Far West

Texas voters will decide in November on a constitutional amendment that could boost state highway spending by $1.7 billion a year.

The Treasury Department's 2014-2015 priority guidance plan includes new projects to both update guidance on management contracts that impact private-activity bonds, and ensure PAB rules don't conflict with a new type of arrangement promoted by President Obama's health care reform law.

With California's legislative session at an end, the fate of many public finance bills now lies in the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown, including several tax increment financing bills that could partly replace redevelopment agencies.

Karol Denniston, an attorney known for her municipal restructuring work, has left Schiff Hardin to work in Squire Patton Boggs' San Francisco office.

California Gov. Jerry Brown sent a request to the White House this week requesting federal funds to help communities recover from the recent earthquake that struck the Napa Valley region.

Municipal securities will not qualify as high-quality liquid assets under a new federal liquidity coverage ratio rule slated to take effect on Jan. 1. However, the Federal Reserve Board is working on a proposal to include some municipal bonds as HQLA at a later date.

Los Angeles received an improved outlook to positive from stable and affirmation of its ratings from Standard & Poor's ahead of plans to issue $81 million in lease revenue bonds on Sept. 10.

Opponents of California's $68 billion high-speed rail plan filed a petition to review a recent ruling that allows the $8.7 billion bond issuance for the project.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing bonds issued in 2011 for a charter school operator in Chicago that settled securities fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June.

West Virginia is seeking a private partner to build a 3.3-mile segment of the Coalfields Expressway in the state's first P3 project under a 2013 law.