Southwest

Kansas is seeking underwriters for a pension bond issue after Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill authorizing $1 billion of bonds for the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

Standard & Poor's upgraded Brownsville to AA from AA-minus, citing the southernmost Texas city's strengthening economy and falling unemployment.

David D. Hart, former Denver Public Schools chief financial officer and senior vice president of D.A. Davidson, has joined Public Financial Management as an advisor, the company said.

Rice University took advantage of low interest rates in the taxable market with $700 million of triple-A taxable bonds, including $100 million for new money.

In the first competitive pricing of charter school bonds in Texas, Kipp Academy in Houston earned savings of nearly 13.5% on a $77 million issue backed by the Texas Permanent School Fund.

The Texas House has approved House Bill 9 by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, increasing state employees' contributions to the state retirement pension fund by 2%.

A House and Senate conference committee will reconcile differences in their budgets after the Senate approved a $211 billion spending plan that exceeds the House’s version by about $1.6 billion.

With a Standard & Poor's upgrade to AA-plus on its subordinated debt, Phoenix is looking for significant savings with a $391 million refunding of revenue bonds that include taxable and tax-exempt issues.

As Texas lawmakers seek to reverse the state's growing debt, the Texas Public Finance Authority expects to lower the state's interest cost through a $218 million refunding of general obligation and revenue bonds.

The Texas Department of Transportation would no longer be allowed to issue bonds backed by the Texas Mobility Fund under legislation approved by the state House.