BATON ROUGE – The State of Louisiana’s credit rating has gone up.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the state’s credit from negative to stable, a move expected to make it cheaper for the state to borrow money.

“Today’s action by Moody’s validates what we’ve been saying about the need for budget stability,” Governor John Bel Edwards said. “Thanks to the bipartisan compromise achieved during the last special session, Louisiana is no longer on the negative watch list. By working together, for the first time in a long time, Louisiana’s budget will have the kind of stability and predictability we need to bring new business opportunities to our state and grow our economy. As a result, not only are the credit rating agencies taking notice, but we are positioned to generate greater savings for our state that will enable us continue on our path toward prosperity. I’m grateful to every legislator who worked to get the job done and put the people of our state before politics. We look forward to continued good news for Louisiana and hope we will merit a bond upgrade as our overall fiscal situation and economy continue to improve.”

Not all state officials echoed Edwards’ positive spin on the improvement of the state’s financial outlook.

“This is good news, but we have much more work to do to implement structural reforms to our budget,” State Treasurer John M. Schroder said. “The fiscal cliff was mainly solved on the revenue side, now it’s time to get to work on the spending side of the problem. Extending temporary taxes for the next seven years with no real structural reforms doesn’t sit well with me.”