The following terms shall have the following meanings for purposes of this article:

(a) “Bond counsel” means any attorney or firm of attorneys that represents the issuer of a new issue of bonds with respect to the issuance of the bonds and that renders a written legal opinion to, or as counsel for, the issuer with respect to the validity of the bonds.

Terms Used In California Government Code 53590

  • City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town" but does not include "unincorporated town" or "village. See California Government Code 20
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • County: includes city and county. See California Government Code 19
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, or company. See California Government Code 17

(b) “Bond” means any bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by any local agency or certificates of participation in any lease, sale, or other obligations of any local agency. “New issue of bonds” means the original issuance of bonds, including refunding bonds, by the issuer to one or more purchasers until, in the case of underwriters, the end of the underwriting period. In the case of bonds with a tender or put option feature, or commercial paper, “new issue of bonds” means only the original issuance and not any remarketing, rollover, or reissuance.

(c)  A “financial advisory relationship” exists when an investment firm, or other person or firm in the business of providing financial advisory or financial consulting services to issuers with respect to municipal securities, renders, or enters into an agreement to render, financial advisory or financial consultant services to, or on behalf of, an issuer with respect to a new issue or issues of bonds, including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms, and other similar matters concerning the issue or issues, for a fee or other compensation or in expectation of such compensation for the rendering of those services. However, a financial advisory relationship does not exist when, in the course of acting as an underwriter, an investment firm renders advice to an issuer, including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms, and other similar matters concerning a new issue of bonds or when, for any new issuer of bonds, an investment firm advises and assists an issuer with respect to obtaining consent from holders of previously issued bonds in connection with, among other things, amendments of covenants or defaults.

(d) “Investment firm” means any bank, investment bank, partnership, corporation, association, or other firm engaged in the business of buying and selling bonds for its own account or for the account of others as part of its regular business.

(e) “Local agency” means a public district, public corporation, authority, agency, board, commission, county, city and county, city, school district, or other local public entity.

(Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1033, Sec. 21. Effective September 27, 1985.)