By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, Mo. – A new state board has taken the first step toward borrowing money to bail out Missouri's broken unemployment benefits system.
The Board of Unemployment Fund Financing voted Wednesday to solicit proposals for a financial counsel and adviser.
They want help in deciding whether to issue bonds, get a bank loan or use some other form of credit to shore up the unemployment insurance trust fund.
The fund that pays benefits to the unemployed has been insolvent for more than a year.
Consequently, Missouri has borrowed about $290 million from the federal government to keep paying out benefits.
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a bill that raises employers' taxes for the fund. It also created a board to handle any decisions about further borrowing.