Texas

The Texas Senate Finance Committee approved a two-year, $176.5 billion budget Thursday that could draw up to $3 billion from the state's rainy-day fund.

DALLAS — The chairman of the Texas Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday proposed a constitutional amendment to take $2 billion from the $25 billion Permanent School Fund to help soften proposed reductions to state aid for public education.

DALLAS — San Antonio’s CPS Energy will remain a formal partner in expansion plans for the South Texas Project nuclear plant, even though major investor NRG Energy has backed out and the project is at a standstill.

The Texas State University System next week plans to issue $114.5 million of revenue financing system bonds as Texas legislators consider another $320 million for the nine-campus system in its centennial year.

The Houston office of Fulbright & Jaworski LLP strengthened its school district finance representation recently when it hired Marcus Deitz as a partner.

DALLAS — The Texas Transportation Commission has cleared the way for financing a $1.6 billion toll road in Dallas County that leverages a federal loan and the TTC’s strong credit ratings.

DALLAS — A provision in the recent federal budget compromise will release $832 million of frozen education funds to Texas.

DALLAS — The Texas Department of Transportation would get another $3 billion of bond authorization under a proposal from the chairman of the state Senate Transportation and Homeland Security Committee, but he said finding a long-term solution to the chronic problem of highway funding is not likely in the current session.

DALLAS — The Odessa Junior College District will exhaust the debt capacity approved by voters in November 2010 with Wednesday’s negotiated sale of $68.5 million of limited-tax bonds.

DALLAS — As its tax base shrinks amid the ongoing housing slump, Dallas County will seek savings on its long-term debt and finance improvements to its jail and court facilities with a package of bonds and notes worth a combined $76.5 million this week.

DALLAS — A Texas Senate subcommittee charged with finding billions of dollars in new, non-tax revenue has apparently located $5.5 billion that could be used to soften budget cuts that currently total $23 billion.

DALLAS — Texas cannot resolve its $23 billion revenue shortfall without a revision to an underperforming business tax, Senate Finance Committee chairman Steve Ogden said Tuesday.

DALLAS — The Texas Senate’s chief budget writer said Monday there is little enthusiasm among his colleagues for the $164.5 billion, two-year budget the House passed late Sunday.

DALLAS — In the largest deal of the year from Texas, the North Texas Tollway Authority will issue more than $1 billion of debt this week, carrying its highest credit rating in three years.

DALLAS — The Texas House balanced the current biennial budget on Thursday with $3.1 billion from the $9.4 billion rainy-day fund and $853.6 million of spending cuts for state agencies and higher education.

DALLAS — Texas would need $315 billion in additional revenue to keep up with growing demand for roads and maintenance of existing infrastructure through 2030, but sources of revenue are drying up rapidly, according to the latest reports.

DALLAS — Proponents of expanded gambling in Texas told lawmakers Tuesday that casino gambling and slot machines at existing horse tracks could generate more than $1 billion a year in state taxes.

DALLAS — Voters in Texas face a light load of school bond requests at the polls on May 14 as districts across the state focus on belt-tightening instead of capital projects.

DALLAS — In an unusually lean market for tax-exempt debt, the San Antonio Independent School District will provide about $100 million of refunding bonds in a deal that ranks as one of the largest from Texas this year.

Travis County may establish a tax increment financing district to build roads and other public infrastructure serving the 3.4-mile Formula One Grand Prix racetrack being built outside Austin.