New Jersey is seeking underwriting services as the state’s Transportation Trust Fund Authority plans to issue $600 million of tax-exempt, new-money bonds by April 15 to help finance roads, bridges, and public transportation.
This will be the fund’s final new-money issuance under its current legislative borrowing authorization. After this transaction, the fund’s entire $895 million yearly allocation will need to cover principal and interest payments. The TTFA bonds are appropriation bonds backed by gas and motor-fuel taxes.
Responses to the request for proposals are due by Feb. 10. Officials plan to issue the debt as fixed-rate, current-interest bonds, according to the RFP.
The state will select investment firms to serve as senior manager, co-senior manager, and co-manager. The fund will need the anticipated bond proceeds by mid-April.
“The TTFA requires the proceeds from the 2011 Series A Bonds by no later than April 15, 2011,” according to the RFP.
Interested banks must provide their purchases of New Jersey debt in the secondary market from Jan. 1, 2009, through Dec. 31, 2010. The state is also seeking information on any bids that investment firms made on certain New Jersey bonds that sold competitively in 2009 and 2010.
Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month proposed an $8 billion, five-year plan to replenish the TTFA. That plan includes $4.4 billion of borrowing backed by transportation revenues that currently flow into the state’s general fund. The Republican governor did not propose any tax increases to help finance future TTFA bonds.
Another $1.8 billion will come from pay-as-you-go funding. The proposal also includes $1.8 billion of funding from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, though the bi-state agency would weigh in on that spending.
