Texas

Texas revenues are expected to run $5 billion higher than previously projected over the next two years, Comptroller Susan Combs reported.

Two toll-road operators in the Houston area whose systems interlink will issue $379 million as the systems continue to expand in the suburbs of Texas' largest city.

Current revenues will curtail road building in Texas within a few years, according to testimony last week before a House Appropriations subcommittee.

Baylor College of Medicine, the largest private medical school in the Southwest, plans to issue $320 million of bonds next month to refinance fixed and variable rate debt and stabilize its financial structure, officials said.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker unveiled a $410 million general obligation proposal that could go on the Nov. 6 ballot. Parker said the city has capacity to issue up to $430 million of new debt without increasing the property tax rate.

The city of Austin is refunding commercial paper, long-term debt and terminating a swap through a $335.9 million negotiated deal through Goldman Sachs & Co. Wednesday.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, called on lawmakers to end the practice of moving dedicated revenue into the general fund to balance the state's two-year budget. The current budget includes $4.9 billion of the transfers, which are not spent but enable Comptroller Susan Combs to certify that the fiscal 2012-2013 budget balanced revenues with expenditures.

The Corpus Christi, Texas, City Council will decide Tuesday on a proposal for a $170 million utility revenue bond issue expected to provide $60 million of new money and to refund $110 million of outstanding junior lien debt.

Up to $140 million of transportation projects may be part of Austin's general obligation bond referendum in November, along with an expected $250 million of capital improvement projects.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Monday said he would reject an estimated $62 billion in federal funding to expand Medicaid in the state, citing states' rights.

In a state where drought has threatened to slow growth, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is proposing a desalination project to supply water for development on state-owned land while raising revenue for the state Permanent School Fund.

Congress' $101.3 billion highway bill will advance the development of Interstate 69 between the border with Mexico and Texas seaports, state officials said.

The El Paso, Texas City Council amended its debt-management policy, eliminating the $100 million limit on certificates of obligation to allow the city to issue any amount of debt.

Standard & Poor's downgraded the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation one notch to the lowest investment-grade rating of BBB-minus, citing ongoing budget shortfalls and management problems.

The Texas Charter School Association filed a lawsuit June 26 contending that the state formula for funding public education violates the Texas Constitution.

The IRS has preliminarily determined that $147.18 million of revenue refunding bonds issued by the City of Houston Higher Education Finance Corporation in 2006 are not tax-exempt.

El Paso City Council voted Tuesday to raze City Hall and build a 9,000-seat minor league ballpark on the downtown site.

Texas A&M University System Board of Regents will complete a $196 million issue of Permanent University Fund bonds Tuesday with a $71 million refunding expected to provide net present value savings of 13.4%, or $10.7 million.

Texas State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, said last week he is concerned the quasi-governmental Texas Windstorm Insurance Association might not have the money needed to pay damages if a large hurricane hits the Gulf of Mexico coast this year.

El Paso, Texas is considering a plan to build a $50 million minor league baseball stadium where City Hall now sits.