Southwest

The Kansas House Transportation and Public Safety Budget Committee has removed Gov. Sam Brownback's budget-balancing proposal to transfer $280 million from the Kansas Department of Transportation to the general fund.

As falling oil prices threaten the economy of Texas' so-called "chemical coast," Port Arthur Independent School District will take advantage of the state's triple-A guarantee with $80 million of bonds. The district will also issue $20 million of refunding bonds not backed by the PSF.

The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation in Texas has requested a settlement under the Internal Revenue Service's voluntary closing agreement program to resolve a tax violation relating to bonds it issued in 2008 and 2012.

Election-year politics and lower oil prices threaten Houston's boomtown image as the city prepares to issue $128 million of hotel occupancy tax and special revenue refunding bonds.

Texas sales tax revenues recorded in January rose 11.2% year over year to $2.56 billion amid falling oil prices, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. The January totals were the third highest on record.

While Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the state must appropriate $12 million to patrol the border of Mexico for five months, House Speaker Joe Straus appears less enthusiastic about the costly proposal.

A strong investment portfolio means that the Texas Permanent University Fund will continue to grow even after oil prices lost half their value in 2014, according to Moody's Investors Service.

For Texas political leaders, the state's southern border represents a combustible mix of political and economic issues in 2015. For the bond industry, the border is a blend of opportunity and economic limitations.

With drought still troubling some Texas urban areas, utilities are confronting the problem with innovative technologies, according to a special report from Fitch Ratings.

Houston and Harris County's economic surge from the energy sector is slowing and could go into decline, according to Moody's Investors Service analysts led by Adebola Kushimo.