Karen is a senior reporter covering the Southwest. She has covered the municipal bond market for more than 30 years at The Bond Buyer and Reuters. Prior to that she wrote about futures and options markets for magazines and was an award-winning reporter for a suburban Chicago newspaper chain.
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Biennial budget bills filed by the Texas House and Senate include $15 billion in property tax cuts amid a projected $32.7 billion surplus.
January 25 -
School districts must sell bonds based on their own ratings or with private insurance because the triple-A-rated Permanent School Fund's capacity is nearly maxed out.
January 23 -
The Texas attorney general's office determined a Citigroup commercial firearms policy does not comply with a 2021 state law prohibiting state and local government contracts with companies that discriminate against the firearms industry.
January 19 -
With the Permanent University Fund only benefitting the two biggest public universities in Texas, the state legislature will consider creating an endowment for other higher education institutions.
January 18 -
As revenue collections climb, governors are laying out plans to reduce property, sales, and income taxes.
January 9 -
As a result of low projected available capacity, some school districts may not get the program's triple-A ratings for their bond sales.
January 5 -
While the turnpike authority is mulling an appeal of an Open Meeting Act violation judgment, lawyers for property owners are preparing to sue over money paid to contractors.
January 4 -
IDE Technologies proposed a privately financed project to bolster Arizona's water supply by delivering desalinated water from Mexico to the state via a pipeline.
December 30 -
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma will submit an application to the U.S. Department of Energy for their HALO Hub, which involves public-private partnerships.
December 28 -
State agencies expect to issue about $14.42 billion of debt during the fiscal year that began Sept. 1.
December 27 -
Oil and natural gas-related taxes and payments are driving projected increases in the state's general fund and stirring concerns about a future revenue drop.
December 23 -
Arizona's second-largest city reported general fund surpluses in recent years, easing structural budget balance concerns that weighed on its ratings, Fitch said.
December 21 -
The highly-rated city wants to pursue general obligation bond programs every five years to fund capital projects for its growing population.
December 19 -
A previous measure prohibiting government contracts with companies that "discriminate" against the firearm industry fell short of passing the 2022 legislature.
December 16 -
The Texas Attorney General's Office will announce by Jan. 13 whether Citigroup can continue to underwrite municipal bonds in the state under a 2021 law that prohibits contracts with companies that "discriminate" against the firearm industry.
December 14 -
The Oklahoma Supreme Court will determine if bonds to initially fund a turnpike extension project are valid under state law.
December 14 -
After an error in property valuation led to a $10.3 million revenue shortfall, Pearland, Texas, officials approved plans to restructure debt and help balance its fiscal 2023 budget.
December 13 -
The hospitals are facing higher costs amid dwindling pandemic-related federal aid, although urban facilities are faring better than those in rural areas.
December 12 -
Stratton Law Firm is working on a couple of high-profile municipal bond deals in Tempe and Mesa.
December 6 -
Texas trails only Florida for first-time payment defaults on bonds issued for senior health and living facilities for seniors since 2009, according to MMA data.
December 5
