Six days after its regular September meeting, the Texas Bond Review Board has been called back Sept. 23 to sign off on refinancing the bonds behind state home and land loans for Texas veterans.
The board is the last stop before most state agencies can borrow. Four statewide officials sit on it — the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker and comptroller — and all four normally send designees. It reviews bonds and lease-purchases above $250,000 or longer than five years, as a final check before the paper goes to market.
The main item is a taxable refunding for the Veterans Land Board, which runs three loan programs: land, home and home improvement. Those loans are financed with state bonds that are repaid out of borrowers’ payments rather than tax money, and the board owes about $3.7 billion on them. A refunding is a refinancing — sell new bonds, retire older and costlier ones. The notice gives no dollar figure, and none is published; the board’s two most recent veterans issues were approved at $250 million each. Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham chairs the Veterans Land Board.
A second housing item is marked exempt. The state housing department’s residential mortgage revenue bonds pay for below-market loans and down-payment help through the Texas Homebuyer Program; exempt issues come to the board as a notice rather than a vote, though any single member can force one back into the full approval process within six business days. This would be the fourth such series this year, after three that ranged from $250 million to $318 million.
The third item is a lease-purchase: the Health and Human Services Commission is buying Dell equipment through the state technology agency’s bulk-buying program and financing it over time, which makes it debt and puts it in front of the board. Unlike the veterans and housing bonds, equipment leases like this one are paid out of general revenue. The board also sets its next meeting date and hears a staff report covering debt reporting, private activity bonds and legislation affecting the agency. Its most recent annual report put total state debt at $77 billion as of August 2025, about $6.7 billion of it repaid from general revenue.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 10 a.m. CT Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The notice, TRD 2026005521, was filed September 15 at 3:55 p.m.
- Where
- Room 402, Clements Building, 300 W. 15th St., Austin, and by Zoom webinar with advance registration. The presiding member attends in person.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Bond Review Board — the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and comptroller, each of whom may name a designee. Gov. Greg Abbott is presiding officer.
- Format
- Called board meeting, nine items, three of them action items. Public comment is a listed item, three minutes each; email the agency in advance or use Zoom’s raise-hand feature.
- Live video
- Zoom webinar, registration required. The agency posts no recording; written minutes are the public record, and older years are available by email request.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · Bond Review Board meetings page
Board members
- Greg Abbott — governor and presiding officer; designee Jimmy Anderson.
- Dan Patrick — lieutenant governor; designee Joaquin Guadarrama.
- Dustin Burrows — speaker of the House; designee Andrew Blifford.
- Don Huffines — comptroller of public accounts; designee Kimberly Edwards.
Membership is set by statute rather than appointment: the four officeholders serve by virtue of their offices and may act through designees. Designee names are from the agency’s board members and alternates page, last updated July 31, 2026 and checked September 16. Two of the four seats changed hands recently — Dustin Burrows was elected speaker in January 2025, and Don Huffines was sworn in as comptroller on August 1, 2026 after Kelly Hancock’s resignation; Huffines faces election in November for a full term. Rob Latsha is executive director. The agency has an 11-position staff cap. Meeting contact: Rob Latsha, (512) 463-1741.