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Featured Bond – Week of May 13, 2019: State of Oregon $156 Million in General Obligation Bonds for Higher Education
Overview
The State of Oregon is issuing $156 Million in General Obligation bonds for higher education. The bonds include Series E-H most of which will be tax-exempt. The bonds are being issued to pay portions of the cost of various projects across universities and community colleges. The scheduled pricing date for the negotiated sale is May 13.
The underwriters are BofA, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley & Co, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
About The Bonds & Oregon
The proceeds of these bonds will finance projects to benefit higher education institutions or activities, finance projects that benefit community colleges that are authorized by law to receive state aid, and pay the issuance costs. Some of the higher education projects include Eastern Oregon University Track & Field Facilities Restoration, Oregon Institute of Technology Student Recreation Center, Portland State University Graduate School of Education Facility, Chemeketa Community College Agricultural Complex, and many more. The total number of expected projects is 19 across 12 different universities and community colleges in Oregon.
Oregon has seven public universities and 17 community college districts each with one or more community colleges. Community colleges are the largest provider of higher education in Oregon through distant technology including online classes and other distant learning services.
Unemployment in Oregon is around 3.9%. Local wage growth has been outpacing national figures due to the strong labor market. Oregon’s population growth since the 2000 Census is the 14th fastest in the nation.
Security for the Bonds
The 2019 bonds are direct general obligations of the State and have the full faith and credit and taxing power of the State to pay the principal and interest. This includes the power to levy an ad valorem property tax on all taxable property in the State. The Series E Bonds and Series G Bonds totaling $149 Million are exempt from federal income tax purposes and the State of Oregon personal income taxation. The Series F and Series H Bonds totaling $9 Million are not excluded from federal income tax purposes and the State of Oregon personal income taxation.
Ratings for the bonds have not been provided.
These details and more on purposes, security, risks and other matters pertaining to these Oregon General Obligation bonds can the found in the official statement, provided by MuniOS. After registering, if needed, visitors can link directly to the official statement as well as an investor’s roadshow by searching for the State of Oregon.
Statistical Snapshot: State of Oregon Selected Financial and Economic Indicators
State of Oregon financial snapshot as of June 30, 2018 Fiscal Year Audit. Source: Merritt Research Services, LLC
Provided above is a quick snapshot of financial characteristics of Oregon along with the medians for other states of all sizes, courtesy of Merritt Research Services, LLC. Merritt has many of the sector medians publicly available and regularly updated on their Benchmark Central page. (Merritt believes the data to be reliable but does not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness).
In addition to the Merritt information related to the featured bond, more information can be found on our municipal bond calendar, city, state, and county pages.
These facts and numbers are for informational purposes, and should not be considered an official disclosure for potential investors. Investors should consult the official statement. None of the information provided should be construed as a recommendation by MuniNet Guide, MuniNet LLC, Merritt Research Services LLC, or any of their employees. Information and analysis is for informational purposes only.
Potential investors should rely only on the official documents and figures provided in the official statement (prospectus). Although the numbers presented in this summary are primarily derived from public documents, including issuer audits, issuer reports and other public sources such as federal reporting agencies , they are not intended to replace official information presented in connection with the bond sale. Medians may differ from official sales documents due to methodology or survey base variances.