Fitch Rates State of Nevada's $190.82MM Highway Bonds 'AA'.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch rates the $190.82 million State of Nevada highway improvement revenue (Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax) bonds, series 2006, 'AA'. The bonds will be sold competitively on Nov. 15. In addition, Fitch affirms the 'AA' rating assigned to $541.7 million of outstanding parity bonds Parity Bond Two or more bond issues with equal rights to bond payments. Notes: Also referred to as "part passu" or "pari passu" bonds, these types of fixed-income securities are commonly issued by municipalities as a way to gather finance capital. . Strong security is provided by the gross lien lien, claim or charge held by one party, on property owned by a second party, as security for payment of some debt, obligation, or duty owed by that second party. on pledged revenues that are constitutionally dedicated for highway purposes. Pledged revenues include federal reimbursements on eligible projects, and motor fuel taxes (about two-thirds from the gas tax and one-third from special fuels, with diesel the largest component). The bonds are further protected by the conservative additional bonds test Additional bonds test A test for ensuring that bond issuers can meet the debt service requirements of issuing any new additional bonds. additional bonds test , 2.0 times (x) maximum annual debt service (MADS), excluding federal reimbursements. Coverage of debt service from motor fuel taxes is ample. As with any tax based on consumption, there remains the possibility of reduced use due to price increases or use restrictions. However, this risk is minimized by the stability of the motor fuel tax, the state's rapid growth, its pledge not to impair im·pair tr.v. im·paired, im·pair·ing, im·pairs To cause to diminish, as in strength, value, or quality: an injury that impaired my hearing; a severe storm impairing communications. revenues, and the good debt service coverage based on fiscal 2006 receipts. Specific pledged motor fuel taxes to repay the bonds include the state's 17.65 cents per-gallon gas tax and 27 cents per-gallon tax on special fuels, as well as federal highway funds received on eligible projects. Motor fuel tax receipts amounted to $294.3 million in fiscal 2006, and have grown steadily at 5.6% over the prior year and 23% in the last five years. Federal reimbursements, a pledged revenue source, have supported large portions of debt service for prior bond programs, but conservatively are not included in the additional bonds test or coverage calculations. The state has been experiencing rapid growth in population leading to increased infrastructure needs. The state Department of Transportation prepares a capital improvement program, with outstanding and new bonds part of the overall transportation plan. Approximately $965 million in bonds is expected to finance the capital improvement plan between 2000-2008. After this sale, a $135 million final issuance is planned in fiscal 2008. A blue ribbon commission Noun 1. blue ribbon commission - an independent and exclusive commission of nonpartisan statesmen and experts formed to investigate some important governmental issue blue ribbon committee has been formed to evaluate the state's future transportation capital improvement requirements and is expected to report by December 2006. Coverage is strong for the new and parity bonds, as well as the remaining issuance under the program. Fiscal 2006 motor fuel revenue provides nearly 3.6x MADS on outstanding and new bonds. If the future planned borrowing is included, coverage is still a satisfactory 3.1x. Including the pledged federal revenues, coverage rises to 6.3x for existing and proposed bonds and 4.4x if planned future borrowing is added. This is the first issue of 20-year bonds, up from 15-year maturities employed by the last two series of bonds that were sold under the authorization The right or permission to use a system resource; the process of granting access. See access control. . The amortization rate remains rapid with 40% of principal on the outstanding and new bonds due in five years and 69% in 10 years. The series 2006 bonds are due Dec. 1, 2007-2026 and are callable Callable Applies mainly to convertible securities. Redeemable by the issuer before the scheduled maturity under specific conditions and at a stated price, which usually begins at a premium to par and declines annually. at par beginning Dec. 1, 2016. Future issues will likely mature in 20 years. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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