Texas

DALLAS — The University of Texas System is preparing to price $631 million of taxable and tax-exempt bonds Tuesday, including $430 million for a new UT Southwestern Medical School hospital in Dallas.

DALLAS — Texas sales tax revenues in fiscal 2010 were $1.5 billion less than expected in the official forecast, putting in doubt the projections for collections of $44.3 billion over the two-year state budget cycle.

DALLAS — Houston’s transportation authority, Metro, faces delays and growing costs on a $1.5 billion light-rail expansion after its purchase of 103 rail cars from a Spanish manufacturer was found to violate federal law.

DALLAS — Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday cut its rating on the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority’s junior-lien and third-lien debt to junk, dimming hopes of refinancing any of the agency’s $988 million debt.

DALLAS — Texas’ record budget shortfall is becoming a political issue as Democrats accuse Republican Comptroller Susan Combs of withholding accurate estimates ahead of the November elections.

DALLAS — Less than two months after a record $1.5 billion deal, the Texas Transportation Commission is preparing another $1 billion issue of general obligation bonds.

With soaring demand for top-rated, tax-exempt munis, Harris County, Tex., expects strong results Tuesday in its pricing of $205 million of tax-backed refunding bonds, according to the county's financial services director.

The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, the builder of three professional sports stadiums, could default on some of its $988 million of debt as early as March 2011, according to calculations by Moody's Investors Service.

Corpus Christi Independent School District will build two new schools if voters sign off on a $125 million general obligation bond referendum on Nov. 2.

DALLAS — The Katy Independent School District in Texas is seeking voter approval of a $459.7 million general obligation bond package that would finance construction of five new schools to accommodate its rapidly growing enrollment.

DALLAS — The Lubbock Independent School District will embark on a four-phase capital improvement program if voters approve a $198 million bond program developed by a citizens’ committee.

DALLAS — The Judson Independent School District in Texas will allow voters on Nov. 2 to choose among separate components of a $198.8 million general obligation bond package.

DALLAS — After scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service over a previous issue of Build America Bonds, Austin is forgoing BABs in its sale of $145 million of general obligation debt this week.

DALLAS — The Bexar County, Tex., Hospital District plans to price $205 million of certificates of obligation Wednesday backed by the Build America Bond subsidy to expand San Antonio’s University Health System.

Amid big changes in leadership and policies, the North Texas Tollway Authority has agreed to build what could be its last major project for several years.

State revenues are beginning to increase after more than a year in the doldrums, officials told the Texas House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, but are still coming in shy of estimates in the current two-year budget due partly to lethargic residential construction.

With hotel taxes falling short of projections, the Dallas suburb of Irving plans to commit a diverse stream of revenues to back $200 million of bonds the city expects to issue in October for an entertainment complex.

The San Antonio Independent School District will ask voters in November to approve its largest bond proposal, $515 million to upgrade facilities and technology.

Texas is preparing to issue a record $7.8 billion of tax and revenue anticipation notes as legislators confront the largest budget shortfall in state history.

Texas sales tax collections in July totaled $1.7 billion, up 2.2% from July 2009, with increases posted by the retail, construction, and oil and gas sectors.