State Bond Commission approves multiple bond and financing items; authorizes negotiated sale resolution

The State Bond Commission on April 22 approved a slate of bond and financing requests from parishes, ports, school boards, health systems and public authorities and authorized a negotiated sale resolution for the state's annual general-obligation borrowing.

Staff recommended approval for the majority of applications after finding they met the commission's technical requirements, and the commission approved them by voice votes. The body also approved a resolution to allow a negotiated sale of up to $400,000,000 in general obligation bonds after the municipal advisor advised that market volatility made a negotiated sale preferable to a competitive sale.

Commission staff presented items 3 through 6 as election requests for the Oct. 11 ballot (applications due May 12) for ad valorem tax and parcel fee propositions for downtown development, ports, neighborhood beautification and security, public health, courthouses, roads and bridges, and libraries; staff said the propositions met technical and legal requirements and recommended they be presented to voters. The commission approved items 3 through 6.

Other approvals included: - Rapides Parish Buckeye Recreation District (item 7): limited tax bonds not to exceed $740,000 to fund recreation facilities; staff recommended approval and the commission approved. - Terrebonne Parish School Board, Consolidated School District No. 1 (item 8): revenue bonds not exceeding $15,000,000 for renovations and improvements at Terrebonne High School; recommended and approved. - Union Parish Police Jury (item 9): revenue bonds not exceeding $850,000 for replacement of the Parish Courthouse HVAC system; recommended and approved. - Town of Faraday (item 10): taxable limited tax refunding bonds not to exceed $575,000 to refinance a short-term cash-flow loan; staff noted the town's fiscal issues, water-quality orders and that Senator Womack recused from the item; the commission approved the refunding. - Vidalia Port Commission (item 11): revenue bonds not exceeding $15,000,000 to fund an estimated $12.7 million DOTD port-priority program project to construct eight new slack-water slips; staff noted the port had no financial history and coverage relied on projections; the commission approved. - Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District (item 12): revenue bonds not exceeding $60,000,000 to continue construction and hurricane repairs; staff said the district is a deepwater port commission under Article 6, Section 44 of the constitution and that issuance is handled on behalf of the commission by the State Bond Commission; the commission approved. - Louisiana Community Development Authority (item 13): hospital revenue bonds not exceeding $55,000,000 for a medical complex in Denham Springs; approved. - Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (LEPA) (item 14): revenue anticipation notes not exceeding $7,000,000 to increase working capital as member load grows; approved. - Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (item 15): line of credit not exceeding $125,000,000 (two-year extension) to ensure claims processing capacity in catastrophic scenarios; staff noted no draws since 2010; approved. - Public-facility financings (items 16'18): large public trust financings were approved, including Ochsner Clinic Foundation (item 16) for up to $1,035,000,000 in revenue and refunding bonds, Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy (item 17) for up to $100,000,000, and Acadiana Renaissance (item 18) for up to $159,000,000. Staff outlined the Lafayette and Acadiana transactions as nonprofit borrowers purchasing facilities from for-profit affiliates (Red Apple Development/Charter Schools USA) while the land remains owned by Red Apple; staff provided projections and noted risks and letters of support and opposition were in the packet; the commission approved the items.

The commission reviewed cost-of-issuance reports for a series of prior bond issues (items 19'28); staff said no motion was required for those reports. Item 29 was an informational update on gas-and-fuels tax bonds and recent refinancings that staff said will reduce annual debt service through maturity. Item 30 amended and restated a resolution to authorize Series 2024B general-obligation bonds, not to exceed $400,000,000, to reimburse lines of credit; staff and the municipal advisor recommended a negotiated sale and presented an underwriting team; the commission approved the resolution by the required two-thirds vote and recordings of that vote were not provided in the transcript.

Several items recorded in the meeting packet and discussed by staff included material caveats or risk disclosures (for example, the Vidalia Port application's reliance on lease-up projections; the Lafayette and Acadiana charter financings'land retention by a for-profit affiliate and related ground-lease payments; and the Ochsner transaction'size, refunding structure and projected gross debt-service savings). Staff repeatedly stated that each application "meets the technical requirements" before recommending approval.

Votes at a glance (agenda item grouping and outcome) Items 3'6 (election propositions): approved Items 7'9 (Rapides Buckeye Recreation District; Terrebonne Parish School Board; Union Parish): approved Item 10 (Town of Faraday refunding): approved Items 11'12 (Vidalia Port; Lake Charles Harbor & Terminal District): approved Item 13 (LCD A hospital revenue bonds): approved Item 14 (LEPA): approved Item 15 (Citizens Property Insurance line of credit): approved Items 16'18 (Ochsner; Lafayette Renaissance; Acadiana Renaissance): approved Items 19'28 (cost of issuance reports): informational, no motion required Item 29 (gas and fuels tax bonds update): informational Item 30 (resolution authorizing negotiated sale, Series 2024B general obligation bonds not to exceed $400,000,000): approved

The meeting record shows voice approvals and seconds recorded repeatedly; the transcript did not provide roll-call tallies for the listed approvals. Staff and commission members noted the need for continued scrutiny of risk factors and for investors to review offering documents where applicable.

The commission moved on to item 32 on the agenda after approving the financing items and reports.