California’s Debt Service Rises to 7.8% of Budget, Lockyer Says
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The percentage of California’s budget spent paying bondholders will climb to its highest since at least 1977 even as the state borrows less, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said.
Debt service will increase to 7.8 percent of the general fund in the fiscal year that began July 1 from 7.1 percent last year, Lockyer said in his annual debt-affordability report released today. The portion was 2.36 percent in 1991 and 1.47 percent in 1977. California is the largest issuer of municipal debt in the U.S.