Texas

DALLAS -- Opponents of a privately financed, $10 billion high-speed rail system in Texas scored a victory when the federal Surface Transportation Board declined to take jurisdiction over the proposed project.

The Harris County Hospital District earned a two-notch Fitch Ratings upgrade to AA despite weakness in the Houston area's energy economy.

Austin, Texas, City Council adopts mayor’s proposal for a GO bond referendum on his $720 million Go Big transportation plan.

Kroll Bond Ratings Agency conferred a fourth triple-A rating on Texas general obligation debt as KBRA added its fifth state client.

Texas saw its June sales tax revenue dip 0.8% as a weak oil and gas sector continued to hobble growth, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

San Antonio plans to offer the market $564 million of revenue refunding bonds for CPS Energy as the city copes with rapid growth.

Sponsors of a $1 billion rail line in north Texas said more than $535 million of federal funding is on the way.

With dozens of oil and gas company bankruptcies, energy producing states face a growing backlog of abandoned wells as revenue to fix the problems dwindles.

Dallas plans to take advantage of continuing low interest rates with a $640 million issue of water and sewer bonds that combine new money and refunding.

For the second straight year, Texas will not need to issue tax and revenue anticipation notes to manage its cash-flow needs, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced.

The Austin City Council's transportation committee wants voters to decide on $300 million mobility bond packages.

Good Shepherd Medical Center took a three-notch downgrade to B-minus on Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings scale as the East Texas hospital struggled to maintain its Medicare reimbursements.

A slowdown in oil exploration and production gives Texas an opportunity to repair damaged roads under a $3 billion program funded by state revenues from the industry, officials say.

Using new criteria, Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings warned that eight federal prisons operated privately for profit could see downgrades or upgrades.

A nonprofit group in Austin, Texas, wants a November vote on $397 million of GO bonds for first phase of a light rail line.

Arlington, Texas, may pay off the debt it issued for a pro football stadium to clear the path for subsidizing a pro baseball stadium.

In its first deal with Frost Bank as its financial advisor, San Antonio Independent School District achieved savings of more than 18% on the refunding portion of a $123.7 million issue. The negotiated sale is scheduled to close June 9.

The University of Texas System will issue $215 million of triple-A-rated debt that includes some of the $922 million in tuition revenue bonds authorized by the 2015 Texas Legislature.

Mission Regional Medical Center, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, suffered a five-notch downgrade to B-minus from Standard & Poor's Global Ratings. The downgrade affects $26.5 million of outstanding debt.

The Texas Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Texas’ “Byzantine” school funding formula will end three years of litigation but have no immediate impact on state or local school district credits, according to Moody’s Investors Service.