Texas

Photos from The Bond Buyer's Texas Public Finance Conference.

La Marque Independent School District's $23 million of debt is on Standard & Poor's watch list for a downgrade after Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams ordered the district closed.

After 14 years of appointments by ex-Gov. Rick Perry, the Texas Transportation Commission will see its first board members named by Perry's successor Gov. Greg Abbott.

As falling oil prices threaten the economy of Texas' so-called "chemical coast," Port Arthur Independent School District will take advantage of the state's triple-A guarantee with $80 million of bonds. The district will also issue $20 million of refunding bonds not backed by the PSF.

The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation in Texas has requested a settlement under the Internal Revenue Service's voluntary closing agreement program to resolve a tax violation relating to bonds it issued in 2008 and 2012.

Election-year politics and lower oil prices threaten Houston's boomtown image as the city prepares to issue $128 million of hotel occupancy tax and special revenue refunding bonds.

Texas sales tax revenues recorded in January rose 11.2% year over year to $2.56 billion amid falling oil prices, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. The January totals were the third highest on record.

While Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the state must appropriate $12 million to patrol the border of Mexico for five months, House Speaker Joe Straus appears less enthusiastic about the costly proposal.

A strong investment portfolio means that the Texas Permanent University Fund will continue to grow even after oil prices lost half their value in 2014, according to Moody's Investors Service.

For Texas political leaders, the state's southern border represents a combustible mix of political and economic issues in 2015. For the bond industry, the border is a blend of opportunity and economic limitations.

With drought still troubling some Texas urban areas, utilities are confronting the problem with innovative technologies, according to a special report from Fitch Ratings.

Houston and Harris County's economic surge from the energy sector is slowing and could go into decline, according to Moody's Investors Service analysts led by Adebola Kushimo.

After two years of growth accelerated by $100-per-barrel oil, Texas will get a chance to show its underlying economic strength as energy prices weaken, state leaders and bond industry executives plan to tell The Bond Buyer's Texas Public Finance Conference.

After record savings on a $1.68 billion refunding deal, the Central Texas Turnpike System has earned a one-notch upgrade to A-minus, Fitch Ratings analyst Casey Cathcart said.

Two leaders of the Texas Senate support a bill that would finance transportation construction with a portion of the tax on automotive sales.

Conduit bond issuers for two Texas counties failed to make full debt payments on private detention facilities that they were forced to take over, according to recent disclosures.

Austin's airport hotel is seeking new terms from creditors on $40 million of bonds that were restructured a decade ago. The bonds are again in default after revenues fell short of debt service requirements.

Baird has added eight bankers to its Houston public finance team from RBC Capital Markets, Milwaukee-based Baird said.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Texas school bus operator Dallas County School District's $67 million of general obligation debt to Baa1 from A3 and retained a negative outlook.

Newly inaugurated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will not face prosecution from the embattled Travis County District Attorney's office for violating state securities law.