OFFICIAL RULES AND ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS

ELIGIBILITY

Deals that close between October 1, 2007 and Sept. 30, 2008 are eligible for this year's judging.

HOW TO ENTER – ENTRY DEADLINE October 6, 2008

Anyone can nominate a deal. All entry forms must be accompanied by an official statement for the deal and a nominating statement of ONE PAGE OR LESS that explains:

1. In what category is the deal being nominated
2. The basic structure of the deal, the use of proceeds / purpose of the transaction
3. Why the deal was done, and
4. Why the deal deserves recognition

Mailed nominating statements and official statements MUST be submitted both on paper and on a universally readable CD-ROM. ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY OCTOBER 6, 2008

CRITERIA

Transactions will be judged for innovation in several categories, including the complexity of the problem solved by the financing, the extent to which the deal was the only way an issuer could achieve its goal, and the potential for a transaction to be replicated. Past successful entries have included:

1. Deals for new issuers, credits created to meet a specific or ongoing financing need, or issuers that have been substantially transformed so that they appear new to investors and function as a new credit from a portfolio manager’s perspective.
2. “Turnaround stories” from issuers that were either long absent from the market or unable to gain market access.
3. Deals that establish new types of security, harness previously untapped revenue sources, or open a new sector to financing.
4. Deals that create a new type of financing for a traditional area of government, bringing new resources to an area where other options were unavailable because of revenue or political obstacles.
5. Refundings or restructurings that either achieved an otherwise unattainable savings or indenture change goal for the issuer, or use derivatives or other financial tools to reduce risk and/or total debt-service cost.
6. Deals that set a record in terms of its total dollar size or number of participating issuers, or attract significant interest from non-traditional investors in municipal finance.

THE BOND BUYER REGIONS

Northeast – Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont

Southwest – Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah

Midwest –Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

Southeast –Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Far West –Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming