Jim Watts

The trustees of the Denison Independent School District voted unanimously last week to put a $79.8 million general obligation bond proposal on the May 14 ballot.

The North East Independent School District in San Antonio will ask voters to approve a bond package on May 14 that could total $400 million.

Oklahoma’s expected revenue shortfall in fiscal 2012 was reduced by $100 million last week when the state tax commission certified an upwardly revised revenue estimate.

Trustees of the Oklahoma County Independent School District No. 52 will seek approval of a $191 million bond package that is similar to one that failed by 15 votes in December 2010.

Kansas House members were told last week that an increase in annual contributions would be the foundation for a fundamental reform of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

Arkansas voters could soon have the opportunity to decide on up to $600 million of general obligation bonds that would repay federal loans for state unemployment benefits.

DALLAS — Louisiana will use floating-rate bonds with a three-year hard-put maturity to refinance $200 million of variable-rate general obligation bonds issued in 2008 for debt-service relief to hurricane-battered local issuers.

Strong sales activity by education, electric power, and transportation issuers overcame 2010’s slump in health-care related debt to help bring total 2010 volume to a record $433.3 billion. All 10 bond sectors benefited from the availability of Build America Bonds and other stimulus debt efforts, which accounted for significant portions of the debt issued by each sector in 2010.

State sales tax revenue was up in January for the 10th month in a row to $1.83 billion, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said last week.

The first three highway projects financed through a $10-year, $8.2 billion transportation initiative called T-WORKS are an investment in public infrastructure, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said at a news conference last week.

The troubled pension system for Arkansas State Police employees would benefit by $4.6 million each year under a legislative proposal to double vehicle title fees.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration would be required to develop a website providing information on state spending and revenue under a bill approved last week by the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.

An Arizona judge ruled Friday that a ballot proposition approved by voters in 2000 requests, but does not require, that the Legislature adjust its annual allocation formula for state aid to local school districts for inflation.

DALLAS — The Kansas House has approved a plan that resolves a revenue shortfall in fiscal 2011 by cutting state aid to local school districts and reducing salaries for some government executives.

The Louisiana Civil Service Commission last week declined to take action on a request by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration to halt next year’s scheduled 4% pay raise for most state employees.

Louisiana lawmakers will consider the revenue lost through a multitude of state tax exemptions when trying the balance the budget for fiscal 2012, House Speaker Jim Tucker said last week in an address to the Louisiana Hospital Association.

DALLAS — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin used her first state of the state address to lawmakers on Monday to propose a $6.33 billion budget for fiscal 2012 that covers an expected $600 million shortfall next year.

Voters in Lincoln County last week braved a snowstorm to approve $14 million of general obligation bonds for Ruidoso Municipal School District 3. Fewer than 10% of eligible voters participated in the election, where the measure passed by a 4-to-1 margin.

January state general fund tax revenues of $581 million beat expectations by more than $28 million due mostly to an unforeseen jump in the individual income tax, the Kansas Department of Revenue said last week.

Scheduled payments to the Kansas teachers pension fund and local school districts were delayed last week because of a shortage of cash in state coffers.