (state/local governments) would have a new tool to lower borrowing costs. No publicly traded company is directly impacted. The bill does not affect banks, insurers, or other financial intermediaries in a material way.

No real market data is provided. The municipal bond market is large (~$4 trillion outstanding), but this bill addresses a narrow technical issue that has been dormant since 2010. The market has functioned without this provision for 16 years, so its restoration would have marginal impact.

Timeline: The bill must pass the House Ways and Means Committee, the full House, the Senate Finance Committee, the full Senate, and be signed by the President. With no further action since introduction and a companion bill also stalled, passage in the 119th Congress is uncertain. The bill's impact is limited to the municipal bond market and does not affect equity markets.