Jim Watts

A coalition of school districts that won a lengthy legal battle to force increases in state financial support of public education has asked the Kansas Supreme Court to reopen the case in light of recent state budget cuts.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe cut another $106 million from the fiscal 2010 budget last week as revenue continues to drop.He had announced a $100 million cut in the budget on Oct. 21.

Arkansas voters may decide in November on a proposed constitutional amendment that would replace all taxes levied by the General Assembly with a single sales tax on consumable goods and services.

The steep drop in home valuations in Arizona may limit the ability of the Maricopa County Unified School District No. 60 to sell $71.5 million of bonds remaining from the $120 million authorized by voters in 2006.

A 48-member citizens bond committee has been formed to consider a possible general obligation debt election in November for Maricopa County Unified School District No. 80.

The Flagstaff City Council this week may consider a proposed agreement with developers of a resort complex that calls for the city to acquire part of the site after the project failed to make a debt-service payment in December.

DALLAS — Woman’s Hospital Foundation of Baton Rouge, La., will revive a halted replacement project with the proceeds from next week’s negotiated sale of $244 million of hospital revenue bonds and $100 million of Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds.

DALLAS — Louisiana’s remaining $1.4 billion capacity for Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds has been opened to economic development projects in all 31 parishes affected by the 2005 hurricanes with the end of the program that established two separate allocation pools.

Texas collected $1.65 billion of sales tax revenue in December, down 11.6% from December 2009 revenue, Comptroller Susan Combs said in the latest monthly revenue report.

Oklahoma City manager Jim Couch last week said city department budgets would be cut 2% as sales tax revenue slid in December 2009 for the 10th month in a row.

Arkansas general revenues fell in December for the 11th time in the past 13 months, raising concerns that the fiscal 2010 budget may require additional cuts.

The Arizona Board of Regents sent a letter last week to Gov. Jan Brewer warning that university classes may be cut and employees laid off if the state continues to delay scheduled monthly payments.

Louisiana state Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Covington, told the Press Club of Baton Rouge this week that the Legislature should develop its own plan for dealing with a proposed $3 billion revenue shortfall over the next two fiscal years.

DALLAS — A joint Kansas legislative committee has passed along two versions of a plan for financing the state’s next 10-year transportation effort to the Legislature, which will begin its 2010 session on Monday.

Officials of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas said last week that the fund has recouped much of the loss it suffered in last year’s stock market slide. The system provides retirement benefits for some 1.3 million people.

The State Board of Equalization certified last week that Oklahoma will have a revenue shortfall in fiscal 2010 of $729.4 million.

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson will propose a still-undetermined increase in the state’s tax on cigarettes next year to help replace declining state tax revenues.

A delegation of Fort Smith municipal officials will go to Washington in January to lobby for additional federal stimulus funding of projects in northwest Arkansas.

Tucson city manager Mike Letcher said last week that the city must cut its fiscal 2010 budget by 15%, or about $32 million, to avoid a deficit due to lower than expected tax collections.

An advisory panel established to determine the viability of a proposed $700 million general obligation bond package in Pima County will determine by March whether to ask county supervisors to call for a November bond election.