Bond Commission approves $4.9B in debt applications and $784M in bonds for projects

The Finance Senate meeting held on March 18, 2025, focused on the ongoing financial activities and initiatives of the Louisiana state government. The session highlighted significant developments in bond issuance and fiscal management aimed at supporting capital projects and enhancing savings for the state.

The meeting began with a report on the bond commission's recent activities, noting that in fiscal year 2025, the commission has successfully issued $784,045,000 in various bonds. These funds are designated for capital projects and refinancing existing bonds, which has resulted in substantial savings. Specifically, the refinancing efforts have yielded $97,800,000 in savings for the state for the year 2024. The commission is set to further enhance these savings by pricing a refunding on gas and fuel tax bonds in the upcoming week, with ongoing monitoring for additional savings opportunities.

In addition to refinancing, the commission plans to issue approximately $377,000,000 in new general obligation bonds in April, aimed at supporting capital outlay projects. The meeting also addressed the approval of 47 debt applications totaling $4,900,000,000, alongside 79 local government elections.

The fiscal division of the state government is actively collaborating with local governments and non-governmental entities to distribute $326,000,000 through 1,932 line item appropriations via cooperative endeavor agreements (CEAs). Detailed information regarding these agreements is accessible on the Treasury's website, which includes a list of entities without a CEA and appropriations set to expire on June 30 of this year. The fiscal division encourages communication with legislators to enhance the efficiency of these distributions and appreciates the partnership with legislative leadership in this effort.

In conclusion, the meeting underscored the state's commitment to financial prudence and collaboration with local entities, aiming to optimize resource allocation and support essential capital projects. The next steps include the upcoming bond pricing and continued efforts to identify further savings opportunities.