Jim Watts

August revenue in Arkansas fell 1% from July collections, after eight straight months of year-to-year increases.

DALLAS - The board overseeing the construction of a $1.1 billion Louisiana state hospital in New Orleans unanimously adopted a revised no-debt financial plan on Thursday.

DALLAS - No revenue bond debt will be required to build a new $1 billion state teaching hospital in New Orleans under a revised business plan being considered Thursday by the University Medical Center Management Corp.

Economic activity in Louisiana spurred by oil and gas exploration and production is a bright spot in a sputtering national economy, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said last week.

DALLAS - Oklahoma faces financial obstacles in meeting its water needs over the next 50 years, according to a draft action plan developed by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

Gov. Mike Beebe has set Nov. 8 as the election date for a constitutional amendment that would continue Arkansas’ Garvee program.

Midwestern University will expand its facilities in Glendale, Ariz., and Downers Grove, Ill., with proceeds from $50 million of tax-exempt revenue bonds approved last week by the Glendale city council.

Oklahoma’s seven state pension funds earned almost $4 billion during fiscal 2011, moving up to $21.5 billion from $17.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2011.

Residents of Benton will be asked to vote on Nov. 8 to extend the 1.5% hotel and restaurant tax to support $7 million to $8 million in bonds that would fund building a civic center.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe is expected this week to set a Nov. 8 election on extending the state’s existing $575 million Garvee road bond program to pay for maintenance on 300 miles of interstate highway.

A law that allows Arizona school districts to spend bond proceeds on projects not on the original program approved by voters was challenged as unconstitutional last week in oral arguments in a Maricopa County Superior Court.

DALLAS — Trustees of the Harlandale Independent School District in San Antonio have launched a probe into work financed with bonds authorized by voters in 2006 and 2009 to determine if costs are appropriate.

DALLAS — New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has called on the board overseeing Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for a "robust analysis" on whether to build a new terminal or expand the existing facilities.

Denham Springs Mayor Jimmy Durbin said earlier this week that $50 million of sales tax revenue bonds issued in 2007 to bring in a Bass Pro Shops store could be paid off years earlier than planned.

The Shreveport City Council Tuesday approved a list of capital improvement projects that will be financed with $79 million of general obligation bond proceeds.

The Bond Oversight Commission will hear a request Thursday from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for $178 million of 20-year revenue bonds. The authority will use the proceeds to add lanes to road sections in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

A 2011 bill transferring $101.7 million from a highway transportation revolving fund into the general fund was constitutional, Oklahoma solicitor general Patrick Wyrick contended last week in a hearing before a state Supreme Court referee.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez last week called the Legislature to a special session beginning Sept. 6 to resolve a capital improvement effort that stalled in this year's regular session, and deal with redistricting and other issues.

The $3.1 billion of federal stimulus funds awarded to Arkansas created a total of 4,230 full-time jobs through June 30, according to a status report last week to a legislative joint committee that oversees the state's federal stimulus spending.

Maricopa County supervisors last week raised the property tax rate for fiscal 2012, but officials said a drop in property values should keep most residential tax bills at or near current levels.