Jim Watts

A school district in the Texas Panhandle passed a $30 million general obligation bond referendum by a single vote at the polls on May 11.

Texas State sales tax revenues in April totaled $2.15 billion, an increase of almost 4% from April 2012 collections.

Muskogee County Independent School District No. 20, Okla. will provide laptops to students with proceeds from $49.5 million of bonds approved May 12.

Tulsa County Independent School District No. 1 will upgrade its instructional technology with $38 million of bonds approved last week.

The Kansas Senate approved $202 million of state bonds for a national bio-defense laboratory at Kansas State University on a voice vote.

Arkansas State Treasurer Martha Shoffner was arrested Friday by the FBI on a charge of public corruption dealing with extortion.

Oklahoma may fund work on two state museums with $80 million of tax revenue rather than bonds.

Louisiana tax collections will be $129 million more than had been expected this year with another $155 million in fiscal 2014.

St. Tammany Parish schools in Louisiana will see renovations and upgrades funded with proceeds from $135 million of bonds approved by voters last week.

Louisiana will refund $303 million of gasoline and fuels tax revenue bonds this week to avoid $110 million of swap fees on the variable-rate debt.

University of Texas regents approved $334.5 million of university revenue bonds to fund a medical school in Austin.

Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a pension reform bill because it did not lower the state retirement system's unfunded liabilities.

Oklahoma's monthly gross revenues reached a record monthly high of $1.27 billion in April.

Topeka will build up fund balances in effort to restore GO credit downgrade.

Arizona county officials have asked the state to end diversions and charges that have cost local governments $137.6 million since fiscal 2009.

Kansas House committee approved $202 million of bonds for the state's share of a bio-defense laboratory in Manhattan, Kan.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal urged lawmakers to reject a plan to balance the 2014 budget with spending cuts and curtailed tax credits.

The Louisiana Senate has sent a bill to the House authorizing $252 million of off-the-book lease revenue bonds for the community college system.

Louisiana will avoid $110 million in swap termination penalties with a $303.1 million refunding on May 16 approved by the State Bond Commission.

Citi will serve as senior underwriter on Louisiana's $823 million restructuring of tobacco settlement revenue bonds, with up to $100 million of upfront savings.