Texas

While the nonprofit hospital sector shows signs of stabilizing, Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital faces fiscal problems that led to two rating downgrades.

Up to $2.065 billion of taxable notes could be issued to finance termination of a public-private partnership that built a toll lane project in Harris County.

"Investor reception will remain the ultimate arbiter of muni performance and … the current state of the tax-exempt space to be well-positioned, even though munis are likely to continue to underperform USTs," said Jeff Lipton, a research analyst and market strategist.

Clyde, Texas, missed payments on certificates of participation due Aug. 1, the same day it declared a water emergency. Bond insurers are paying the holders.

Issuers in the eight-state region sold $50.6 billion of bonds with Texas accounting for 65% of the volume.

Eduardo Ramos had faced insurance fraud charges that were unrelated to his work at the school district.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport received a S&P rating upgrade and a positive rating outlook from Moody's ahead of a $750 million bond sale next week.

Texas' largest school district, which was taken over by the state last year, is seeking voter approval for bonds for the first time since 2012.

The July 31 arrest of Eduardo Ramos, who submitted his resignation July 23, was not related to his job, according to the school system.

The states and others are pushing back against studies showing adverse financial effects from laws that punish banks for their fossil fuel and firearm policies.

The mayor and controller debated the causes for the rating outlook revision to negative from stable ahead of a July city bond sale.

In Texas, the Austin City Council set a climate bond election for no later than November 2026, while an Arizona water authority is dealing with a funding drought.

A revenue bond issue for Galveston Wharves will price Tuesday after Hurricane Beryl interrupted port operations earlier this week.

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on the city's AA rating to negative from stable, citing increased debt and costs from a settlement with firefighters.

The system, along with UT Southwestern Medical Center, plan to build a $5 billion pediatric health campus in Dallas.

In the first half of 2024, winding-down federal aid, a resurgence of Build America Bond refundings and election uncertainty have contributed to the surge in issuance, said James Welch, a portfolio manager at Principal Asset Management.

The city and its Austin Transit partnership are seeking court validation for bonds to help finance the multi-billion-dollar project.

The spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 contains no tax increases or new fees and puts off finding a recurring solution for a structural budget gap.

The bonds are part of a proposed settlement with the city's firefighters union that would need court approval.

Controversy over where to build a new jail has delayed further issuance of $260 million of voter-approved bonds after an initial $45 million sale.