Texas

DALLAS — The Texas Supreme Court determined Monday that the state's main business tax does not violate the constitutional prohibition against enacting a personal income tax without voter consent.

Amid major redevelopment projects at large airports in Texas, aviation bond issuance there is running at the highest level since 2003, according to data from Thomson Reuters.

The Georgetown, Texas, City Council last week turned down a proposal to reduce the size of a planned public safety facility that will be financed with $29.5 million of bonds approved by voters in May.

DALLAS - Two Texas universities, one public and one private, are preparing $420 million of bonds for expansion projects amid signs of a steadily improving economy.

DALLAS - Plans to hold a Formula 1 race near Austin are in doubt after Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced plans to withhold $25 million in taxpayer subsidies for construction of the track.

DALLAS - The North Texas Tollway Authority achieved total savings of $10.1 million in a $268.6 million refunding deal that sold out in less than three hours, officials said.

DALLAS - The decision of San Antonio-area voters to dissolve the 66-year-old Bexar Metropolitan Water District is not expected to lower ratings of the utility's $216 million of outstanding revenue bonds, according to Standard & Poor's.

DALLAS - The Spring Branch Independent School District in Texas will continue its 10-year capital improvement program with proceeds from Tuesday's competitive sale of $75 million of general obligation bonds.

DALLAS - With high ratings and low water supplies, drought-stricken Austin expects a strong response from the muni market Tuesday when it prices $235.4 million of bonds to finance a new water treatment plant.

Texas Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, told a 10-member committee established to lay the groundwork for building a medical school in Austin that it is too early to know how much the proposal will cost.

Texas sales tax revenues of $1.87 billion in October were up almost 16% from October 2010 collections, Comptroller Susan Combs said last week.

Texas voters approved nearly $1.5 billion, or 83%, of the $1.8 billion in local school bond authorization requested Tuesday, but barely half of the 29 local districts were successful, according to updated results.

DALLAS - After issuing $1.3 billion of revenue bonds under its new special projects lien, the North Texas Tollway Authority has maintained its critical A-level ratings on its first-tier main system revenue bonds.

DALLAS - Texas' 254 counties would gain new bonding authority and could team up for long-term project financing under two constitutional amendments awaiting voter approval next week.

The Pasadena Independent School District is seeking approval from voters next week for $270.1 million of general obligation bonds to finance new facilities needed to accommodate the Houston-area district’s rapid growth.

DALLAS - With financing already in place, the Texas Transportation Commission on Thursday agreed to begin seeking design-build credentials for an $815 million network of interstate highway interchanges and bridges in Dallas.

DALLAS - Two members of the North Texas Tollway Authority board are expected to submit resignations unrelated to a current Federal Bureau of Investigation probe of the board's business practices, according to reports.

DALLAS - School districts across Texas are lining up to join one of three filed or anticipated lawsuits that contend the state's system for funding public education is unconstitutional.

DALLAS - With its population expected to nearly double to 46 million in 50 years, Texas is confronting one factor that could impede that growth: a shortage of water and the money needed to keep it flowing.

A proposed $158 million bond issue in the Lake Travis Independent School District is drawing opposition from a group that claims the debt would be too large for the district.