Richard Williamson

The success of a $4.6 million social impact bond in Utah shows that the relatively new form of financing solutions to social problems can work, according to Goldman Sachs and other stakeholders.

The first issue of bonds for Texas’ newly authorized water development projects were oversubscribed by more than two times as institutional and retail investors gulped down the top-rated credit.

Texas sales tax revenues in September rose 1.9% over the same month last year, but distributions to local governments fell, Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported.

Strong growth in traffic prompts a Moody’s Investors Service upgrade on Harris County Toll Road Authority’s senior revenue bonds.

Arkansas remained ahead of its revenue forecast three months into the fiscal year, with September income 3% above projections, according to John Shelnutt, head of economic analysis and tax research.

A Glendale, Ariz., trash recycling project has fallen to a D rating by Standard & Poor’s after missing its interest payments.

Despite a series of high-profile defaults that left Texas counties in possession of abandoned jails, local governments continue to issue debt for privately operated lockups.

In the first quarter of the Kansas fiscal year ended Sept. 30, revenues of $1.35 billion were $42.5 million or about 3% below projections, according to state Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan.

Bondholders would get 40 cents on the dollar for $23 million of bonds outstanding for a detention facility in South Texas that defaulted on its debt, according to a notice on the Municipals Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA Web site.

Arizona will have about a third of the money it needs to maintain roads and bridges over the next 25 years, according to the state auditor.

The Texas Public Finance Authority expects its triple-A credit to attract institutional and retail investors to an upcoming $445 million issue of taxable general obligation bonds for cancer research and prevention.

The University of North Texas System will reduce the size of its $222 million deal by $45 million after a private placement offer provided better terms, officials said.

Rating agencies have restored stable outlooks on the University of North Texas system as UNT prepares to go to market with $222 million of revenue bonds.

Colorado Department of Transportation executive Michael Cheroutes moves to the private sector Oct. 1 as founder of the Colorado Center for Infrastructure Investment, a nonprofit that will consult on public-private partnerships.

The three states that rely on the Colorado River for their water supplies will not face federal rationing in 2016, a fact that is credit positive for bond issuers in the region, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

With enrollment falling for the fourth year in a row, New Mexico State University has taken a Standard & Poor’s downgrade to AA-minus.

Texas A&M University System plans to build a 100-acre campus in the Lower Rio Grande Valley city of McAllen in direct competition with the rival University of Texas System.

Financially stressed Graham, Texas, has seen its Standard & Poor’s rating fall out of the “A category” with the threat of further downgrades due to a negative outlook.

A positive outlook from Standard & Poor’s may lead to an investment-grade rating for the Decatur County Hospital Authority.

After achieving net present value savings of $65 million on a $764 million refunding, the North Texas Tollway Authority is preparing for its financial close on the deal Sept. 24.