News and Information from Bond Buyer

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Government

Texas sales tax revenues rise 8.5% in May to a record $2.45 billion, marking 50 straight months of growth, according to state comptroller Susan Combs.

Inflows into all municipal bond funds increased from last week without climbing back to May's levels.

Bruce Rauner, Republican candidate for Illinois governor, outlined plans to cut $1 billion in spending to help balance the state's books without revenues from an expiring income tax hike.

The Bond Buyer's muni bond indexes were mixed in the week ending June 12.

Mary Miller, Treasury's Under Secretary for Domestic Finance who has played a key role in issues effecting the municipal market, plans to leave the department in early September, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Virginia's general fund revenue collections dropped by 20.7% in May, the largest one-month decline in 13 years, according to state officials.

The largest deal of the week, the four-part Los Angeles Unified School District general obligation sale, was downsized to $1.6 billion from a scheduled $1.7 billion on Thursday.

David Lopp, a municipal analyst whose career spanned more than 25 years, died on Saturday June 7th after a long illness. Lopp spent the bulk of his career at Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Thursday sold the first tender option bonds structured to comply with the Volcker Rule, a feat Moody's Investors Service said will benefit the market by allowing TOB trusts to continue purchasing munis.

The director of the Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office will discuss new initiatives and updates at an audio webcast next week.

Recently released Treasury Department regulations that revise the standards practitioners follow when giving tax advice make the standards more flexible and less burdensome, bond lawyers said.

New York City faces challenges beyond its recent labor agreement with the United Federation of Teachers, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.

The pressure of meeting retirement obligations is likely to remain a major policy problem for many California cities, highlighted by the Stockton and San Bernardino Chapter 9 bankruptcies.

A swift-moving "glitch" bill is moving quickly in the North Carolina General Assembly to clarify the governance of the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation establishing tax breaks and exemptions, warning that state and local governments couldn't afford the measures.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it raised its underlying rating and long-term rating on Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 249, Texas' general obligation debt to BBB-plus from BBB.

More than 50% of Americans would support an increase in the federal gasoline tax if the revenues are dedicated to highways and mass transit, AAA survey says.

States will face widespread shortfalls in personal income tax collections this year after experiencing growth last year, the Rockefeller Institute of Government reported Thursday.