Texas

The nearly $5 billion I-35 expansion has sparked a lawsuit from residents saying it would exacerbate the interstate's historic role as a racial dividing line.

Robert Poole, a leading expert in the U.S. public-private partnership transportation sector, joins infrastructure reporter Caitlin Devitt to talk about upcoming deals including toll lanes and bridges in the Southeast and high speed rail in the West as well as states that are advancing P3s and action on the federal front. (37 minutes)

Texas bond volume climbed 22.5% to lead the nation in a year when issuance in the eight-state Southwest region increased by only 0.6%.

Austin Transit Partnership, which was created by the city and its mass transit agency to develop and finance Project Connect, approved an initial bond sale of up to $150 million.

Meanwhile in New York, the state doubles down on climate investments and restricts investments in some big oil and gas companies as the city blasts several big banks as they pull out from the Climate Action 100+ initiative.

Children's Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center are teaming up to finance and build a pediatric health campus that includes a hospital.

The Texas city's project joins other efforts in Southwest states to find new water sources as supplies dwindle due to persistent drought conditions.

Issuance for the month is slightly above the $27.666 billion 10-year average, according to LSEG Refinitiv data.

The push for bills to punish companies, including municipal bond underwriters, for their fossil fuel or firearm policies continues in Arizona and Oklahoma.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $917 million.

Red state-blue state battles have complicated ESG issuance even as the muni market strives to make it an accepted asset class. The Bond Buyer's Lynne Funk, Karen Pierog, Chip Barnett and Keeley Webster discuss how it's playing out nationally and regionally.

Office sectors in some Southwest cities, including Houston, are stressed due to elevated vacancy rates that may lower assessed values and property tax revenue.

Despite the outperformance this week, and while the asset class had "a stellar December, which rounded out a very solid year," Barclays PLC strategists said the high-grade muni market has become "quite rich."

The muni market saw $379.992 billion of debt issued in 2023, only $11.076 billion less than the lackluster $391.068 billion seen in 2022.

Municipal bond issuance in the Lone Star State totaled $59 billion in 2023, spurred by utility rate securitizations and school bonds.

Cities and states in the Southwest are making affordable housing a funding priority through voter-approved general obligation bonds or in their budgets.

The nation's fourth-largest city will have new officials at the helm of its government and finances for the first time in eight years.

The top five bond financings have an average dollar volume of more than $1 billion.

The state would raise $500 million through internal debt sales backed by oil and natural gas severance tax revenue to fund long-term water purchase contracts.

More than one out of every 100 residents who pay income taxes left the Empire State during the pandemic in 2020, according to report released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. And, while slowing, the trend hasn't stopped.