BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's debt load has continued its steady rise, hitting another record for how much the state owes for each resident and outpacing the national average, according to data released Thursday.
The latest debt report presented to the Bond Commission showed Louisiana carried a debt load of $1,558 for every man, woman and child in 2017 — an increase of $19 per person from the prior year and a more than 30 percent rise from a decade ago.
Louisiana borrows money through bond sales to investors to finance construction projects, like road work, building repairs and economic development initiatives. The debt is paid off with interest over decades.
Boosted borrowing levels, combined with pension and other state debts, led to a rise of the per capita debt level during former Gov. Bobby Jindal's tenure. The trend has continued under Gov. John Bel Edwards.
The national average is $1,473, according to data from Moody's Investors Service provided to the commission along with the annual report on "net state tax supported debt."
The report also shows Louisiana edging closer to its debt ceiling, a situation that will crimp financing for ongoing projects. A debt cap enacted in the early 1990s requires that annual repayment requirements fall under 6 percent of the state revenue forecast.
If Louisiana's revenues go up, officials will get more breathing room under the debt limit. The expiration of more than $1 billion in temporary taxes when the new budget year begins July 1 is shrinking the borrowing room allowed under the cap.
Lela Folse, director of the Bond Commission, told the panel of legislative leaders, statewide elected officials and members of the governor's administration the escrow account that pays for construction work has dwindling balances.
With the borrowing capacity available in the upcoming budget year, she said the state won't have enough money to cover all the projects in the queue for money.
Mark Moses, director of Edwards' Office of Facility Planning and Control, said his office will have to tightly regulate construction schedules and possibly slow down some projects.
Treasurer John Schroder asked if the state will have enough money to cover construction work already underway: "Are we at the point of stopping any projects?"
Moses replied: "At this point, we believe we can make it. But we will have to manage them very closely."
-by AP reporter Melinda Deslatte
