Texas Misses Lease Payment Date as Landlords Sue State for Rent

A Texas agency that supports public schools was to make its first rent payment in a new highrise in downtown Austin Monday, but that won’t happen following a shift by state budget makers.

That’s drawn lawsuits from two landlords—with potentially more to come—who say the state is canceling rent contracts with private companies by refusing to appropriate the money. The endgame is unclear, but the state’s lawyers hint at a desire to unite state agencies with state buildings, including those opening in a new $900 million complex near the Texas Capitol.

Horizon Bank’s chief executive, James Dyess, said ...