Southwest

The Arkansas General Assembly adopted the state’s $4.73 billion general budget for fiscal 2013 on Friday, wrapping up the biannual fiscal session in 19 days instead of the allowed 45.

DALLAS — A panel of 22 Texas lawmakers has been formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the state's school finance system in the wake of five recent lawsuits challenging how Texas funds local school districts.

DALLAS — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez is considering whether to approve or veto provisions for $137 million of bond projects.

DALLAS — Taking advantage of low interest rates in a recovering economy, Mesa, Ariz., will sell about $100 million of refunding debt Thursday while retaining capacity for new-money deals.

Austin is refunding the first debt it issued for an ambitious flood-protection project that is finally underway along downtown's Waller Creek, after decades of planning.

The Oklahoma Board of Equalization last week approved a new state revenue estimate for fiscal 2013 that totals $6.6 billion, which represents an increase of $47 million from the December estimate and is $168 million higher than in fiscal 2012.

A downtown development group is asking voters in Wichita, Kan., to approve a proposed rebate of city hotel taxes to a downtown hotel in today’s election.

The Little Rock, Ark., Board of Directors approved a plan last week that would allocate revenues from a sales tax increase toward capital projects in the city.

Deer Valley Unified School District No. 97 has asked the state of Arizona for a $7 million advance to cover a cash shortfall caused by a delay in anticipated state aid.

Attorneys representing a group of Texas parents filed the fifth in a series of lawsuits Friday seeking to have the state's public education system declared unconstitutional.