Louisiana May Need Short-term Loan For Temporary Cash Flow

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana is laying the groundwork for possibly taking out a short-term loan to pay the state's bills.

The Bond Commission on Thursday agreed without objection to start the process, with a final decision in August.

Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, Treasurer John Kennedy's office and legislative leaders are monitoring state cash flow to determine if the loan will be needed temporarily.

The state usually borrows from its own savings accounts until tax collections, fees and other payments roll into the treasury. But former Gov. Bobby Jindal and lawmakers raided many of those accounts to patch together prior budgets, leaving the state with fewer reserves for short-term borrowing.

Kennedy said the state last took out a similar short-term loan nearly 30 years ago, but local governments regularly use the maneuver.

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