Louisiana

DALLAS -- Tuesday's $346 million negotiated refunding by the Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District is the final stage in the post-Katrina process to restore its financial viability.

DALLAS – Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will propose a revised tax code that replaces billions of dollars from state income and business taxes with a higher sales tax when the Legislature convenes April 8.

The Louisiana Stadium & Exposition District's upcoming $343.3 million refunding for the Superdome for the Superdome has been rated A by Fitch Ratings and A3 by Moody's Investors Service.

Standard & Poor's last week revised its outlook to negative from stable on bonds issued by Louisiana's Jefferson Parish Hospital Service District No. 2 issued on behalf of East Jefferson General Hospital.

The structure of Louisiana's tax code results in lower state revenue collections whenever federal taxes go up, the state's top economists said last week.

State Bond Commission approved a $430 million fixed-rate negotiated refunding set for mid-January by the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District.

The State Bond Commission considers a plan Thursday by Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District for a $430 million refunding in 2013.

Gov. Bobby Jindal ordered $166 million of cuts in the state's $25 billion budget for FY2013 last week after the revenue outlook fell by $129 million and by $207 million in FY2014.

Public-private partnerships will take over operations in 2013 at three Louisiana State University hospitals and another one under construction.

A state-owned hospital that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal hoped to lease for $35 million is worth only $20.9 million at best, according to a new appraisal of the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital.

Including more poor residents in Louisiana’s Medicaid health-care program would cost the state almost $4 billion over 10 years, the head of the state health department said.

Louisiana will use proceeds from $110 million of bonds to build a two-mile segment of an interstate highway project that will link Midwest industries to Gulf ports.

The Louisiana State Bond Commission gave final approval Nov. 15 to a negotiated sale of $350 million of highway improvement bonds to be sold in early January.

The New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board must be reformed before rates are raised to support $1 billion of revenue debt needed for system renewal, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said Monday.

Ascension Parish, La. voters handily defeated a proposal to increase the local sales tax to support a bond-funded plan to upgrade roads.

New Orleans City Council began its review of Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s proposed budget for 2013 with a slate of non-controversial agency requests.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu delivered a proposed budget along with a warning that state spending cuts to higher education and health care will hinder the city’s return to prosperity.

New Orleans will see a slight increase in general fund revenues to $491.4 million next year, but not enough to end a spending cut, Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin said.

Voters in unincorporated Ascension Parish, La., will vote on a 0.5% sales tax that would support $80 million of revenue bonds for road improvements.

The Louisiana will sell $350 million of state road bonds at one time rather than spreading the deal into three tranches, on the advice of Treasurer John Kennedy.