Types of Bonds and Securities
Set forth below are brief descriptions of certain commonly used traditional public financing municipal bond structures. Please click on each link to learn more about each financing structure and how it might fit your project needs. The Weist Law Firm offers knowledgeable advice on a variety of financing methods, including:
- Certificates of Participation The capital project financed by certificates of participation is leased to the municipality on a year to year basis, the payments of which are certificated and sold to investors, thereby avoiding the 2/3 public vote requirements otherwise required prior to a municipality incurring debt.
- Revenue Bonds The Weist Law Firm has worked on virtually every type of revenue bond issue imaginable. The majority of revenue bonds issued in California are enterprise revenue bonds; that is, bonds payable from the revenues of an enterprise conducted by the public entity that issues the bonds, such as: Energy Revenue Bonds, Parking Revenue Bonds, Port Revenue Bonds, Power Revenue Bonds, Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), Tribal Economic Development Bonds, Wastewater Revenue Bonds, Solid Waste/Resource Recovery Bonds, Water Revenue Bonds, and other Enterprise Revenue Bonds, including Pooled Revenue Bonds.
- Land Secured Bonds These are typically Mello-Roos Bonds and Assessment Bonds, which are land secured bonds involving the financing of public infrastructure components (including impact mitigation) of commercial and residential development projects.
- Tax Allocation Bonds Also known as Tax Increment Bonds, these bonds allow redevelopment agencies (now Successor Agencies) to refund outstanding Tax Allocation Bonds, pursuant to AB 1484 (i.e., the enabling legislation that has paved the way for Tax Allocation Bond refunding opportunities). We draft all necessary documents and resolutions required for Department of Finance (DOF) and Oversight Board approval, and then to hold meetings of both the Successor Agency and the Oversight Board to receive the authorization needed to move forward with the DOF, ultimately concluding with the issuance of the Refunding Bonds, thereby creating saving to the general funds of all municipalities (within the corresponding county) which share in property tax revenues.
- General Obligation Bonds These bonds must be approved by California registered voters, requiring a two-thirds majority vote (with certain exceptions, such as the 55% vote for school facilities). They are secured by a dedicated special tax levy collected along with property taxes.
