$341M Louisiana Bond Sale Replenishes Construction Account

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana is borrowing $341 million to refill the account that pays for state-financed construction work.

         The Bond Commission, which oversees construction spending, approved the general obligation bond sale Tuesday. The sale involves borrowing money by selling bonds to investors for upfront cash.

         Bank Of America Merrill Lynch was the winning bidder. The debt will be paid over 20 years with a 2.9 percent interest rate.

         The interest rate was lower than in Louisiana's last general obligation bond sale in March. Louisiana's financial adviser, Lamont Financial Services, said terms of the sale were good.

         Without an influx of cash, Louisiana was expected to soon start running out of money for items in the state construction budget like building repairs, economic development projects, roadwork and lawmakers' local projects.