Karen Pierog

The rating agency said plugging a growing budget gap is "crucial" for the credit quality of the Aa1-rated state.

Providing care for thousands of migrants is contributing to the system's escalating uncompensated care costs.

The proposed bond-financed Uinta Basin Railway has been hit with regulatory setbacks in the wake of a 2023 federal court ruling.

Gov. Katie Hobbs' proposed fiscal 2025 budget calls for agency fund sweeps, a new eligibility requirement for a costlier-than-expected universal school voucher program, and other measures to combat a rising shortfall.

The Republican governor is trying once again to focus lawmakers' attention on cutting income taxes during a special session set to begin Jan. 29.

As double-digit revenue growth comes to an end, Southwest governors are crafting budgets to deal with the new normal.

A 2023 state law gave legislative leaders four appointments to the six-member turnpike board as lawmakers sought to reform the agency in the wake of a controversial, bond-financed expansion project.

The negative outlook on the Phoenix-based university's Ba1 rating is due in part to its battle with federal regulators, including the U.S. Department of Education, which it sued in 2021.

Office sectors in some Southwest cities, including Houston, are stressed due to elevated vacancy rates that may lower assessed values and property tax revenue.

Fitch Ratings said the trajectory of the city's AA rating could depend on how Mayor John Whitmire, who took office this week, resolves the years-long impasse over firefighter pay.

The cost of empowerment scholarship accounts, which became universally available in 2022, has exceeded projections and raised concerns about how money is spent.

Municipal bond issuance in the Lone Star State totaled $59 billion in 2023, spurred by utility rate securitizations and school bonds.

The case, which was refiled last week without federal claims from an earlier lawsuit, will have its first hearing in January.

The proposed pipeline, which dates back to 2006, would transport Colorado River water from the Lake Powell reservoir to the southwest corner of Utah.

Cities and states in the Southwest are making affordable housing a funding priority through voter-approved general obligation bonds or in their budgets.

The Water Infrastructure Financing Authority will use information it received from banks, businesses, conservation groups, and others to solicit water augmentation projects next year.

The nation's fourth-largest city will have new officials at the helm of its government and finances for the first time in eight years.

The Arizona Board of Regents adopted a report recommending greater oversight of its three universities after the University of Arizona hit financial trouble.

A project to build a new arena for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder will move forward after voters approved the extension of a sales tax.

The state would raise $500 million through internal debt sales backed by oil and natural gas severance tax revenue to fund long-term water purchase contracts.