The fifty states of the United States and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories and possessions, and their political subdivisions, including counties, municipalities, school districts, irrigation districts, and drainage and sewer districts. INCLUDES, but is not limited to the following activities that issue securities: General municipal obligation bonds; Housing/Multi-family programs (housing finance); Revenue bonds (includes general “tax-revenue” bonds, as well as bonds financed by revenue from toll roads, bridges, transportation facilities); Industrial development bonds; General economic development bonds; Bonds for building correctional facilities; School District improvement bonds; Higher education bonds; Fire District improvement.
NOTE: It is common to refer to the “public sector”, which is composed of general government plus the public enterprises. The latter are agencies and instrumentalities of such governments that issue securities for the provision of goods/services that are not strictly governmental in nature in exchange for money. For purposes of TIC reporting, the public enterprises are excluded from “general government” and are included in different sectors, as indicated below:
- Depository Institutions sector — State and local Credit Unions
- Other Financial Organizations sector — Pension funds, Retirement funds, Insurance (e.g., health insurance, unemployment insurance)
- Non-Financial Organizations sector — Utilities (water, electric, sewer, etc.), Healthcare/Hospital bonds , Parking Authority (parking lots and garages)