PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation that will pay off $190 million in state debt that was incurred following the Great Recession.
The bill the Republican governor signed Thursday will retire a lease-purchase agreement for some state buildings taken out in 2010. The repayment will free the state from making annual $24 million payments and save an estimated $50 million in interest payment over the next decade.
Ducey announced in January that he had restructured the debt on the state Capitol buildings and some other buildings so they were no longer used as collateral for loans. But he opposed paying off the $190 million in debt affected by Thursday’s signing.
Arizona netted $1.4 billion in 2010 by selling state buildings and leasing them back.
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