State of Texas

Texas lawmakers are facing a special session after a battle over elections, firearms and finance.

In the waning days of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers tweaked plans to help utilities absorb billions of charges stemming from February's winter storm.

Texas governments and advisors are waiting to see if the potential exclusion of the state's largest municipal bond underwriters will affect issuance costs.

The legislation would bar firms that receive government contracts from discriminating against firearms companies. Smaller banks have quietly dropped their opposition in hopes of gaining more municipal bond business.

With federal aid rolling out, the municipal credit picture is improving and issuers are coming to market at a faster clip. An infrastructure package could push issuance levels even higher.

The decline in the first quarter shows the continuing impact of pandemic, exacerbated by the February winter storm that cut power to much of Texas.

The first quarter of 2021 concludes with $102.1 billion, slightly higher than the $95.3 billion that the market saw in the COVID-ravaged first quarter of 2020.

Alan Rubin of Blank Rome Government Relations examines the Texas grid fiasco and resilience concerns nationally, including California and the Northeast. Paul Burton hosts. (17 minutes)

The bond insurer adds a second office in the Lone Star State, where it does a large volume of business.

The January sales tax report shows that Texas is recovering but still hurting on some revenue streams, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

Federal aid and budget cuts could erase Texas's nearly $1 billion revenue shortfall, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar says.

With its population continuing to grow, the nation's second-largest state expects a 10.5% bump in debt financing, according to its annual report.

They cite coalition building, learning from past mistakes, project planning and effective outreach during the pandemic.

For the seventh time in 2020, monthly sales tax revenues in November were below the same month in 2019.

Although November posted the lowest monthly volume total this year, issuance has already exceeded 2019's total and is on track to set a new yearly record in 2020.

Long-term municipal bond volume is on pace to set a new record of yearly issuance, thanks in part to issuers rushing to market before the election and a continued taxable boom.

Vice President/Senior Analyst, Moody’s Investors Service

The numbers were not as bad as first forecast, with sales tax revenues, which account for 59% of the budget, inching up.

As the long Labor Day holiday beckoned, munis remained mostly steady in quiet trading. Cal trades up.

Municipal bond volume kept rolling in August, producing the second-highest volume for the month in the past decade, marking the third consecutive month this year of greater-than $40 billion.