Texas

The state House and Senate announced their spending plans for the upcoming biennium, including funding to continue and increase 2023's state-funded tax cut.

"Stan, as a former CFO and controller within the school system, has considerable insight into the needs of our education clients, and can leverage the full breadth of Stephens' resources to help them realize their goals," Stephens' Leigh Ann Biernat said in a statement.

While Texas is forecasting a big budget balance, fiscal boom times are ebbing for it and other Southwest states amid tax cuts and depleted federal funding.

The state comptroller forecasts a $23.8 billion budget balance at the start of fiscal 2026-27, down from a record $39.4 billion for fiscal 2024-25.

Wish lists for new or improved professional sports venues are piling up with Oklahoma City poised to vet financing proposals for a downtown basketball arena.

The Texas Attorney General will end reviews of Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan after the banks recently left the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.

Large bond sales are expected this year for airports undergoing major expansion projects in Denver, Dallas, Houston, and Austin amid rising passenger traffic.

The muni market saw $507.585 billion of debt issued in 2024, up 31.8% from $385.061 in 2023. This surpasses the previous record of $484.601 billion in 2020 by more than $20 billion, per LSEG data.

Prolific debt issuance by Texas school districts, state issuers, and others drove muni volume to a state record in 2024, easily surpassing 2023's $59 billion.

The bank's termination of its membership in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance ended a state review that could have led to a ban for governmental contracts.