United States

Bond Conflict File

The gap

Who gets paid to close the bond, and who pays it afterward.

This file shows four things about a public bond: what was voted and what it costs each year, who was paid to get it closed, whether anyone who voted still has a stake in the paper, and how the money is tracked at the fund level. It does not tell you who owns the bonds. It tells you who got paid at the start and who pays for the next thirty years.

Front clock

Closes at the sale, or when the building is turned over

Underwriter, advisor, bond counsel, contractor, designer, and sometimes a developer.

Paid from the bond proceeds or the construction account. The incentive is to close the sale, finish the job, release the holdback, and limit the warranty.

Back clock

Runs ten to thirty years

Taxpayers and ratepayers.

Debt service comes out of the operating fund, a pledged tax, or user rates. The people on this clock did not get the first check, and they cannot sell their position.

Each step can look clean on paper. The underwriter disclosed the conflict. The contractor finished. The board voted. The problem is not one crooked step. Nobody in that room is paid to ask whether the project is still worth it in year fifteen.

Four facts. That is the file.

  1. 01

    The decision

    What was voted, for what purpose, and the first-year cost to the operating fund. The name of that record changes by state. Until the record is attached, the dollars stay blank.

  2. 02

    The conflict check

    Covered seats — officials, vendors, family — file yes or no, plus an amount band. Seats, not home addresses. A missed filing is an ethics miss. It is not a missing list of every bondholder on earth.

  3. 03

    Fund-level sunlight

    The series, when an official statement exists. The registered name on ordinary public paper is Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company. Public fund filings can name a fund family. They do not name the person behind it.

  4. 04

    The method

    Sunlight that matches the speed of local government is the vote, the yearly payment, the advisor file, and a targeted conflict rule. It is not a promise to name every holder, and it is not a story that the project pays for itself.

Opened states

Each card is one government. The figure and the rule inside it are that government’s. The District and five territories sit after the states. They are not added into a state total. A government that is not opened is not given a card.

Opened

New Jersey

$38.6 billion

Bonded long-term obligations, June 30, 2025. The $170.8 billion non-bonded figure is a different claim. Counties and authorities are not added.

  • Bond ordinance under the Local Bond Law. County net-debt cap 2%.
  • Ethics interest: more than 10% of a business. Local officers, not school boards.
  • 21 counties. Dollar rows blank until each debt statement is attached.
Open the fileDollar ledgerCounties

Opened

Delaware

$2.589 billion

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. Transportation Authority revenue bonds, $1.174 billion, sit outside that number.

  • General Assembly authorization. New tax-supported debt in a year is capped at 5% of estimated net General Fund revenue.
  • State code of conduct. More than 10% of a private enterprise. State officers, not county officers. The filing is confidential.
  • 3 counties. Dollar rows blank. New Castle’s 3% cap is not Kent’s or Sussex’s.
Open the file

Opened

New Hampshire

$585.9 million

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. Turnpike revenue bonds, $198.0 million, sit outside that number.

  • Town and district bonds take a three-fifths vote. Cities and towns are capped at 3% of valuation. Schools at 7%.
  • Financial-interest filings are public. The trigger is income over $10,000, not a 10% ownership test.
  • 10 counties. Dollar rows blank. Hillsborough has two seats.
Open the file

Opened

Vermont

$550.1 million

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. A Bond Bank reserve commitment of $686.7 million is not part of that number.

  • Town bond questions go to the voters. The local cap is ten times the last grand list, not a copied percent.
  • A municipal conflict is an interest greater than the interest of people generally affected. No percent test.
  • 14 counties. Dollar rows blank. Towns borrow. Bennington has two shire towns.
Open the file

Opened

Maine

$360.5 million

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. Facilities Authority revenue bonds, $440.1 million, are not in that number.

  • State bonds above $2 million need two-thirds of both houses and a majority of the electors voting.
  • Towns: 7.5% ordinary cap, 15% overall. A local pecuniary interest is deemed at 10% ownership.
  • 16 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Maryland

$9.954 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. Transportation bonds, $3.472 billion, sit outside that number.

  • The General Assembly authorizes the bonds. Principal must be payable within 15 years.
  • County debt cap: 6% of real-property assessable basis, plus 15% of personal property. A referendum is not automatic.
  • 23 counties and Baltimore City. The city is not part of Baltimore County. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Connecticut

$16.716 billion

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. Transportation bonds, $7.784 billion, sit outside that number.

  • The General Assembly authorizes them. Debt payable from General Fund taxes may not exceed 1.6 times those receipts.
  • A town’s total bond debt may not exceed seven times its annual tax receipts. The conflict test is direct money gain, and 5% of a stock class counts.
  • No county government. Nine planning regions. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Rhode Island

$1.588 billion

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. Special-obligation debt, $614.2 million, sits outside that number.

  • State debt above $50,000 needs the consent of the people.
  • A city or town stays at 3% of assessed value unless a special law allows more. A 10% stake, or $5,000, blocks a quiet contract.
  • Five counties. No county government. Cities and towns borrow. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Massachusetts

$29.630 billion

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025, excluding premiums. Special-obligation bonds, $4.420 billion, sit outside that number.

  • The legislature authorizes them. A city or town needs a two-thirds vote of its legislative body.
  • Inside the local cap: 5% of equalized valuation, or 10% with state board approval. No percent test in the conflict rule.
  • 14 counties. Several county governments were abolished. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

New York

$2.269 billion

Voter-approved general obligation bonds, March 31, 2025. Personal income tax bonds, about $38.8 billion, sit outside that number.

  • Voters approve state debt one purpose at a time. Authority bonds do not take that vote.
  • A county other than Nassau is capped at 7% of average full valuation. Under 5% of a corporation’s stock is an exception, not the test.
  • 62 counties. Five are New York City boroughs. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Pennsylvania

$10.946 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The constitutional net-debt count, $10.060 billion at August 31, is a different cut.

  • Capital-budget debt needs no voter vote if it stays inside 1.75 times average tax revenues.
  • A county’s nonelectoral debt stops at 300% of its borrowing base. Voter-approved debt is outside that cap.
  • 67 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Ohio

$6.453 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. Each program on that list exists because voters approved it.

  • Casual-deficit debt, outside those votes, is capped at $750,000.
  • A county’s unvoted net debt stops at 1% of tax valuation. Five percent of a contractor’s shares is an exception, not the test.
  • 88 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Indiana

$10.4 billion

Component-unit bonds and notes, June 30, 2025. The primary government has no general obligation bond line.

  • The constitution bars a law that puts the state itself in debt, except a casual deficit, interest, or defense.
  • A political corporation stops at 2% of the last assessment. Bonds over that line are void.
  • 92 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Illinois

$25.811 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. Build Illinois bonds and the pension liability are not in that number.

  • Specific-purpose state debt needs three-fifths of each house, or a majority of the voters.
  • The ordinary county-bond door stops at 5.75% of taxable property, including debt already outstanding.
  • 102 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Missouri

$1.520 billion

Governmental bonds payable, June 30, 2025. General obligation bonds outstanding: none.

  • Above $1 million, state debt needs a majority of the voters. The emergency door is $1 million.
  • Without a vote, a county stops at that year’s income. With a vote, the cap is 5% of taxable property.
  • 114 counties, plus the City of St. Louis. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Kansas

$1.788 billion

Highway revenue bond principal, June 30, 2025. General obligation bonds: none.

  • State debt stops at $1 million unless a majority of all the votes at a general election approve more.
  • A county’s bonded debt stops at 3% of assessed value. Three counties stop at 30%.
  • 105 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Nebraska

$91.3 million

Highway revenue bond principal still to be paid, June 30, 2025. Not a general obligation.

  • State debt stops at $100,000, except for war, or highway and water bonds by three-fifths of the Legislature.
  • A railroad or internal-improvement bond stops at 3.5% of taxable valuation, after a vote.
  • 93 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

South Dakota

$47.2 million

Building Authority revenue-bond principal, June 30, 2025. Not a debt of the state.

  • State debt stops at $100,000, counting debt already outstanding, except to meet a war.
  • A county, city, town, or township stops at 5% of last year’s assessed value. A school district stops at 10%.
  • 66 counties. Two have no seat of their own. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

North Dakota

$709.8 million

Governmental revenue-bond principal, June 30, 2025. General obligation bonds outstanding: none.

  • Bonds over $2 million must be secured by a first mortgage. Utility bonds stop at $10 million.
  • A county, city, township, or school district stops at 5% of assessed value. Bonds over the limit are void.
  • 53 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Montana

$0

General obligation bonds, June 30, 2025. The remaining primary-government note is $1.3 million.

  • No state debt unless two-thirds of each house, or a majority of the electors, authorizes it. No dollar cap.
  • A county, and a city or town, stops at 2.5% of assessed value. A school district is a different rule.
  • 56 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Idaho

$1.179 billion

Transportation expansion bond principal, June 30, 2025. Not a debt of the state.

  • State debt needs a law for one object, a way to pay it within 20 years, and a majority at a general election.
  • A county, city, or school district needs a two-thirds vote to borrow more than that year’s income. A debt that breaks the rule is void.
  • 44 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Washington

$22.519 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. Of that, $14.65 billion is inside the debt-service limit.

  • Limited state debt service may not take more than 8.25% of average general state revenues. The Legislature needs three-fifths of each house.
  • Without a vote, a county, city, or school district stops at 1.5% of taxable property. With a three-fifths vote, the total stops at 5%.
  • 39 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Oregon

$8.282 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The General Fund does not pay all of it.

  • The old ceiling is $50,000, except for war or permanent roads. Road debt stops at 1% of taxable value.
  • A county’s general obligation bonds stop at 2% of real market value, after a vote. A city’s stop at 3%.
  • 36 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

California

$72.771 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The payable, with premium, is $80.246 billion.

  • State debt over $300,000 needs one stated object, a way to pay it within 50 years, two-thirds of each house, and a majority of the votes.
  • A county, city, or school district needs a two-thirds vote to borrow more than that year’s income. School-facility bonds can pass at 55%.
  • 58 counties. San Francisco is a city and a county. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Nevada

$1.343 billion

Gross general obligation debt, June 30, 2025. Debt inside the 2% limit is $1.111 billion.

  • State debt, exclusive of interest, stops at 2% of assessed value. A contract over that line is void.
  • A county’s general obligation debt stops at 10% of the last assessed valuation. Revenue bonds are outside that count.
  • 16 counties and Carson City. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Arizona

$5.081 billion

Debt reported by state agencies and universities, June 30, 2025. Not a general obligation of the state.

  • The state may not contract debt over $350,000, except for war.
  • Without a vote, a county, city, or school district stops at 6% of taxable property. A county or a school district never goes over 15%.
  • 15 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

New Mexico

$558.775 million

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The 1% schedule uses $390.059 million.

  • State general obligation debt needs a stated object, a tax that pays it within 50 years, a majority of the votes, and it may not exceed 1% of assessed value.
  • A county, city, or town stops at 4% of taxable property. Bonds over that line are void.
  • 33 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Utah

$1.103 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The payable, with premium, is $1.162 billion.

  • State debt stops at 1.5% of the value of taxable property. Borrowed money is used only for the purpose it was borrowed for.
  • A county stops at 2%. A city, town, or school district stops at 4%. A property-tax debt over this year’s taxes needs a majority of the votes.
  • 29 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Colorado

$3.882 billion

Certificates of participation principal, June 30, 2025. Not general obligation debt.

  • The state may not borrow except for a shortfall, a state building, an insurrection, or war. A shortfall debt may not exceed $100,000.
  • A local general obligation debt needs a vote of the taxpaying electors, unless a home-rule charter says otherwise.
  • 64 counties. Denver and Broomfield are each a city and a county. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Wyoming

$0

Primary government bonds outstanding, June 30, 2025. The University of Wyoming has $243.5 million of revenue bonds.

  • State debt stops at 1% of assessed value. A debt larger than this year’s taxes needs a vote of the people.
  • A county stops at 2%. A city stops at 4%, plus another 4% for sewers. A school district stops at 10% for buildings.
  • 23 counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Alaska

$468.8 million

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The report’s line that adds the premium is $513.7 million.

  • State debt for a capital project needs a law and a majority of the votes. There is no dollar cap.
  • A local debt needs a vote of the people voting. There is no percentage cap in the constitution.
  • 19 organized boroughs. One unorganized borough has no government of its own. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Hawaii

$8.674 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. All of it is backed by the full faith and credit of the state.

  • The cap is on the year’s payment, not the principal. The highest year may not exceed 18.5% of average general-fund revenue.
  • A county’s funded debt stops at 15% of the assessed value of its real property.
  • 4 counties, plus Kalawao, which has no county government. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Texas

$16.213 billion

General obligation bond principal, August 31, 2025. Principal plus the net premium is $16.941 billion.

  • Other state debt needs a proposition the voters approve. Debt service drawn from general revenue stops at 5% of the three-year average.
  • A county bond for roads or water stops at one-fourth of the assessed value of real property.
  • 254 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Oklahoma

$0

State general obligation bonds outstanding. The last payment was in July 2018. Lease-revenue bonds and federal loans are a separate $1.496 billion.

  • A state debt needs a named purpose, a tax that retires it within 25 years, and a majority of the votes.
  • A county stops at 5% of taxable value, and only with three-fifths of the votes. A city or a school district may go to 10%.
  • 77 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Arkansas

$372.525 million

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. All of it pledges the full faith, credit, and resources of the state.

  • No dollar cap on the state’s pledge. A majority of the people voting has to approve it.
  • A county bond repaid by a property tax stops at 10% of assessed value. A city bond stops at 20%.
  • 75 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Louisiana

$3.447 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The full faith and credit of the state is pledged.

  • Two-thirds of each house can authorize the debt. There is no public vote. Debt service on tax-supported debt stops at 6% of the official forecast.
  • A parish stops at 10% of assessed value for one purpose, and at 35% for all purposes. The voters approve that debt.
  • 64 parishes. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Mississippi

$3.918 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2024. Premium adds $139.607 million. The year ended June 30, 2025, is not this record.

  • Bonded debt may not exceed one and one-half times the highest revenue of the four preceding years. There is no public vote.
  • A county or a city stops at 15% of assessed value. A 20% cap covers all general-obligation debt that property taxes help pay.
  • 82 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Alabama

$382.685 million

General obligation bond principal, September 30, 2025. Unamortized premium is $24.641 million.

  • New general-obligation debt takes a constitutional amendment: three-fifths of each house, then a statewide vote.
  • A county stops at 3.5% of assessed value. A small city stops at 5%. A larger city stops at 7%.
  • 67 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Georgia

$8.282 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. Guaranteed-revenue bonds are a separate $367.380 million.

  • The voters authorized this kind of debt in 1972. Each new issue is not a new election. New debt stops at 10% of the prior year’s treasury receipts.
  • A county or a city stops at 10% of assessed value. The voters approve that debt.
  • 159 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Florida

$5.312 billion

Full-faith bond principal, June 30, 2025. A dedicated tax is pledged in front of the full faith and credit.

  • These bonds need a vote of the electors. A statute, not the constitution’s 50% cap, is the 6% debt-service test the report prints.
  • A local bond payable from property taxes, due more than twelve months out, needs a vote of the freeholders.
  • 67 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

South Carolina

$29.420 million

General obligation bond principal of the primary government, June 30, 2025. Unamortized premium is $8.216 million.

  • Two-thirds of each house, or a statewide vote. Debt service on most of it stops at 5% of the prior year’s general revenues.
  • A county or a school district may borrow, without a vote, up to 8% of assessed value. Voted debt is not counted in the 8%.
  • 46 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

North Carolina

$1.413 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. All of it is payable from General Fund revenues.

  • Faith-and-credit debt needs a vote, unless it is one of six listed exceptions. The constitution sets no revenue percent.
  • A county or a city needs the same kind of vote. A statute adds an 8% net-debt test. The statute does not replace the vote.
  • 100 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Virginia

$79.443 million

Primary-government general obligation bonds, net of premium, June 30, 2025. University 9(c) bonds are a separate $921.820 million.

  • Section 9(b) bonds need a vote. New 9(b) debt stops at 1.15 times average income-tax and sales-tax revenue.
  • A city stops at 10% of assessed real estate. A county needs a vote, unless the voters have chosen to be treated as a city.
  • 95 counties. Thirty-eight independent cities are not in the county list. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

West Virginia

$1.685 billion

General obligation bonds, including premium, June 30, 2025. Transportation principal alone is $1.406 billion.

  • The constitution stops ordinary state borrowing. The road bonds exist because the voters amended that rule in 2017, up to $1.6 billion.
  • A county or a city stops at 5% of taxable property. The vote is three-fifths. A school bond needs a majority.
  • 55 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Kentucky

$0

General obligation bonds outstanding, June 30, 2025. Three state issuers have $5.496 billion of other principal. That is not added.

  • A new state debt needs a tax to pay it off within 30 years, and a majority of the votes. None of that debt is outstanding.
  • A county stops at 2% of taxable property. A city’s cap is 3%, 5%, or 10%, by population.
  • 120 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Tennessee

$1.515 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $1.675 billion. Commercial paper of $3.681 million is separate.

  • The Legislature authorizes the debt. New bonds stop if the biggest debt-service year would exceed 10% of last year’s allocated sales-tax revenue.
  • A local general-obligation bond pledges unlimited taxing power. The term stops at 40 years or the life of the project.
  • 95 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Iowa

None presented

General obligation bonds of the state, June 30, 2025. Governmental revenue-bond principal is $764.299 million and is not full faith and credit.

  • A new state debt needs a tax to pay it off within 20 years, and a majority of the votes. A casual deficit stops at $250,000.
  • A county or a city stops at 5% of taxable property.
  • 99 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Michigan

$600.6 million

General obligation bond principal, September 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $635.3 million. Revenue-dedicated bonds are a separate $5.942 billion.

  • Long-term borrowing needs two-thirds of each house and a majority of the electors. School-loan debt can be incurred without that vote.
  • A county stops at 10% of assessed valuation.
  • 83 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Minnesota

$6.890 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $7.850 billion.

  • Capital-improvement bonds need three-fifths of each house. They mature in no more than 20 years. No statewide vote.
  • A municipality stops at 3% of estimated market value, with different caps for a first-class city and a school district.
  • 87 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Opened

Wisconsin

$6.387 billion

General obligation bond principal, June 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $6.944 billion.

  • Ordinary general-obligation debt is set by a majority of each house. New debt in a year is the lesser of 0.75% of taxable property, or 5% minus debt already outstanding.
  • A county, city, town, village, or school district stops at 5% of equalized taxable property, with two larger school caps.
  • 72 counties. Seats are not on this record. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Not a state

District of Columbia

$6.399 billion

General obligation bond principal, September 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $7.054 billion. Income-tax bonds are a separate $6.349 billion.

  • The Council approves the bonds. Debt service may not push the 12% expenditure test over the line.
  • The report also prints a 17% of general-fund-revenue test. It is not the same number.
  • 8 wards. No counties. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Not a state

Puerto Rico

$5.958 billion

New general-obligation current-interest par, June 30, 2024. Capital-appreciation accreted value is a separate $730.749 million. This is the debt report, not the audit.

  • Act No. 53-2021. No new tax-supported debt since March 15, 2022.
  • The constitution’s test is 15% of average revenues. The debt policy’s primary test is 7.94%.
  • 78 municipalities. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Not a state

U.S. Virgin Islands

None listed

General obligation bonds in the bond table, September 30, 2022. Other bonds payable, net, are $1.655 billion and are not that figure.

  • The legislature authorizes every issue. General-obligation debt stops at 10% of assessed real property.
  • The bond table is revenue, tobacco, matching-fund, highway, and tax-increment debt.
  • 3 islands. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Not a state

Guam

$19.760 million

General obligation bond principal, September 30, 2024. The payable with premium is $22.110 million. Limited-obligation bonds are a separate $858.485 million.

  • The legislature may issue the bonds. Public indebtedness stops at 10% of tax valuation.
  • The report’s ceiling dollars and the bond-note dollars are not the same cut.
  • No counties. Village dollar rows are not attached.
Open the file

Not a state

American Samoa

Not attached

No audited bond note was attached. A mixed public-debt total is not used.

  • The Finance Committee issues the debt. Except for a refunding, the legislature authorizes the amount and the purpose.
  • The section that was opened states no percentage cap.
  • 5 census districts. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file

Not a state

Northern Mariana Islands

Not attached

No audited bond note was attached. A mixed public-debt total is not used.

  • Public debt needs two-thirds of each house.
  • Indebtedness other than a revenue-only improvement bond stops at 10% of assessed real property.
  • 4 municipalities. Dollar rows blank.
Open the file