The state agency that borrows money on behalf of other Texas agencies meets Sept. 3 to authorize two refinancings and to hear a first report on pricing for a cancer-research bond sale of up to $300 million.
The Texas Public Finance Authority is the state’s in-house bond bank. Agencies do not sell their own debt; the authority sells it for them, and the agency repays out of its appropriation. Two resolutions Sept. 3 would authorize long-term refunding bonds — new bonds sold to pay off older, costlier borrowing — one series tied to the commission that manages state buildings, the other to the health and human services agency. The notice puts no dollar figure on either.
Board minutes from July describe the plan behind them: replacing short-term commercial paper, which the state rolls over every few months, with fixed-rate debt. Two such programs, opened in 2016 and 2019, carried $167 million and about $271.4 million outstanding as of Aug. 20. The authority has published no size for either new series, and the Bond Review Board, which signs off on state debt, has posted no approval for them. The review board’s own approval records describe the 2019 program as paying for health agency deferred maintenance and the renewal of a state office campus in Austin. Members would also name a pricing committee, a small group empowered to set the terms once the deals reach the market.
The cancer bonds are a separate matter. Texas voters created the state’s cancer research institute in 2007 with $3 billion of borrowing authority and a limit of $300 million a year, then doubled the total to $6 billion in 2019. The annual limit did not change. The Bond Review Board cleared a $300 million taxable issue on July 28. Sept. 3 brings only a preliminary pricing report; no official statement had been posted as of this writing.
Also up: a post-sale report on about $16.8 million of general obligation bonds delivered in February, whose proceeds fund a loan to Del Rio under a program that helps communities near military bases, and minutes from an Aug. 14 work session on the authority’s next budget request that have not been made public. Staff also brief members on that request, on technology work and on hiring; the agency’s own staff page lists an accountant post open.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 10:30 a.m. CT Thursday, September 3, 2026. The notice was filed August 26 at 2:08 p.m. The board last met August 14 in a work session on its budget request.
- Where
- Room 402, William P. Clements Jr. Building, 300 W. 15th St., Austin.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Public Finance Authority — seven members appointed by the governor to staggered six-year terms; all seats are filled. Billy M. Atkinson Jr. is chair, Ramon Manning vice chair. Lee Deviney is executive director.
- Format
- In person, with the presiding member physically present; other members may take part by videoconference. The board may close the meeting under the Open Meetings Act. The notice sets out no public comment period.
- Live video
- No livestream or recording found. The authority posts agendas and minutes as PDFs on its board page.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · authority’s agenda
Board members
- Billy M. Atkinson Jr. — chair; Hunt; retired PricewaterhouseCoopers partner.
- Ramon Manning — vice chair; Houston; chairman of Ridgegate Capital.
- Jay A. Riskind — secretary; Austin; president of The Riskind Group.
- Larry G. Holt — College Station; attorney in private practice.
- Shanda G. Perkins — Burleson; mortgage claims manager and former banker.
- Ben Streusand — Spring; president of Remington Bridge Capital.
- Lance S. Etcheverry — Athens; founder of Flat Creek Capital Management.
Titles and term dates come from the authority’s board page and are corroborated by the Sept. 3 agenda letterhead; cities and occupations come from the governor’s appointment releases for Atkinson, Holt and Manning, Riskind and Perkins, Streusand and Etcheverry. The authority is created by Chapter 1232 of the Government Code. Meeting contact: Kendrick Downs, (512) 463-5544.