Jim Watts

Douglas County Unified School District 497's request for a $92.5 million bond package passed last week with an approval rating of more than 70%.

A plan to issue $1.5 billion of taxable pension bonds for the state retirement system passed a key Kansas Senate committee last week.

Collections from the Arkansas state income and sales tax came in below expectations in March, dropping total revenue to $346.4 million.

Louisiana legislative leaders abruptly canceled a hearing on Gov. Bobby Jindal's sweeping changes to state tax policy until their own experts can analyze the fiscal impact of his proposal.

The Arkansas Senate gave quick approval to a bill providing $125 million of state bonds as an economic incentive for a $1.1 billion steel mill project.

Lawmakers want legislative experts to review Gov. Bobby Jindal's $3 billion state tax swap before considering the 11 bills that would enable the changes.

Austin (Texas) Independent School District trustees agreed a facilities master plan to win support for May's $892.2 million bond referendum.

El Paso City Hall will be imploded April 14 to clear way for a downtown baseball stadium.

Shawnee County Unified School District 345 will continue its expansion effort if approve a $42.5 million GO bond referendum for the fast-growth Topeka district.

Moody's Investors Service has put $220 million of economic incentive bonds on review for a possible downgrade over uncertainties from falling state income tax collections.

Top legislative leaders back a measure authorizing $125 million of state general obligation bonds for a steel mill project in northeast Arkansas.

Arkansas will save almost $700 million through a private insurance option in an expansion of the Medicaid program, a report said.

Eliminating Louisiana's income tax will require raising the sales tax rate to 6.25% from the current 4%.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said there is no need for a statewide vote on his plan to raise the state sales tax and eliminate the income tax.

Kansas legislative negotiators will wait until April for an updated revenue estimate before resolving differences between competing two-year budget bills.

The Oklahoma Senate adopted a proposed constitutional amendment that would cap how much debt service could be paid each year on bonds supported from state taxes.

The State Board of Finance approved a winning bid from Williams Blair & Co. LLC of 1.775% for $137.2 million of state general obligation bonds.

Gov. Susana Martinez said she would sign the budget for fiscal 2014 after threatening to veto the spending measure over the failure of lawmakers to lower business taxes.

Two studies authorized by Legislature cast doubts on benefits from $125 million of state GO bonds for a proposed steel mill near Osceola.

Phoenix would face a $55 million revenue gap in fiscal 2014 if an emergency 2% sales tax is repealed two years before its sunset date.