The State Bond Commission on Nov. 20 approved multiple bond and loan requests for parishes and municipalities across Louisiana, cleared a high-profile state office building deal and moved forward on a refinancing plan for gas-and-fuels tax debt.

The chair opened the meeting, confirmed a quorum and explained public-comment procedures before the commission voted on grouped agenda items. Representative Reiser moved and President Henry seconded the routine approvals, and the slate passed by voice vote.

Items 3 through 35 (excluding item 11) were approved for submission to the May 16 ballot; staff said the propositions meet technical requirements and recommended they be presented to voters. The package covers ad valorem and sales taxes, parcel fees and a charter adoption.

The commission approved loans in items 36–41 for waterworks, fire protection and hospital projects, including a $1.68 million taxable water-revenue bond request for Calcasieu Parish Water Works District No. 4 and a $6.7 million limited-tax bond for St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 to fund projects at Ochsner St. Mary Hospital.

Items 42–46 — taxable sewer revenue and limited-tax bonds for towns and parishes — were approved with a staff-noted contingency on item 44 (Jonesborough’s sewer upgrade), contingent upon verification of a town ordinance authorizing a sewage-rate increase adopted Nov. 18.

The commission also approved two Columbia Port Commission items (47–48), a New Orleans Aviation Board financing (item 49) for customer-facility projects and a Tulane sale-leaseback (item 51) in which Pan American Financial Assistance Foundation Inc. would acquire the Tidewater Building at 1440 Canal St. and lease it back to Tulane University.

Staff presented two cost-of-issuance reports (items 53–54) and an LCDA amendment for Lake Charles (item 52) that included line-item changes and a net adjustment to issuance costs; no separate motion was required for the cost reports.

Lines-of-credit items 55–64 — certificates of impossibility/impracticality, rescissions and cash and noncash lines of credit totaling roughly $405.8 million across priority categories — were approved after staff and Division of Administration representatives said the package would enable funding for priority 1 projects and create some capacity for priority 2 work.

The meeting concluded with staff reports on available volume-cap ceiling (about $191 million) and other monthly reports; the chair adjourned the meeting after roughly 25 minutes.

Votes at a glance

- Items 3–35 (excl. 11): Approved (motion: Representative Reiser; second: President Henry).
- Items 36–41 (local loans): Approved.
- Items 42–46 (local bonds): Approved; item 44 approved contingent on town ordinance verification.
- Items 47–48 (Columbia Port): Approved (retroactive approval and companion issuance).
- Item 49 (NOAB customer facility charge bonds): Approved (contingent on NOAB resolution adopting cost-of-issuance).
- Item 50 (Southeast Louisiana State Building lease revenue bonds): Approved (covered in separate article).
- Item 51 (1440 Canal sale-leaseback/Tulane): Approved.
- Item 52 (LCDA Lake Charles amendment): Approved.
- Items 55–64 (lines of credit): Approved.
- Item 64 (gas-and-fuels bond refinance resolution): Approved (covered in separate article).
- Item 66 (disclosure counsel award to Foley & Udell): Approved.

What’s next

Several approvals were contingent on local ordinances or board resolutions; staff said documents will be verified before issuance. The Dec. 11 meeting date and the Dec. 9 submission deadline for January items were announced.