Southwest

DALLAS — After scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service over a previous issue of Build America Bonds, Austin is forgoing BABs in its sale of $145 million of general obligation debt this week.

DALLAS — The Bexar County, Tex., Hospital District plans to price $205 million of certificates of obligation Wednesday backed by the Build America Bond subsidy to expand San Antonio’s University Health System.

Amid big changes in leadership and policies, the North Texas Tollway Authority has agreed to build what could be its last major project for several years.

State revenues are beginning to increase after more than a year in the doldrums, officials told the Texas House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday, but are still coming in shy of estimates in the current two-year budget due partly to lethargic residential construction.

With hotel taxes falling short of projections, the Dallas suburb of Irving plans to commit a diverse stream of revenues to back $200 million of bonds the city expects to issue in October for an entertainment complex.

The San Antonio Independent School District will ask voters in November to approve its largest bond proposal, $515 million to upgrade facilities and technology.

Texas is preparing to issue a record $7.8 billion of tax and revenue anticipation notes as legislators confront the largest budget shortfall in state history.

Texas sales tax collections in July totaled $1.7 billion, up 2.2% from July 2009, with increases posted by the retail, construction, and oil and gas sectors.

Oklahoma tax revenues outpaced expectations in the first month of fiscal 2011, with $370.1 million in collections. The total is almost 10% better than July 2009 and almost 12% above the official state budget estimate.

The Oklahoma Transportation Commission last week approved the sale of $215 million of bonds to finance the next phase of the state's eight-year highway plan. The blueprint, which includes almost $4.3 billion of road and bridge work through 2018, is updated annually.