For the second time this year, the state has sold some of its buildings to investors to raise cash for the budget.

A two-day sale raised $300 million for state coffers, according to the state Department of Administration.

The state sold "certificates of participation" in the buildings and will buy them back at an interest rate of 4.37 percent, agency spokesman Alan Ecker said. The certificates carry varying maturity dates ranging up to 30 years. A figure on the payback cost to the state was not immediately available, but a sale last month of $450 million in lottery revenue bonds, at a 4 percent interest rate, will cost $680 million to repay. This week's sale included the state Supreme Court building, which the state had just paid off from an earlier sale-leaseback transaction.

Lawmakers authorized the sales as part of their strategy to balance the 2010 budget. In January, the state netted $735 million from a sale that included the Capitol buildings, with the exception of the original sandstone Capitol building, which is now a museum. That sale drew national attention to the depth of the state's budget distress.