Louisiana will borrow up to $400M in short-term loans to shore up budget

The state of Louisiana will borrow up to $400 million in short-term loans to shore up cash flow issues in the coming weeks.

The State Bond Commission on Thursday agreed to the short-term loan plan, which allow the state to borrow money to pay its bills, with the anticipation that the money will catch up and be repaid within a year.

Officials have been mulling the loan plan for several weeks and have cited the "miss matched" timelines of the state's expenses and its cash intake. Most of the state's money comes in during the second half of the fiscal year, while expenses are often larger in the beginning.

"In Louisiana, as in most states, the expenditures are a little front loaded and the revenue is back-loaded," said Renee Boicourt, the state's financial adviser. "If the budget is balanced, you end up back where you started."

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