Southwest

Car rental taxes collected for stadium bonds must be refunded after their use was found to violate the Arizona constitution, a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten has ruled.

Issuers in the Southwest sold $42.8 billion of municipal bonds in the first half of 2015, according to data from Thomson Reuters, a 39% year-over-year increase

The Internal Revenue Service claims that some of the bonds issued in 2013 by the Scottsdale, Ariz., Municipal Property Corp. to refinance the term of a lease for a garage are taxable.

The University of North Texas has received a clean audit after paying back $4.7 million of state funds that were improperly used for the university’s operations, according to a disclosure notice. The audit clears the way for UNT to return to the bond market.

Kansas’ sale of $1 billion of pension bonds to reduce the funding gap will fall far short of soliving the state’s long-term problem, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Texas sales tax revenues rebounded in July after taking the first dip in 62 months in June, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported.

A 5% drop in revenues in July represented Oklahoma’s third consecutive month of declines over the same period last year, according to state Treasurer Ken Miller.

With 20 years of experience in state and local government, Leigh Ann Biernat has joined investment banking firm Stephens Inc. as senior vice president for public finance.

Earthquakes across the nation’s energy-producing regions could have widespread impact on credits and the economies of the regions, according to a report by Standard & Poor’s.

Fast-growing Texas county forms special planning commission in an effort to block the route of a proposed high-speed rail line.