The state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of one billion two hundred eighty-four million dollars, or so much thereof as may be required, to finance the projects described and authorized by the legislature in the capital and operating appropriations acts for the 1991-1993 fiscal biennium and subsequent fiscal biennia, and all costs incidental thereto.

Bonds authorized in this section shall be sold in such manner, at such time or times, in such amounts, and at such price as the state finance committee shall determine. No such bonds may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds. The state finance committee may obtain insurance, letters of credit, or other credit enhancements and may authorize the execution and delivery of agreements, promissory notes, and other obligations for the purpose of insuring the payment or enhancing the marketability of bonds authorized in this section. Promissory notes or other obligations issued pursuant to this section shall not constitute a debt or the contracting of indebtedness under any constitutional or statutory indebtedness limitation if their payment is conditioned upon the failure of the state to pay the principal of or interest on the bonds with respect to which the same relate.

The state finance committee shall consider the issuance of short-term obligations in lieu of long-term obligations for the purposes of more favorable interest rates, lower total interest costs, and increased marketability and for the purpose of retiring the bonds during the life of the project for which they were issued.