Southwest

The University of Kansas will ask the 2013 Legislature for $30 million of 10-year bonds to help build a $75 million facility in Kansas City.

Legislative changes in the Arkansas tax code on how school taxes are collected and distributed could allow moving excess collections from property-rich school districts to less-wealthy ones.

The Phoenix City Council adopted a one-year tax on local hospitals to generate up to $130 million a year as matching funds for federal healthcare.

Bexar County called on Frost Bank of San Antonio to underwrite $128 million of tax-exempt debt in a deal designed to enhance the city's convention and tourism venues while raising the hometown bank's profile in the muni bond industry.

Glendale, Ariz., took a second downgrade on its general obligation bonds Wednesday as the Phoenix suburb refunded $239.9 million of debt issued for professional sports facilities.

Texas sales tax collections in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were up 11% from the same period of fiscal 2012.

Three Texas state legislators are urging the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to adopt rules that would allow Texas' public charter schools access to the Permanent School Fund bond obligations.

The $3 billion bond-funded Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas faces a criminal investigation over an $11 million grant to a company backed by a major campaign contributor to Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, according to the Travis County District Attorney's public integrity unit.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will ask the 2013 Legislature to extend a state sales tax increase to partly pay for income tax cuts.

A $3 billion bond-funded cancer research program that granted funds to a firm backed by donors to Texas Gov. Rick Perry is under investigation by the state attorney general's office, and the executive director of the program has resigned.