On October 3, 2008, in the wake of Hurricane Ike, President George W. Bush signed into law changes to federal tax law making tax-exempt “Hurricane Ike Bonds” available to qualified private sector borrowers. Patterned after similar federal legislation enacted in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to help rebuild disaster areas in other Gulf Coast states, the Hurricane Ike bond program provides a unique opportunity for private sector borrowers to access the tax-exempt bond market.

Eligible Texas projects must be located within the 34-county federally declared Hurricane Ike disaster area, and involve the acquisition, construction, renovation, rehabilitation or reconstruction of nonresidential real property, public utility property, or certain qualified residential property.

In order to participate in the program, application must be made to the Office of the Governor and the Texas Bond Review Board. Bonds must be issued by December 31, 2012. Applicants are not required to have suffered actual damage from Hurricane Ike, but amounts available under this program are limited.

To facilitate the use of remaining amounts under this program, in February 2012, the Governor of the State of Texas made all amounts available to applicants in each of the 34 affected Texas counties.  More...