The Tobacco Settlement Financing Authority – the state panel set up to administer the sale of bonds against future tobacco settlement earnings – has approved the sale of $50-Million dollars in notes. These are short-term promissory notes, aimed at helping the state to deal with the current budget situation. Mark Kaiser, Assistant Director ofthe State’s Division of Accounting, says the plan is to have the money paid back from the sale of long-term bonds against future tobacco settlement money. Kaiser says the state should have little trouble dealing with the financial situation, provided the panel approves the sale of long-termbonds. Paine Webber has been chosen as the purchasing firm because it offered the state the lowest interest rate – just over 1.4 percent.
