Rich Saskal of The Bond Buyer wrote that the state of California plans to use a portion of the proceeds "to provide forward funding for taxable bond programs, such as affordable housing and stem cell research."
The news came as a bit of a surprise to some members of CIRM's board of directors that we queried. The agency itself and the treasurer's office have not yet responded to our inquiries, which is not unexpected since they went out overnight.
The stories in Bond Buyer and the Los Angeles Times did not specify how much cash is likely to be forthcoming for CIRM, which would have run out of money next fall without additional funding. Bonds are virtually the only source of cash for CIRM's operations and grants.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteAfter the Treasurer's recent successful sale of bonds, I asked spokesman Tom Dressler if it meant there would be a sale to benefit CIRM in April. He said:
"Don't want to speculate on effect of completed sale on any transaction we might do in April. We prefer doing public offerings, and that preference is not limited to CIRM."
Besides the need for additional new operating cash, there's a loan to CIRM from the Pooled Money Investment Account that needs to be covered by bond sales.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet that there won't be a private placement. I'd expect there will be a public bond sale later this month that will cover the loan and give CIRM operating cash. About $400 million of the sale would be earmarked for the stem cell agency to cover both, I predict.
John M. Simpson
Stem Cell Project Director
Consumer Watchdog
A spam comment -- now deleted -- was filed on the "cash infusion" item. Our earlier notice of deletion inadvertently and incorrectly seemed to refer to the comment by John Simpson.
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