Jim Watts

Moody’s Investors Service last week placed 15 of the Mississippi Home Corp.’s Aaa-rated bond issues on watch for possible downgrade.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal last week said that everything is on the table in balancing last year’s budget except new taxes. The state must cut fiscal 2011 spending by at least $108 million to balance the books for fiscal 2010, which ended June 30.

DALLAS — Higher-than-expected general fund collections in September pushed Oklahoma revenues 4% past the official estimate for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 and 6.8% higher than the first three months of fiscal 2010.

DALLAS — Opponents of a Dallas suburb’s plan to issue $200 million of revenue bonds for an entertainment complex have appealed a judge’s order to post a $10 million bond to continue the case.

The Blanco Independent School District plans to renovate its historic elementary school campus with proceeds from $8.8 million of general obligation bonds if voters approve the measure at the Nov. 2 election.

Sales tax collections totaled $1.57 billion in the month of September, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said last week, which represents an increase of almost 7% from September 2009.

The Oklahoma Hospital Association came out last week in opposition to a proposed Oklahoma amendment that would boost aid to public education because the group said it would reduce the money available for Medicaid funding.

Lower-than-expected construction bids have allowed the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to finance 132 projects with the $351 million the state received for road work under the 2009 federal stimulus bill.

Arkansas’ chief lawyer last week said the proposed constitutional amendment that would raise the interest rate limit on public debt is titled correctly and adheres to statutory provisions.

DALLAS — Louisiana’s chief budget officer huddled Tuesday and Wednesday with state agency heads, elected officials, and higher education executives on potential spending cuts after determining the state ended fiscal 2010 more than $100 million in the red.

A former state representative has filed suit against the use of $198 million from Louisiana’s budget stabilization fund to balance the fiscal 2010 budget. The money was taken out of the fund after a dispute between House and Senate leaders over when the money would be repaid.

DALLAS — The Louisiana State Bond Commission on Tuesday awarded all the state’s dwindling capacity for Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds to two projects in anticipation that GO Zone bonds already allocated to other projects will be returned to the pool.

DALLAS — Southern Methodist University will begin a multi-year capital project to build new on-campus residential facilities with proceeds from this week’s sale of $125 million of general obligation revenue bonds.

The Houston Tea Party Society said last week it would oppose the Katy Independent School District’s request for $459.7 million of general obligation bonds. The election is set for Nov. 2.

Sponsors of the American Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma City will ask the 2011 Legislature for $43 million of bonds to help complete the $177.5 million project.

The Arkansas Board of Finance last week approved a new plan for investing the state’s allocation of tobacco settlement funds that could bring in an additional $1 million a year in interest.

Trustees of Maricopa County Elementary School District No. 3 will meet this week to discuss how a prolonged drop in property values in the county will affect the district’s ability to issue $77 million of bonds approved by voters last year.

Maricopa County Unified School District No. 48 may issue $118 million of requested debt as taxable Build America Bonds or zero-interest qualified school construction bonds if voters approve the issue in November.

DALLAS — Kansas revenue collections posted a slight but unexpected increase in September, as all three monthly collections for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 have met or exceeded predictions.

DALLAS — Louisiana will take a two-part, $375.3 million general obligation refunding to market Tuesday in a competitive sale, almost six months after the state had scheduled it.