Southwest

The University of Texas plans to quickly form a steering committee, hire an inaugural dean and recruit faculty members for a new medical school approved by Austin voters in last week's election.

Texas lawmakers filed bills Monday for their 2013 session to boost state revenues as the state struggles to cope with a looming Medicaid shortfall and restore school funding.

The Texas Transportation Commission will refund $840.9 million of Central Texas Turnpike System debt; the system was recently lifted into the A category by Standard & Poor’s.

Oral arguments on a suit seeking to overturn last week’s approval of a tax increase for Travis County, Texas’s hospital district are set for this week before U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel.

Voters in Corpus Christi, Texas favored seven of the eight bond proposals on the ballot last week. Total authorization of the seven successful requests will finance almost $88 million of projects.

Neighboring Midland Independent School District and Ector County Independent School District in west Texas won approval last week for the largest GO bond requests in their histories.

The biggest threat to the public infrastructure in Texas is a lack of sustainable funding, the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers said in its 2012 report card.

Voters in Santa Fe County N.M. gave approval margins of 60% to three GO bond proposals totaling $38 million.

An Arkansas constitutional amendment authorizing STAR bonds in which sales tax revenue bonds would have supported economic development districts failed.

A task force developing a list of projects to be included in Scottsdale, Ariz.'s general obligation 2013 bond request will meet this week to review suggestions proposed by citizens through the city's web site.