Public Agency Revenue Bonds | California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) (2024)

FAQs

What are the thresholds for voter approval in California for each type of public bond financing? ›

GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS ARE THE SIMPLEST FORM OF BORROWING.

State GO bonds must be approved at an election by a majority of the voters. Local GO bonds must be approved at an election by 2/3 of the voters (except for school bonds, which require a 55% majority).

A bond is a fixed income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental)

1) United States Federal law requires the interest earned on federal bonds (U.S. obligations) to be included in gross income. California does not tax this interest income.

Most bonds issued by government agencies are tax-exempt. This means interest on these bonds are excluded from gross income for federal tax purposes. In addition, interest on the bonds is exempt from State of California personal income taxes.

Under the California Constitution, state general obligation bonds need voter approval before the state can use them to pay for a project. State revenue bonds do not need voter approval under existing state law.

Key Takeaways. Revenue bonds are a class of municipal bonds issued to fund public projects which then repay investors from the income created by that project. For instance, a toll road or utility can be financed with municipal bonds with creditors' interest and principal repaid from the tolls or fees collected.

Bonds are issued by governments and corporations when they want to raise money. By buying a bond, you're giving the issuer a loan, and they agree to pay you back the face value of the loan on a specific date, and to pay you periodic interest payments along the way, usually twice a year.

A bond is a loan to a company or government that pays investors a fixed rate of return. The borrower uses the money to fund its operations, and the investor receives interest on the investment. The market value of a bond can change over time. Long-term government bonds historically earn an average of 5% annual returns.

Callable or redeemable bonds are bonds that can be redeemed or paid off by the issuer prior to the bonds' maturity date. When an issuer calls its bonds, it pays investors the call price (usually the face value of the bonds) together with accrued interest to date and, at that point, stops making interest payments.

Certain mutual funds pay “exempt-interest dividends.” If the mutual fund has at least 50 percent of its assets invested in tax-exempt U.S. obligations and/or in California or its municipal obligations, that amount of dividend is exempt from California tax.

How safe are agency GSE bonds? ›

Agency bonds are considered low-risk because the full faith and credit of the federal government usually backs the issuing agencies. On the other hand, they offer higher interest rates than other government securities, such as Treasurys.

Interest income from Treasury bills, notes, and bonds is subject to federal income tax, but is exempt from all state and local income taxes.

The interest income of the savings bond will be taxed to the bond's owner—i.e., the recipient of the gift—when the bond matures and is redeemed for cash (or the owner will be taxed each year if they elect to report the interest income annually).

Private activity bonds are municipal bonds that are issued to raise money for a private project (as opposed to a project for the good of the public). These bonds are exempt from federal taxes under the regular income tax system, but subject to tax under the alternative minimum tax system.

Typically an issuer will call a bond when interest rates fall, potentially leaving investors with a capital loss or loss in income and less favorable reinvestment options. For investors concerned about call risk, non-callable agency and GSE bonds are available in the marketplace.

General Obligation Bonds.

General obligation bonds must be approved by the voters and their repayment is guaranteed by the state's general taxing power.

Voter approval is needed for a municipality to sell general obligation bonds (non-self supporting debt) in an amount that exceeds the municipality's constitutional limit.

We consider revenue bonds self-supporting because they don't need money from other sources or taxes to repay borrowed funds. Revenue bonds are not paid off with taxpayer funds*, so they don't require voter approval to be issued.

Investment-grade refers to bonds rated Baa3/BBB- or better. High-yield (also referred to as "non-investment-grade" or "junk" bonds) pertains to bonds rated Ba1/BB+ and lower.