Jim Watts

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said last week she was “very embarrassed” by the deteriorating condition of the state capitol building in Oklahoma City.

A pension study commission said last week it would consider a wide range of options for closing Kansas’ pension liabilities, including pension bonds and a shift to a 401(k)-style retirement plan for new state workers.

A political action group has been established to oppose a plan to increase the Arkansas severance tax on natural gas that could be on the November 2012 ballot.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe used his Saturday radio address to ask voters to support a $575 million road bond plan in the Nov. 8 special election.

DALLAS - Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe urges voters in a 30-second television ad being aired statewide to renew a $575 million Garvee highway bond program at next week's special election.

DALLAS - Repairing and replacing New Orleans' damaged and obsolete water utility infrastructure will require more than $1 billion of new revenue debt by 2020 and a doubling of customer rates to finance and operate the water, sewer and drainage networks, a report warns.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission last week approved $300 million of funding for capital improvement projects on the Legislature’s capital outlay list.

Bobby Jindal was re-elected to a second four-year term as Louisiana’s governor on Oct. 22, carrying all 64 parishes and collecting 673,000 of the 1.02 million votes cast in the open primary.

Only 31% of voters approved a $561 million bond proposal by the Lafayette Parish School Board on Oct. 22. The final tally was 29,557 to 13,264.

DALLAS - School districts across Texas are lining up to join one of three filed or anticipated lawsuits that contend the state's system for funding public education is unconstitutional.

Former Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge told a legislative panel last week that the state should not eliminate its income tax without finding another revenue source.

The Maricopa County School District No. 69 is asking voters next week to approve $203 million of general obligation bonds to renovate and maintain its 45 schools.

DALLAS - The University of Arkansas System will add and upgrade athletic facilities at its main campus in Fayetteville through a 30-year, $320 million master plan announced Tuesday by athletic director Jeff Long.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to be re-elected to his second four-year term Saturday in the state’s open primary voting.

DALLAS - New Orleans' municipal finances are "on the right track" after years of fiscal mismanagement, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Monday as he presented a proposed $495 million operating budget to the City Council.

September sales tax revenues of $1.76 billion mark the 18th consecutive month that Texas collections have risen, according to Comptroller Susan Combs.

Voters in Edmond, Okla., last week overwhelmingly approved a 0.5% increase in the city’s sales tax to build a $25.5 million police station after rejecting a similar $31.5 million proposal in 2008 by a 61% margin.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez last week signed an $86 million capital outlay bill passed by the Legislature during September’s special session.

Garland County, Ark.’s proposals to raise the sales tax rate to build and operate a new jail in Hot Springs received a 64% favorable margin at last week’s election. More than 10,300 votes were cast, and the plan prevailed in 40 of the county’s 42 precincts.

A recent downgrade of some Surprise, Ariz., municipal bonds provided ammunition for mayoral candidate Sharon Wolcott’s campaign against incumbent Lyn Truitt in the election on Nov. 8.