Southwest

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced $72 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year beginning July 1 after new estimates projected a $400 million budget deficit.

The Oklahoma House approved a bill that pre-empts local control of oil and gas drilling after an official report linked disposal wells to swarms of earthquakes.

With Texas school funding still undecided in Austin, the El Paso Independent School District, one of the largest in the state, estimates that it will face a $12 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.

A Wasatch County, Utah, district that defaulted on $41 million of bonds for a wastewater treatment plant is accused of deliberate deception in a report from the state Auditor’s Office.

After years of official skepticism, publicly funded studies in Texas and Oklahoma cite oil and gas industry activity as the probable cause of earthquakes in the two states.

Texas power producers can expect weakening demand in 2015 as they cope with new federal regulations and falling prices, according to Standard & Poor’s.

A bill by Colorado Sen. Randy Baumgardner would authorize $3.5 billion of tax revenue anticipation notes to capture low interest rates and accelerate highway construction in the state.

A Moody's Investors Service downgrade drops Texas Southern University's $81 million of debt to the lowest investment grade rating of Baa3 with a continued negative outlook.

Standard & Poor's converted its positive outlook on Utah Transit Authority to a one-notch upgrade to A-Plus on April 17, citing the authority's improved coverage ratios after a January refunding.

Texas Health Resources, the operator of a Dallas hospital that received international news coverage for its handling of an Ebola case, goes to market with $360 million of bonds after a Moody's upgrade.