Texas

The city is offering $567.6 million of debt in competitive sales Thursday as rating agencies keep a close eye on pension funding progress.

Austin Transit Partnership's ability under Texas law to seek expedited court validation for bonds to finance light rail is the subject of an April 25 hearing.

IDEA Public Schools maintained its A-minus rating with a negative outlook after a settlement was reached putting the charter school system under increased state oversight.

The deal announced by Mayor John Whitmire last week would end an eight-year-long impasse with the firefighters union and require $650 million of judgment bonds.

The $650 million settlement will fund back pay for firefighters, who will also get future wage hikes.

Under a settlement agreement, the Texas Education Agency assigned two conservators to oversee IDEA Public Schools, which was the target of a probe into alleged financial and operational improprieties.

One investor is offloading the debt, while another sees an opportunity.

High rates and high inflation, coupled with rich reserves, pushed off or delayed issuers coming to market in 2023, noted James Pruskowski, chief investment officer at 16Rock Asset Management.

Extreme weather could aggravate growing property insurance pressures on governments.

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.