Texas

The Texas Legislature’s 84th Session closed with a $209 billion biennial budget, $3 billion of bonds for university construction and a proposed $3 billion of additional funding for highways.

With federal funds in short supply, Texas' largest public housing authority is using tax credits and private activity bonds to give federal housing projects a new lease on life.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and legislative leaders have agreed on $3.8 billion tax cut for businesses and property owners as the 2015 session enters its final week.

A proposed constitutional amendment approved by House and Senate leaders would dedicate $2.5 billion of the general sales tax to the highway fund and add a portion of motor vehicle sales taxes beginning in 2020.

Texas franchise tax revenue collections as of the annual May 15 deadline totaled $4.12 billion, which matched projections, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

El Paso Children’s Hospital's bankruptcy filing led to board resignations and the threat of a rating downgrade, though $120 million of bonds appear well secured by a general obligation pledge.

The Texas Senate approved a bill already passed by the House that provides $3 billion of tuition revenue bonds for the state’s colleges and universities.

El Paso Children’s Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 19 after negotiations over a debt to county-owned University Medical Center fell apart, officials said.

Van Independent School District is on Standard & Poor's watch list for a possible downgrade after a tornado damaged the East Texas town.

Seven months after winning voter approval of one of its largest bond proposals, Austin Community College District will offer the market $175 million of bonds supported by its fast-growing tax base.

Bexar County Texas now boasts triple-A ratings from three agencies after Standard & Poor's lifted its AA-plus rating a notch amid positive economic trends.

A plan to increase Texas school funding by $3 billion and reform the funding formula died in the state Legislature as sponsor Jimmie Don Aycock threw in the towel.

The closure of the Treasury SLGS window has added a degree of difficulty to some refunding deals.

Updated totals show that local voters in Texas approved $3.9 billion of the $5.4 billion of bond proposals on ballots in the state May 9.

Texas lawmakers approved a bill that would allow the state Comptroller to seek higher returns and slightly higher risks in investing most of the state's $7 billion rainy day fund.

Two years after the city auditor declared Floresville, Texas, insolvent, the town on the edge of the oil boom has earned a three-notch upgrade from Standard & Poor’s.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar asked Gov. Greg Abbott and state legislative leaders to keep the state's credit triple-A credit ratings in mind as they consider cutting taxes by nearly $5 billion.

More than $1.2 billion of the $5.4 billion of bond proposals on Texas ballots went down to defeat in local elections May 9.

Plans to close LaMarque Independent School District near Houston have been placed on hold, prompting an update on the district’s A-minus underlying rating from Standard & Poor’s.

Fast-growing areas of Texas are seeking $4.8 billion of bonds for cities, schools and special districts as legislators in Austin deliberate on funding priorities for local governments.