Governor Ducey today signed SB 1215, a bill sponsored by Senator David Livingston to pay off $190 million in state debt. The signing of this bill retires debt from a lease-purchase agreement made in the heart of the Great Recession.
In June 2010 the Department of Administration sold an issuance of bonds against state-owned facilities, in able to generate $300 million for the General Fund. Among the state facilities included in this lease-purchase agreement; the Department of Economic Security, the Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind, and the Department of Public Safety Tucson headquarters.
"SB 1215 is going to save the state a lot of money," said Sen. Livingston. "It immediately frees up $24 million in ongoing revenue, that can be used for something else in the General Fund, such as K-12 education or public safety. Over ten years, we are going to save $50 million, because we're not paying 5% interest for another decade."