News

La. sells $200M in bonds for construction work

by Walter Pierce

The money came through a general obligation bond sale Thursday.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana has borrowed $200 million to replenish the account that pays for state-financed construction projects.

The money came through a general obligation bond sale Thursday. The state sells bonds to investors to generate upfront cash, and the debt is paid over years with interest.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. had the winning bid for the bonds, with an interest rate of 3 percent. The State Bond Commission accepted the bid without objection.

The dollars will go into a state escrow account that keeps money flowing for state building repairs, economic development projects, road work and lawmakers' local projects.

A disagreement between Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and Treasurer John Kennedy over financial paperwork had threatened to disrupt the borrowing plans. But the two sides struck a compromise earlier this month.