Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming said he would lobby Fitch Rankings for a rating upgrade.
Bloomberg News
Louisiana plans to sell bonds 4 more times this fiscal yr and at the least twice more in the subsequent fiscal yr, a Louisiana state official said Thursday. Amounts weren’t discussed and weren’t immediately available.
The state will issue a latest money general obligation bond, refund a GO bond and a gas and fuel tax bond, and issue Office Facilities Corp.-dependent debt for a state office constructing in Shreveport by June 30, State Debt Officer Jessyka Munoz told the Louisiana State Bond Commission Thursday.
The state plans to sell a gas and fuel tax refunding bond in the approaching fiscal yr, with the refunded bond becoming callable in November, Munoz said. The state also plans to sell GARVEEs next fiscal yr,
Munoz said the state currently has a young offer on GO and gas tax bonds.
Moody’s Rankings rates the state Aa2 and S&P Global Rankings and Kroll Bond Rankings Agency rate it AA. Fitch Rankings rates it AA-minus. S&P upgraded the rating to AA from AA-minus in March.
State Treasurer John Fleming said at the least two-thirds of states are rated higher than Louisiana. The state rating forces it to pay higher rates of interest on debt. He wants the state to seek out a strategy to pay down debt and reduce its debt load.
Fleming said he expects to fulfill with Fitch representatives in the subsequent two months to attempt to persuade them to upgrade the state.
State Representative Tony Bacala, a member of the commission, noted the state has in regards to the fifteenth highest per capita debt within the country, which he called concerning, and in addition advocated debt reduction.
The state had $8.6 billion in net state tax supported debt as of December 31 and a further $1.3 billion in non NSTSD secured by its full faith and credit, annual appropriations or specified revenue streams, Munoz said.
In the course of the meeting the commission approved a request from the Louisiana Community Development Authority to issue $40 million in revenue bonds with maturities not than 20 years for the Cameron Parish School District Project.