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USA Statutes : massachusetts
Title : PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
Chapter : TITLE III. LAWS RELATING TO STATE OFFICERS
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Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings. All words and terms defined by section thirty-nine A of chapter seven and appearing in this chapter, except for the phrase “state agency”, shall have the meaning defined therein unless the context shall indicate another meaning or intent:—“Account” or “Line-item”, a separate unit of appropriation identified by an eight-digit number.
“Appropriation”, the authorization by the general court with the approval of the governor, or by overriding his objection thereto, of the expenditure of state revenues from a specified fund for a specified purpose up to a specified maximum amount for a specified period of time.
“Balanced budget”, a condition of state finance in which the following requirements are met:(i) the consolidated net surplus at the end of the fiscal year is greater than or equal to one-half of 1 per cent of state tax revenues for such fiscal year; and(ii) the amount transferred to the stabilization fund under subsection (a) of section 5C is greater than or equal to 1/2 of 1 per cent of state tax revenue for such fiscal year.
“Bond fund”, a fund of the commonwealth into which bond revenues are deposited.
“Bond revenues”, the proceeds of bonds issued by the commonwealth and the interest earned thereon.
“Budget director”, the administrative head of the fiscal affairs division within the executive office for administration and finance.
“Budgetary funds”, state funds which are subject to appropriation as provided in section six.
“Budgeted revenues and other financial resources pertaining to the budgeted funds”, inflows from tax and nontax sources that are directed by law to be accounted and reported to a fund which is subject to annual appropriation.
“Commissioner”, the commissioner of administration as provided for in section four of chapter seven.
“Consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds”, the sum of the undesignated balances in the budgetary funds, except funds established by section 2H and section 2I and by section 2C of chapter 131.
“Direct appropriation”, a first-time appropriation of state revenues, from sources other than bond revenues, retained revenues, and federal grants.
“Direct debt limit”, the sum of the principal amounts of all direct debt issued by the commonwealth for the purposes of financing state projects and purposes with the exception of debt issued on a short-term basis in anticipation of receipts from taxes and other sources.
“Federal grant”, any financial assistance available to a state agency from the United States government, either directly or through an intermediary, whether a project, formula, or block grant, a subvention, a subsidy, an augmentation, or a state plan. For the purposes of this chapter “federal grant” shall not mean such financial assistance provided pursuant to Titles XVIII or XIX of the Social Security Act or other reimbursements received for state entitlement expenditures and credited to the General Fund nor does it mean federal financial assistance from the United States government for direct payments to individuals, or for other purposes as provided for in section thirty-four of chapter ninety, section two of chapter one hundred and thirty-one, section ten of chapter one hundred and thirty-two A, section two E of chapter twenty-nine, chapter ninety-two, and section forty-eight of chapter one hundred and fifty-one A.
“Fund”, an accounting entity established by general or special law to record all the financial resources or revenues together with all related expenditures or liabilities that are segregated for a particular purpose.
“Prior appropriation continued” or “PAC”, a phrase used to reappropriate unexpended and unencumbered monies from one fiscal year for the subsequent fiscal year.
“Retained revenue”, the income of state agency or other public instrumentality from its operations which by law it is allowed to expend for a particular purpose up to a specified limit without further appropriation which would otherwise be subject to direct appropriation.
“Revenue retention account”, an account which allows a state agency or other public instrumentality to use retained revenue during the fiscal year in which such revenue is received to maintain all or a portion of its operations.
“Revolving account”, a revenue retention account in which the retained revenues unspent or unencumbered at the end of a fiscal year are carried over into the next fiscal year for expenditure.
“Secretary”, the officer in charge of each executive office established by chapters six A and seven; provided, however, that secretary shall mean the board for the board of regents of higher education and the board of education; and provided, further that secretary shall mean the court for the supreme judicial court.
“State agency”, a state agency, board, bureau, department, division, section, or commission of the commonwealth.
“State Authority”, shall include the following: Bay State Skills Corporation, Boston Metropolitan District, Centers of Excellence Corporation, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, Community Development Finance Corporation, Government Land Bank, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Massachusetts Business Development Corporation, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, Massachusetts Corporations for Educational Telecommunications, Massachusetts Educational Loan Authority, Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority, Massachusetts Horse Racing Authority, Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency, Massachusetts Industrial Service Program, Massachusetts Port Authority, Massachusetts Product Development Corporation, Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation, Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, State College Building Authority, Southeastern Massachusetts University Building Authority, Thrift Institutions Fund for Economic Development, University of Lowell Building Authority, University of Massachusetts Building Authority, and the Water Pollution Abatement Trust.
“State revenue”, all income from state taxes, state agency fees, fines, assessments, charges, and other departmental revenues, retained revenues, federal grants, federal reimbursements, lottery receipts, court judgments and the earnings on such income.
“State tax revenues”, the revenues of the commonwealth from every tax, surtax, receipt, penalty and other monetary exaction and interest in connection therewith including, but not limited to, taxes and surtaxes on personal income, excises and taxes on retail sales and use, meals, motor vehicle fuels, businesses and corporations, commercial banks, insurance companies, savings banks, public utilities, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, inheritances, estates, deeds, room occupancy and pari-mutuel wagering, but excluding revenues collected by the state from local option taxes, so-called, for further direct distribution to cities and towns.
“Tax expenditures”, state tax revenue foregone as a direct result of the provisions of any general or special law which allows exemptions, exclusions, deductions from, or credits against, the taxes imposed on income, corporations, and sales.
“Trust fund”, a fund into which are deposited monies held by the commonwealth or state agencies in a trustee capacity and which must be expended in accordance with the terms of the trust.
Section 12. Appropriations by the general court, unless specifically designated as special, shall be for the ordinary maintenance of the several departments, offices, commissions and institutions of the commonwealth and shall be made for the fiscal year unless otherwise specifically provided therein.
subsidiary accounts for future items delivered or services rendered Section 12A. Beginning June first of any year, obligations may be incurred against appropriation accounts or subsidiary accounts for items to be delivered or for services to be rendered on or after the beginning of the next fiscal year; provided, however, that said obligations are in accordance with law and the amounts thereof do not exceed one-twelfth of the appropriation account or subsidiary account for the current fiscal year.
Where the allotment of an appropriation account or subsidiary account is a condition precedent to expenditure, the obligations shall not exceed the amount allotted for said appropriation account or subsidiary account; provided, however, that during the month of June the comptroller may prepare warrants and the state treasurer may advance funds to the department of public welfare for the purpose of making payments on and after July first as authorized by chapter six hundred and fifty-eight of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-seven; and provided further that said payments are in accordance with law and the amounts thereof do not exceed the amount of the appropriation account or subsidiary account, provided, however, that no funds shall be expended until such funds have been appropriated. The certified copies of the schedules provided for in section twenty-seven shall be filed with the comptroller and the budget director as of June first. Where the allotment of an appropriation account or subsidiary account is required by law, such allotment shall be made as of June first.
services Section 12B. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, the fiscal year for the payment of classified personal services shall be the fiscal year established by clause ninth of section seven of chapter four.
outstanding encumbrances; unexpended appropriations Section 13. That portion of an appropriation for ordinary maintenance representing encumbrances outstanding on the records of the comptroller’s office at the close of the fiscal year may be applied to the payment thereof in the two months immediately succeeding such fiscal year; provided, however, that the state budget director at the written request of the spending agency may, prior to the close of said two months, extend for 15 additional days the recorded encumbrances outstanding and the funds reserved therefor, by furnishing the comptroller with a copy of such request and the approval thereof.
The unencumbered balance of an appropriation for ordinary maintenance mentioned in this section shall revert to the commonwealth at the end of each month.
maintenance; unencumbered balance Section 14. (a) Appropriations for other than ordinary maintenance, unless otherwise specifically provided therein, shall be available for expenditure in the two fiscal years following June thirtieth of the calendar year in which the appropriation is made and any portion of such appropriation representing encumbrances outstanding on the records of the comptroller’s bureau at the close of such second fiscal year may be applied to the payment thereof any time thereafter. The unencumbered balance of such appropriation shall revert to the commonwealth at the close of such second, or other designated, fiscal year; provided, however, that appropriations for other than ordinary maintenance financed by the sale of bonds and notes, unless otherwise specifically provided therein, shall be available for expenditure in the five fiscal years following June thirtieth of the calendar year in which the appropriation is made and any portion of such appropriation representing encumbrances outstanding on the records of the comptroller’s bureau at the close of such fifth fiscal year may be applied to the payment thereof any time thereafter. The unencumbered balance shall revert to the commonwealth at the close of such fifth or other designated fiscal year.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), the comptroller is authorized to create restricted spending accounts for the management of encumbrances in expiring accounts funded by bonds and notes; to transfer encumbered funds from said expiring accounts into said restricted accounts; and to expend said funds following the receipt of duly authorized and properly completed payment vouchers; provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorize the encumbrance or expenditure of uncommitted funds in said expiring appropriations accounts.
Section 15. An appropriation shall supersede an earlier one made for the same object.
Section 16. Payments authorized by appropriation acts shall be made from the ordinary revenue, if no other provision is expressly made therefor. Cash from the ordinary revenue on hand at the beginning of each fiscal year shall be carried to the account of the ordinary revenue of that year.
Section 17. An appropriation act shall not be construed to require a payment to a person with whom the commonwealth has an unadjusted account. The governor, upon receiving satisfactory information that money is illegally withheld from the commonwealth by any person, shall instruct the state treasurer to withhold all payments to him until he pays such account.
Section 18. Except as otherwise provided, no money shall be paid by the commonwealth without a warrant from the governor drawn in accordance with an appropriation then in effect, and after the demand or account to be paid has been certified by the comptroller; provided, that the principal and interest on all public debts shall be paid when due without any warrant and that no appropriation shall be required for the payment of principal or income of funds held in trust by the commonwealth, or of sinking funds to meet maturing bonds, or of treasury notes issued for duly authorized temporary loans, or of corporation and other taxes collected by the commonwealth for distribution to towns, or for the investment of such funds as the state treasurer is duly authorized to invest, or for payments authorized by law out of the several prison industries funds, or for refunds of taxes or penalties or for refunds or payments of interest or costs lawfully made pursuant to the provisions of chapters fifty-eight to sixty-five A, inclusive; and, provided, further, that the governor may, without an appropriation, draw his warrant for the payment of his own salary and the salaries of the justices of the supreme judicial court. No certificate shall be required from the comptroller for payment of the pay rolls of the members of the council and general court, or for the traveling and other expenses of members of the general court as provided in section nine B of chapter three.
Section 19. No account against the commonwealth shall be allowed or paid unless authority to contract the same was given by the general court or by either branch thereof nor unless the items thereof are specified.
appropriation acts Section 19A. Whenever a provision of a general appropriation act provides that transfers shall be made from a fund, account or receipts, of a specific sum, a percentage of payments, or a sum equivalent to payments, such transfers of a specific sum shall be made upon the effective date of such act, and all other such transfers shall be made quarterly unless otherwise provided, except that at the close of a fiscal year, the amount equivalent to payments in a continuing account shall be construed to mean the amount of such appropriation.
Section 2. All revenue payable to the commonwealth shall be paid into the General Fund, except revenue required by law to be paid into a fund other than the General Fund and revenue for or on account of sinking funds, trust funds, trust deposits and agency funds, which funds shall be maintained and the revenue applied in accordance with law or the purposes of the fund.
All such revenue shall be deposited in and credited to the General Fund or other state funds during the fiscal year in which it is received. In the event that a question arises as to the correct year to credit the receipt of revenues, the comptroller shall make a determination as to the correct fiscal year and the determination of the comptroller shall be conclusive.
Section 20. No account or demand requiring the certificate of the comptroller or warrant of the governor shall be paid from an appropriation unless it has been authorized and approved by the head of the department, office, commission or institution for which it was contracted; nor shall any appropriation be used for expenses, except gratuities and special allowances by the general court, unless properly approved vouchers therefor have been filed with the comptroller. No such voucher shall be submitted by such head nor shall any such approval be given by such head unless sufficient funds are allotted for such purposes at the time the voucher is submitted or the approval is given.
notice Section 20A. No order for, or claim for payment for, extra work or materials, furnishings or equipment, in addition to an existing contract for the construction or repair of any structure or of public works of any nature whatsoever or for equipment or furnishings, shall be approved by any official, board, department or commission on behalf of the commonwealth until one week after notice of intention to act upon such order or claim shall have been filed by him or it with the comptroller; provided, that, in the case of any such order estimated to involve a cost of less than fifteen thousand dollars and in the case of any such order necessitated by extreme emergency involving the health or safety of persons or damage to property or to work in progress, notice of the approval of such order may be filed after the work has been commenced or completed, but such notice shall be so filed as soon as practicable, with a brief statement as to the character of the extreme emergency, if any, and in any event such notice shall be filed before final payment is made on the contract to which the order or claim for extra work or payment relates. The foregoing requirements shall not apply to change in quantities of work or materials covered at unit prices by an item or items in any such original contract, nor to work, other than extra work, for which payment is specifically provided in the contract or specifications. Every notice under this section shall contain the number or other designation of such contract, together with the title and date thereof, and a statement of the amount of the accepted bid and of the estimated total cost based on the bid prices of such contract, and of the total amount of orders or claims previously approved for payment, and of the character and location of work proposed or included under each such order or claim, and of the estimated cost or amount under each such order or claim. Said notices shall be entered by the comptroller upon a docket and shall be open to public inspection.
No such order or claim shall be split or divided for the purpose of evading any provision of this section.
Section 20C. Any commercial vendor to whom any state agency of the commonwealth is liable for late penalty interest under the provisions of section twenty-nine B shall, prior to payment of said interest, submit to said state agency an invoice for said interest in accordance with applicable rules and regulations of the comptroller.
Section 21. When the law provides that expenses of a state officer, department or division thereof shall be subject to the approval of the governor and council, specific approval of the governor and council shall not be required for the office expenses thereof.
Section 22. Except as otherwise expressly provided, no greater sum from an appropriation shall be drawn from the treasury at any one time than is necessary to meet expenses then incurred.
agency funds; funding of checks and drafts Section 23. Any officer authorized to expend money in behalf of the commonwealth may have money advanced to him from the treasury for such purposes, in such sums and subject to such rules and regulations as the comptroller may determine.
The state treasurer shall manage all cash, funds, or investments under the control or jurisdiction of any state agency, other than nonappropriated funds held by a public institution of higher education. “State agency” shall mean any department, office, commission, committee, council, board, division, bureau, institution, office or other agency within the executive or legislative department, excluding, however, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, and the Massachusetts Port Authority. Funds shall be deemed to be under the control of a state agency from the date of the initial deposit into any commonwealth account until the date a check or draft drawn on a commonwealth account clears the disbursing bank.
The state treasurer shall provide for the funding of checks or drafts drawn by any state officer, department, institution or other agency which has received proper authority to expend money on behalf of the commonwealth.
regulations relating to eligibility Section 23A. Subject to the provisions of sections twenty-four and twenty-five, the comptroller shall provide for payments by officers receiving advances pursuant to this chapter and to section twenty of chapter eighteen B, to eligible organizations under contract with the commonwealth to provide social, educational or rehabilitative services. Said payments shall be made in accordance with a schedule to be included in each such contract, on the basis of projected expenses or services and shall be adjusted monthly and at the end of each contract, pursuant to the submission of a voucher or other claim for payment, to reflect the actual cost or extent of services rendered.
The comptroller shall establish rules and regulations governing the eligibility of providers to receive such payments including but not limited to, proper incorporation and recording with the secretary of state, and compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. Each such eligible provider shall, at the end of each billing period, submit timely, complete and accurate documentation prepared in accordance with the terms of its contract and with requirements of the comptroller. Any violation of the provisions of this paragraph shall result in ineligibility for such payments for a period of two years from the date of disqualification. Prior to reinstatement of eligibility, a provider must submit proof of ability to comply with the requirements of this section and with any regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. The comptroller shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
Section 24. Such officers shall certify that the amount is needed for immediate use, and, as specifically as may be, the purposes for which the expenditure is required. The certificate shall bear the approval of the officer or department having the supervision of such expenditure and, when filed with the comptroller, his certificate and the warrant and payment shall follow as in case of claims against the commonwealth.
recipients Section 25. Such officers shall, within thirty days after receipt of an advance, file with the comptroller a detailed statement of the amounts expended subsequent to the previous accounting, approved by the officer or department authorized to supervise such expenditure, with vouchers therefor if they can be obtained. All advances so made shall be accounted for and vouchers therefor filed with the comptroller before the close of the fiscal year.
Section 26. Expenses of offices and departments for compensation of officers, members and employees and for other purposes shall not exceed the appropriations made therefor by the general court or the allotments made therefor by the governor. No obligation incurred by any officer or servant of the commonwealth for any purpose in excess of the appropriation or allotment for such purpose for the office, department or institution which he represents, shall impose any liability upon the commonwealth nor shall any liability be imposed upon the commonwealth under a subsequent appropriation by any ongoing commitment against a current year appropriation.
design services Section 26A. No allotment, encumbrance, or expenditure of funds appropriated or authorized for the design of a capital facility project shall be approved by the comptroller unless the executive head of the agency administering the project—or other person provided for by statute—certifies in writing that the design work is or shall be such as to specify a project that can be accomplished (a) within the appropriation or authorization for the project or within the project cost limits specified by the appropriation or authorization and (b) without substantial deviation from any (i) study or program which must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of section 7K of this chapter or (ii) any other pre-design document which must be prepared in accordance with any other statute, appropriation or authorization or administrative directive consistent therewith. In no event shall the design work be such as would result in a change in the number of square feet to be constructed in the project of more than ten per cent from the number specified in the study, program or other pre-design document referred to in (b)(i) and (b)(ii).
No state agency—as defined by section thirty-nine A of chapter seven—administering a capital facility project shall enter into any contracts or incur any other obligations or cause to be performed design services for that project if such would result in the completion of a project which cannot be accomplished (a) within the appropriation or authorization for the project or within the project cost limits specified by the appropriation or authorization and (b) without substantial deviation for (i) any study or program which must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of section 7K of this chapter or (ii) any other pre-design planning document which must be prepared in accordance with any other statute, appropriation or authorization or administrative directive consistent therewith. In no event shall the design work be such as would result in a change in the number of gross square feet to be constructed in the project of more than ten per cent from the number specified in the study, program or other pre-design document referred to in (b)(i) and (b)(ii).
for construction Section 26B. No allotment, encumbrance, or expenditure of funds appropriated or authorized for the construction of a capital facility project shall be approved by the comptroller unless the executive head of the agency administering the project—or other person provided for by statute—certifies in writing that the construction work can be accomplished (a) within the appropriation or authorization for the project and (b) without substantial deviation from (i) any study or program which must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of section 7K of this chapter or (ii) any other pre-design document which must be prepared in accordance with any other statute, appropriation or authorization or administrative directive consistent therewith. In no event shall the construction work be such as would result in a change in the number of square feet to be constructed in the project of more than ten per cent from the number specified in the study, program or other predesign document referred to in (b)(i) and (b)(ii).
No state agency—as defined by section thirty-nine A of chapter seven—administering a facility administering project shall enter into any contracts or incur any obligations or cause to be performed construction of that project if such would result in the completion of a project which cannot be accomplished (a) within the appropriation or authorization for the project and (b) without substantial deviation from (i) any study or program which must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of section 7K of this chapter or (ii) any other pre-design document which must be prepared in accordance with any other statute, appropriation or authorization or administrative directive consistent therewith. In no event shall the construction work be such as would result in a change in the number of square feet to be constructed in the project of more than ten per cent from the number specified in the study, program or other predesign document referred to in (b)(i) or (b)(ii).
Section 27. Notwithstanding any provision of general law, no department, office, commission and institution shall incur an expense, increase a salary, or employ a new clerk, assistant or other subordinate, unless an appropriation by the general court and an allotment by the governor, sufficient to cover the expense thereof, shall have been made. Appropriations by the general court, and any allotments by the governor, shall be expended only in the amounts prescribed in subsidiary accounts, if any, established for the several appropriation accounts in schedules established by, and on file with, the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided, however, that amounts prescribed in subsidiary accounts for personal services shall be available for the payment of such other forms of compensation as may be due under existing statutes or under the provisions of rules and regulations made in accordance with said statutes. Said house and senate committees on ways and means, as soon as may be after the general appropriation bill or any other appropriation bill has the force of law conformably to the constitution, shall file with the comptroller and with the budget director, a certified copy of the schedules aforesaid which relate thereto.
data processing or reproduction equipment restricted Section 27B. No state agency, excepting the departments of the attorney general, state auditor, state secretary, and state treasurer, shall initiate any encumbrance or make any expenditure of funds, whether appropriated or not, for the lease or purchase of date processing or reproduction equipment or systems unless:(1) if appropriated funds are to be used, a prior request therefor has been made to the budget director under sections three or four, and at least 30 days written notification has been given to the house and senate committees on ways and means;(2) the officer in charge of the agency has certified that funds are specifically available for the purpose;(3) in the case of a department, office, commission, board or institution within any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven, the secretary having charge of such executive office has approved in writing the encumbrance or expenditure, and(4) the commissioner of administration has approved in writing said encumbrance or expenditure.
The commissioner of administration shall establish rules and regulations governing the lease or purchase of data processing or reproduction equipment or systems and the procedure for requesting approval thereof as required by this section.
The commissioner of administration shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means and joint legislative committee on post audit and oversight of the general court of any approval granted by him under this section.
assessments effective only by vote of acceptance or appropriation; written notice requesting determination; class actions Section 27C. Notwithstanding any provision of any special or general law to the contrary:(a) Any law taking effect on or after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-one imposing any direct service or cost obligation upon any city or town shall be effective in any city or town only if such law is accepted by vote or by the appropriation of money for such purposes, in the case of a city by the city council in accordance with its charter, and in the case of a town by a town meeting, unless the general court, at the same session in which such law is enacted, provides, by general law and by appropriation, for the assumption by the commonwealth of such cost, exclusive of incidental local administration expenses and unless the general court provides by appropriation in each successive year for such assumption.
(b) Any law taking effect on or after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-one granting or increasing exemptions from local taxation shall be effective in any city or town only if the general court, at the same session in which such law is enacted, provides by general law and by appropriation for payment by the commonwealth to each city and town of any loss of taxes resulting from such exemption.
(c) Any administrative rule or regulation taking effect on or after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-one which shall result in the imposition of additional costs upon any city or town shall not be effective until the general court has provided by general law and by appropriation for the assumption by the commonwealth of such cost, exclusive of incidental local administration expenses, and unless the general court provides by appropriation in each successive year for such assumption.
(d) Any city or town, any committee of the general court, and either house of the general court by a majority vote of its members, may submit written notice to the division of local mandates, established under section six of chapter eleven of the general laws, requesting that the division determine whether the costs imposed by the commonwealth by any law, rule or regulation subject to the provisions of this section have been paid in full by the commonwealth in the preceding year and, if not, the amount of any deficiency in such payments. The division shall make public its determination within sixty days after such notice.
(e) Any city or town, or any ten taxable inhabitants of any city or town may in a class action suit petition the superior court alleging that under the provisions of subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section with respect to a general or special law or rule or regulation of any administrative agency of the commonwealth under which any city or town is required to expend funds in anticipation of reimbursement by the commonwealth, the amount necessary for such reimbursement has not been included in the general or any special appropriation bill for any year. Any city or town, or any ten taxable inhabitants of any city or town may in a class action suit petition the superior court alleging that under the provisions of subsections (a), (b) and (c) of this section with respect to any general or special law, or rule or regulation of any administrative agency of the Commonwealth which imposes additional costs on any city or town or which grants or increases exemptions from local taxation, the amount necessary to reimburse such city or town has not been included in the general or any special appropriation bill for any year. The determination of the amount of deficiency provided by the division of local mandates under subsection (d) of this section shall be prima facie evidence of the amount necessary. The superior court shall determine the amount of the deficiency, if any, and shall order that the said city or town be exempt from such general or special law, or rule or regulation of any administrative agency until the commonwealth shall reimburse such city or town the amount of said deficiency or additional costs or shall repeal such exemption from local taxation.
(f) Any of the parties permitted to submit written notice to the division of local mandates under subsection (d) of this section may submit written notice to the division requesting that the division determine the total annual financial effect for a period of not less than three years of any proposed law or rule or regulation of any administrative agency of the commonwealth. The division shall make public its determination within sixty days of such notice.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), (b) and (c), any city or town shall be allowed to accept the provision of any law, rule or regulation specified by said subsections whether or not such law, rule, or regulation is funded by the commonwealth.
(h) This section shall apply to regional school districts and educational collaboratives organized pursuant to section four E of chapter forty, to the same extent as it applies to cities and towns. A regional school district may accept a law, rule or regulation by vote of its school committee, and an educational collaborative by vote of its board of directors.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any costs to cities and towns or exemptions to local taxation resulting from a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, or to any law, rule or regulation enacted or promulgated as a direct result of such a decision.
Section 28. The cost of printing and publishing any publication issued by or on behalf of the commonwealth by any office or department shall be paid from the appropriation for such office or department.
decrease by interchange; sufficiency of funds to cover disbursements Section 29. Any subsidiary account set up as prescribed in the schedules referred to in section twenty-seven, on the books of any department, office, commission or institution, receiving an appropriation from the commonwealth, may be increased or decreased by the interchange with any other such subsidiary account within the same appropriation account by the officer in charge of such department, office, commission or institution upon his certification to the budget director that such interchange is required to meet unforeseen emergencies where funds are otherwise not available to protect the public interest, and, in the case of a department, office, commission or institution within any executive office established by chapter six A and seven, upon the prior written approval of the secretary having charge of such executive office. Every such certification shall include a statement of the details of the said emergency and of the probable consequences if the said interchange should not be made. An officer making any such certification or giving any such approval shall file forthwith a copy thereof with the comptroller, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight. Under no circumstances shall an interchange otherwise authorized by this section be allowed into a newly established subsidiary account not prescribed by the schedules referred to in section twenty-seven.
The comptroller may accept affidavits that expenditures are in accordance with the purpose of such appropriation or subsidiary accounts and do not exceed the unencumbered balances of the amounts provided therefor. The comptroller shall refuse to permit a disbursement or the incurring of an obligation if funds or allotments of funds under an appropriation account or subsidiary account under an appropriation account, sufficient to cover such disbursement or obligation are not available and shall immediately give notice of such refusal to the department, office, commission or institution proposing the expenditure, and, in the case of a department, office, commission or institution within any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven to the secretary having charge of such executive office.
The commissioner of administration shall establish rules and regulations governing the interchange of funds under this section.
legislative reports Section 29A. The commissioner of administration shall make, and may from time to time amend, rules and regulations governing the use of consultants in all departments, offices, boards, agencies, commissions and institutions. Such rules and regulations shall establish, after recommendations by the personnel administrator, the rate of compensation of such services and shall provide for the prior approval by the said administrator of the rate for any such service for which no rate has previously been established by such regulation. Such rules and regulations shall be open to public inspection in the human resources division within the executive office for administration and finance, and copies thereof shall be available to any person upon request. Such rules and regulations shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A. Such rules and regulations shall also include, but need not be limited to the following requirements none of which shall be waived: (1) a request therefor on a form prescribed by the commissioner of administration specifically setting forth the need for such services; (2) the period of time for which the services are to be engaged or the scope of work to be done and such other information as shall be required to establish the maximum limit of the commonwealth’s obligation for the services; (3) a written contract specifically setting forth the duties and responsibilities of the parties; (4) a resume setting forth the qualifications of the proposed consultant as they relate to the terms of the aforementioned contract; (5) a disclosure statement setting forth any other income derived by the proposed consultant from the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions; (6) a statement setting forth the names and addresses of all persons with any interest in the said contract. No department, office, agency, board, commission or institution within any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven shall contract for the provisions of any such services without the prior written approval of such contract by the secretary having charge of such executive office. No payment shall be made to any consultant for any services provided prior to the date upon which the form requesting said services as required by clause (1) has been approved by the secretary having charge of such executive office and a copy of the same has been filed with the comptroller. As used in this section the word “consultant” shall mean any person who, as a nonemployee of the commonwealth, gives advice or service regarding matters in the field of his knowledge or training and whose compensation is payable from a subsidiary account coded under “03” in the expenditure code manual. No person employed by the commonwealth as a consultant so-called shall directly or indirectly supervise another temporary or permanent employee of the commonwealth. Consultant contracts, whether written with organizations or individuals, shall not be used as substitutes for state positions. The commissioner shall submit quarterly to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight a report which identifies all existing consultant contracts by agency, for all accounts established or maintained by the comptroller, including but not limited to appropriation accounts for ordinary maintenance, for federal grants, bond revenue accounts, revolving accounts, retained revenue accounts, and trust accounts. Said report shall identify each contract, its duration, its maximum dollar obligation, the name of the contractor, and the services performed by the contractor.
etc.
, services Section 29B. The commissioner shall make, and may from time to time amend, rules and regulations governing the procurement and administration of contracts with organizations providing social, rehabilitative, health, or special education services. Such rules and regulations shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A. No department, office, agency, board, commission or institution within any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven shall contract for the provision of any such services except in conformance with said regulations and without the prior written approval of the contract by the secretary having charge of such executive office. No payment shall be made to a contracting organization for any services provided prior to the date upon which a form requesting said services has been approved by the secretary having charge of such executive office and a copy of the same has been filed with the comptroller, with the exception that payment may be made for services rendered no earlier than fifteen days prior to said date, upon approval by the commissioner of administration of a written request for start date retroactivity submitted by the contracting agency and approved by the secretariat in charge of said agency. No person employed by an organization providing social, rehabilitative, health, or special education services as defined above shall directly or indirectly supervise a temporary or permanent employee of the commonwealth. Such contracts shall not be written or used by any department, office, agency, board, commission or institution of the commonwealth to procure full or part-time personal services, or equipment to be used by such department, office, agency, board, commission or institution, or any goods or services not required in the direct provision by the contractor of social, rehabilitative, health, or special education services to populations being served by the contracting department, office, agency, board, commission, or institution.
commercial vendor by general court or agency; liability for late penalty interest Section 29C. Except as otherwise provided for by law, the general court or any agency of the executive or judicial branches of the government which acquires property or services from a commercial vendor, including both profit and not for profit corporations, excluding state employees, recipients of public assistance, cities and towns and other municipal forms of government, but which does not make full payment by the required payment date for each such complete and appropriate item of property or service delivered in accordance with an applicable purchase order contract, shall be liable for late penalty interest to said commercial vendor on the amount which is due in accordance with the following provisions:—(a) that the required payment date shall be the date on which payment is due under the terms of the contract for the provision of said property or services; or, if a specific date on which payment is due is not established by contract, not more than forty-five days after receipt of a properly authorized, approved and submitted invoice for the amount of payment due, unless the usual and customary time for payment is longer;(b) that the late penalty interest provided for under this section shall be computed at a rate to be set semi-annually by the commissioner of administration on January first and July first of each year; provided, however, that said rate shall be equal to the discount rate charged on said dates by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston;(c) that the provisions of this section shall apply to any late penalty interest which may be due in accordance with the provisions of this section;(d) that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the delivery of any property or services made at the beginning of any fiscal year unless a general appropriation act is in effect for said fiscal year. Upon the passage of a general appropriation act, a required payment date may be set or the forty-five day period as provided in paragraph (a) may be commenced;(e) that, within fifteen days after the date on which any invoice is received, state agencies notify any such commercial vendors of any defect or impropriety in such invoice which would prevent the running of the time period.
Any state agency required to pay interest under the provisions of this section shall pay any amount required out of funds appropriated for the administration or operation of the program for which the interest was incurred.
The commissioner of administration shall, not more than sixty days after the conclusion of each fiscal year, file with the house and senate committees on ways and means a summary report on any interest penalties made under this section during the preceding fiscal year. Such report shall include the number, amounts, frequency of interest penalty payments, and reasons such interest payments were made, summarized by state agency and secretariat, where applicable.
A copy of rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section, or any amendment or repeal of any such rules and regulations, shall be filed with the house and senate committees on ways and means at least thirty days prior to implementation.
agencies Section 29D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the officer having charge of any state agency is hereby authorized to retain the services of one or more private persons, companies, associations or corporations for the purpose of collection of debts owed to the commonwealth, other than those covered by section three A of chapter fourteen, pursuant to agreements between the comptroller and said private persons, companies, associations or corporations. No state agency shall assign the account of any debtor to a private collection agency until such debtor has been sent a notice, at least thirty days prior thereto, of the intention of the agency to so assign the collection of such unpaid account of such debtor.
The comptroller shall from time to time enter into agreements with one or more private persons, companies, associations or corporations for the provision of debt collection services on behalf of state agencies. No such agreement shall be entered into unless proposals for the same have been invited by public notice published in at least one newspaper once a week for at least two consecutive weeks and the last publication to be at least one week prior to the time specified for the opening of said proposals. All such proposals shall be opened in public. The comptroller may reject any or all of such proposals. Any such agreement shall provide, in the discretion of the comptroller, the manner in which the compensation for such services will be paid. Under standards established by the comptroller, such compensation may be added to the amount of the debt and collected as part thereof by the contractor; deducted and retained by the contractor from the amount of debt collected; or paid by the commonwealth from the amount of debt collected without further appropriation therefor.
The comptroller shall, as part of his annual report under section twelve of chapter seven A, list all private persons, companies, associations or corporations with whom the comptroller has agreements for collection services during the fiscal year and the amount of debts collected by and the compensation paid to each such person, company, association or corporation.
Section 29E. The comptroller is hereby authorized to enter into contracts for the purpose of projects to identify and pursue maximum reimbursement opportunities for certain federally assisted and other programs of the commonwealth and to enter into interagency service agreements with state agencies, as applicable, for the purpose of ensuring maximum reimbursement for the costs of said projects; provided, however, that payments on account of said projects shall be made from, and only upon receipt of, reimbursement for such cost; provided, further, that the comptroller shall establish accounts and procedures within the affected departments as he deems appropriate and necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section. The comptroller shall notify, in writing, the house and senate committees on ways and means 60 days before entering into any contract authorized pursuant to this section. The comptroller shall report on said projects as a part of his annual report under section twelve of chapter seven A.
notice; affiliates; mitigating circumstances Section 29F. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—“Affiliates”, entities which are affiliates of each other when either directly or indirectly one concern or individual controls or has the power to control another, or when a third party controls or has the power to control both.
“Commissioner”, the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance or his designee within such division.
“Contractor”, any person that has furnished or seeks to furnish supplies or services under a contract with a public agency or with a person under a contract with a public agency.
“Debarment”, an exclusion from public contracting or subcontracting for a reasonable, specified period of time commensurate with the seriousness of the offense.
“Public agency”, a department, agency, board, commission, authority, activity or instrumentality of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision of the commonwealth, or of two or more subdivisions thereof.
“Person”, any natural person, business, partnership, corporation, union, committee, club or other organization, entity or group of individuals.
“Public contract”, a contract for the furnishing of supplies or services to any public agency.
“Secretary”, the head of an executive office established under chapter six A or his designee within such executive office, or the secretary of administration appointed pursuant to section four of chapter seven or his designee within the executive office.
“Suspension”, the temporary disqualification of a contractor who is suspected upon adequate evidence of engaging or having engaged in conduct which constitutes grounds for debarment.
(b) The secretary of administration shall establish and maintain a consolidated list of contractors to whom public contracts shall not be awarded and from whom offers, bids, or proposals shall not be solicited.
The list shall show at a minimum the following information: (1) the names of those persons debarred or suspended in alphabetical order with appropriate cross reference where more than one name is involved in a single debarment or suspension; (2) the basis of authority for each debarment or suspension, including the secretary or other official who imposed the debarment or suspension; (3) the extent of restrictions imposed; (4) the termination date of each debarment or suspension; and (5) in the case of a suspension, the hearing date, if and when set, for debarment proceedings.
The secretary of administration shall cause the list to be kept current by the issuance of notices of additions and deletions. The list shall be published on a periodic basis, together with notices of additions and deletions therefrom, in the goods and services bulletin and the central register published by the state secretary and in such other publications as the secretary of administration shall designate. The secretary of administration shall also forward said list to the inspector general, the attorney general, and the state auditor. A secretary or the commissioner, as the case may be, upon imposing a debarment or suspension or removing a suspension shall forthwith notify the secretary of administration of all information required for inclusion on such list.
(c) Debarment may be imposed for the following causes; but, debarment shall be imposed in all causes where debarment is required by law:(1) conviction or final adjudication by a court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction of any of the following offenses: (i) a criminal offense incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain a public or private contract or subcontract, or in the performance of such contract or subcontract; (ii) a criminal offense involving embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, receiving stolen property or any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty which seriously and directly affects the contractor’s present responsibility as a public contractor; (iii) a violation of state or federal antitrust laws arising out of the submission of bids or proposals; (iv) a violation of state or federal laws regulating campaign contributions; (v) a violation of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A; (vi) a violation of any state or federal law regulating hours of labor, prevailing wages, minimum wages, overtime pay, equal pay, child labor, or worker’s compensation; (vii) a violation of any state or federal law prohibiting discrimination in employment; or (viii) repeated or aggravated violation of any state or federal law regulating labor relations or occupational health or safety; or (ix) repeated or aggravated violation of any state or federal law protecting the environment; or(2) substantial evidence, as determined by a secretary or the commissioner, of any of the following acts: (i) willfully supplying materially false information incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain or performing any public contract or subcontract; (ii) willful failure to comply with record-keeping and accounting requirements prescribed by law or regulation; (iii) a record of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance in accordance with the terms of one or more public contracts, provided that such failure to perform or unsatisfactory performance has occurred within a reasonable period of time preceding the determination to debar and provided further that such failure to perform or unsatisfactory performance was not caused by factors beyond the contractor’s control; (iv) a record of health and safety or environmental violations of a sufficient frequency and severity so as to evidence a pattern of noncompliance with existing state and federal laws, or any rules and regulations applicable thereto; (v) any other cause affecting the responsibility of a contractor which the secretary or the commissioner determines to be of such serious and compelling nature as to warrant debarment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any contractor debarred or suspended by any agency of the United States shall by reason of such debarment or suspension be simultaneously debarred or suspended under this section, with respect to non-federally aided contracts; the secretary or the commissioner may determine in writing that special circumstances exist which justify contracting with the affected contractor. The secretary or the commissioner shall give written notice to the secretary of administration of any such determination.
(d) No contractor may be suspended unless a secretary or the commissioner has first informed the contractor by written notice of the proposed suspension mailed by registered or certified mail to the contractor’s last known address, except when the secretary or the commissioner determines that immediate suspension is necessary to prevent serious harm to the commonwealth, in which case the suspension shall take effect immediately upon signing by the secretary or the commissioner of an order of suspension, and notice shall be mailed to the contractor at the earliest opportunity. The notice shall inform the contractor of the reasons for the proposed suspension and shall state that the contractor may within fourteen days respond in writing and may in such response request a hearing. The secretary or the commissioner may extend the period for response at the request of the contractor. The secretary or the commissioner shall determine whether to impose the suspension or, in the case of an emergency suspension imposed prior to notice to the contractor, whether to continue the suspension after reviewing the contractor’s response, if any, and making such investigation as the secretary or the commissioner determines is necessary and appropriate. An indictment, or any information or other filing by a public agency charging a criminal offense, for any of the offenses listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (c) shall constitute adequate evidence to support a suspension.
If the contractor requests a hearing, and the suspension is not based on an indictment, the secretary or the commissioner shall conduct a hearing according to the rules for the conduct of adjudicatory hearings established by the secretary of administration pursuant to chapter thirty A. Such hearing shall be initiated within thirty days of the imposition of the suspension, unless the contractor requests that the hearing be delayed. Officers and employees of the office of the inspector general and records of said office shall not be subject to subpoena for such hearing, if in the opinion of the inspector general production of records or testimony would prejudice any pending investigation by said office.
A suspension shall not exceed twelve months unless a pending administrative or judicial proceeding in which the contractor is a party may result in a conviction or final adjudication of an offense listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (c).
(e) No contractor may be debarred under this section unless a secretary or the commissioner proposing the debarment has first informed the contractor by written notice of the proposed debarment mailed by registered or certified mail to the contractor’s last known address. The notice shall inform the contractor of the reasons for the debarment and shall state that the contractor will be accorded an opportunity for a hearing if the contractor so requests within fourteen days of receipt of the notice. A hearing requested under this paragraph shall be conducted by the secretary or the commissioner within sixty days of receipt of the request, unless the secretary or the commissioner grants additional time therefor at the request of the contractor. The hearing shall be conducted according to the rules for the conduct of adjudicatory hearings established by the commissioner of administration pursuant to chapter thirty A. A debarment shall not be imposed until (i) fourteen days after receipt by the contractor of notice of the proposed debarment if no hearing is requested, or (ii) the issuance of a written decision by the secretary or the commissioner which makes specific findings that there is sufficient evidence to support the debarment and that debarment for the period specified in the decision is required to protect the integrity of the public contracting process. A contractor shall be notified forthwith of the decision by registered or certified mail, and of the contractor’s right to judicial review in the event that the decision is adverse to the contractor. If a suspension precedes a debarment, the suspension period shall be considered in determining the debarment period.
(f) A debarment or suspension may include all known affiliates of a contractor. The decision to include a known affiliate within the scope of a debarment or suspension shall be made on a case-by-case basis, after giving due regard to all relevant facts and circumstances. The offense or act of an individual justifying suspension, or the evidence justifying a suspension, may be imputed to the entity with which the individual is connected when such offense or act occurred in connection with the individual’s performance of duties for or on behalf of the entity or with the knowledge, approval, or acquiescence of the entity or one or more of its principals. The entity’s acceptance of the benefits derived from the conduct shall be evidence of such knowledge, approval, or acquiescence. The offense or act of an entity justifying debarment, or the evidence justifying a suspension, may be imputed to any officer, director, shareholder, partner, employee or other individual associated with the entity who participated in, knew of, or had reason to know of the entity’s act. An entity or individual may not be suspended or debarred except in accordance with the procedures set forth in this section, provided that a public agency may reject a bid or proposal from any contractor when the public agency reasonably determines that such contractor is not responsible or eligible.
(g) In determining whether to debar a contractor, or the period of a debarment, all mitigating facts and circumstances shall be taken into consideration. Except as precluded by statute, a debarment may be removed or the period thereof may be reduced by the secretary or the commissioner who imposed the debarment or suspension upon the submission of an application supported by documentary evidence setting forth appropriate grounds for the granting of relief, such as newly discovered material evidence, reversal of a judgment or conviction, bona fide change of ownership or management, or the elimination of the cause for which the debarment was imposed.
(h) During the period for which a person has been debarred or suspended, that person shall not submit or cause to be submitted offers, bids, or proposals to any public agency, nor shall any public agency solicit or consider offers, bids, or proposals from, nor execute, renew, or extend any contract with, a debarred or suspended contractor, and a contractor shall not contract for supplies or services from a debarred or suspended subcontractor on any public contract.
(i) The secretary of administration shall by regulation drawn up in consultation with each secretary and the commissioner provide for, upon the request of any secretary or the commissioner the timely commencement by, the removal to, or consolidation at the executive office of administration and finance of debarment or suspension proceedings. Such regulations also shall provide that the contractor against whom debarment or suspension proceedings have been initiated may apply to the secretary of administration for consolidation of such proceedings at the executive office of administration. Such proceedings shall be conducted by the secretary of administration or his designee in accordance with the provision of this section.
overcharges Section 29G. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the officer having charge of a state agency is hereby authorized to retain the services of private persons, companies, associations or corporations for the purpose of recoupment of overcharges to the commonwealth for utility expenses including, but not limited to, electric, gas, water and sewer expenses, pursuant to agreements between the operational services division within the executive office for administration and finance and any such private persons, companies, associations or corporations. The state purchasing agent of the operational services division shall, from time to time, enter into agreements with private persons, companies, associations or corporations for the provision of overcharge recoupment services on behalf of state agencies. No such agreement shall be entered into unless proposals for the same have been invited by public notice published in at least one newspaper once a week for at least two consecutive weeks prior to the time specified for the opening of said proposals. All such proposals shall be opened in public. Said state purchasing agent may reject any and all proposals. Any such agreements shall provide, in the discretion of said state purchasing agent, the manner in which compensation for such services shall be paid. Under regulations established by said state purchasing agent, such compensation may be deducted and retained from the recoupment of overcharges or paid by the commonwealth from existing expenditure accounts without additional appropriation therefrom; provided, further, that said state purchasing agent is authorized and directed to allow access to such agreements by political subdivisions of the commonwealth, including but not limited to towns, cities, counties, local housing authorities, and any other instrumentalities. Said state purchasing agent shall report to the comptroller annually a list of all private persons, companies, associations or corporations with whom said state purchasing agent has agreements for recoupment of overcharges during the fiscal year, and the amount of overcharges recouped and the compensation paid to each such person, company, association, or corporation. Said comptroller shall include and disclose this information as part of the annual report under section twelve of chapter seven A.
Section 29H. Except as otherwise provided by law, the officer having charge of any state agency is hereby authorized to assess and collect a late charge against any person owing an overdue payment to the commonwealth subject to the following provisions:(1) that the required payment date shall be the date on which payment is due under the laws, rules or regulations administered by such agency;(2) that the late charge rate provided for under this section shall not exceed that computed as prescribed in section eight of chapter seven A but a lower rate or a flat fee or both may be applied; and(3) that notice of intent to assess and collect that late charge shall be provided to the debtor prior to collection.
Any state agency is authorized to adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
Any state agency collecting late charges under the provisions of this section shall deposit all amounts collected in the revenue account that pertains to the original accounts receivable.
The comptroller shall include in the annual financial report a summary report on any late charges collected under this section during the preceding fiscal year. Such report shall include the number, amounts, and frequency of late charges collected, summarized by state agency and secretariat, where applicable.
transactions; service agreements and chargebacks; reports Section 29I. The comptroller shall develop and implement a payment system and regulations for interdepartmental fiscal transactions including interdepartmental service agreements and interdepartmental chargebacks. The chargeback system and regulation shall require state agencies that purchase legislatively authorized goods or services from approved chargeback departments to remit fiscal obligations within thirty days of receipt of notice of said obligation. The comptroller shall submit periodic reports on request to the house and senate committees on ways and means listing those agencies which do not meet the thirty day payment schedule. Said report shall also include but not be limited to the identification of the agency receiving said goods or services and the agency providing said goods or services; provided, that said identification includes the name of the agency and the item number, the goods or services provided, and the amount of outstanding obligation. The comptroller is authorized to take such action as he deems necessary to ensure compliance with the payment obligations under this section.
Act Fund Section 2AAA. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Fund. The purpose of the fund shall be to provide agencies under the executive office of health and human services with funding to meet the costs of compliance with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, HIPAA. There shall be credited to said fund revenues from federal reimbursements from Title XIX and Title XXI of the Social Security Act attributable to funds spent for HIPAA compliance and any other federal reimbursements, grants, premiums, gifts or other contributions received for HIPAA compliance. Amounts credited to the fund shall be held as an expendable trust and shall not be subject to further appropriation. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the close of each fiscal year.
The secretary of health and human services may allocate amounts in said fund to agencies within said executive office to meet the costs of compliance with HIPAA where the amounts otherwise available are insufficient for such purpose, in accordance with an allocation plan to be filed in advance with the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The secretary of health and human services shall also file a quarterly report with the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing by each agency under the executive office of health and human services information which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) year-to-date expenditures from said fund and estimated year-end expenditures; (b) the status of HIPAA compliance; (c) steps necessary to attain full compliance with HIPAA and the estimated associated costs; and (d) year-to-date revenues credited to said fund and estimated year-end receipts.
Section 2B. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Federal Capital Improvement Fund. Money received from the federal government on account of projects financed in whole or in part by appropriations authorized to be charged to said fund shall be credited to said fund.
Section 2C. All federal grant funds, which shall include grants in aid and subventions, received by any department, institution, board, commission, agency, officer or employee of the commonwealth from the federal government, whether directly or through an intermediary, other than grants for capital improvements, as provided in section two B, shall be paid into the treasury of the commonwealth and credited to a separate special revenue fund, to be known as the General Federal Grants Fund. Each such grant shall be kept in a separate account and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds and the approval thereof.
Section 2DD. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Capital Expenditure Reserve Fund. Said fund shall consist of: (i) amounts paid by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority as payment for the acquisition cost of the Ted Williams tunnel and any other components of the metropolitan highway system, as defined in section 3 of chapter 81A; (ii) federal financial participation related to expenditures from this fund; provided, however, that none of the federal financial contribution to said fund shall be funds that would otherwise be credited to the Federal Highway Construction Program Fund pursuant to section 1 of chapter 15 of the acts of 1988, section 1 of chapter 33 of the acts of 1991, section 2 of chapter 102 of the acts of 1994, section 2 of chapter 273 of the acts of 1994, section 2 of chapter 113 of the acts of 1996 or section 2 of chapter 205 of the acts of 1996; (iii) amounts paid by the Massachusetts Port Authority pursuant to subsection (f) of section 12 of said chapter 81A; and (iv) investment earnings, if any, thereon. Amounts credited to said fund shall be used, without further appropriation, only for the following purposes: (a) the payment of the principal, including sinking fund payments of and premium, if any, and interest on any bonds or notes issued by the commonwealth for the purpose of paying any costs of the Central Artery/Ted Williams Tunnel project or (b) any direct capital expenditures of the commonwealth to pay any cost of the Central Artery/Ted Williams Tunnel project. In order to accommodate discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the department of highways may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts not to exceed the aggregate amount intended to be paid to the capital expenditure reserve fund by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Massachusetts Port Authority, as evidenced by agreements entered into between each such authority and the secretary for administration and finance.
Emergency Mitigation Response Recovery Trust Fund Section 2DDD. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth, a separate fund to be known as the Department of Fire Services Hazardous Materials Emergency Mitigation Response Recovery Trust Fund, consisting of any monies appropriated to the fund by the general court, any monies recovered pursuant to chapter 21K of the General Laws, any monies received from fines and any income derived from the investment of monies transferred, appropriated or recovered by the fund, not to exceed $250,000 in any fiscal year. Amounts credited to the fund shall be available for expenditure, without prior appropriation, by the state fire marshal, as head of the department of fire services, who shall act as trustee, solely for the mitigation of hazardous materials emergency response incidents throughout the commonwealth and the reimbursement of all other reasonable related costs to hazardous materials mitigation emergency response member departments, cities, and towns responding to said incidents or for other reasonable expenditures necessary to implement the provisions of said chapter 21K. The department of fire services may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify amounts for payment in anticipation of expected receipts. Monies deposited in the trust fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year, provided that said monies do not exceed $250,000, shall not revert to the General Fund, any funds in excess of $250,000 shall revert to the General Fund and be made available for appropriation. No expenditures from said fund shall be authorized that would cause said fund to be deficient at the end of any fiscal year.
Section 2E. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Federal Highway Construction Program Fund. Money received from the federal government on account of projects financed in whole or in part by appropriations authorized to be charged to said fund shall be credited to said fund, except that amounts so received which represent reimbursement for expenditures from Highway Fund personal services appropriations shall be credited to the Highway Fund.
Section 2EEE. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Care Quality Improvement Trust Fund. There shall be credited to the fund: (a) amounts transferred pursuant to section 25 of chapter 118G; (b) amounts transferred pursuant to section 26 of said chapter 118G; (c) any appropriation, grant, gift or other contribution explicitly made to the fund; and (d) any income derived from investment of amounts credited to the fund. Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended pursuant to said sections 25 and 26 and any other special law. In conjunction with the preparation of the commonwealth’s annual financial report, the comptroller shall prepare and issue an annual report detailing the revenues and expenditures of the fund. The comptroller shall certify payments, including payments during the accounts payable period, in anticipation of revenues, including receivables due and collectibles during the months of July and August, from the fund for the purpose of making the expenditures authorized under said sections 25 and 26 of said chapter 118G or any other special law.
capital planning and operations Section 2F. The governor and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance in their long range capital facilities development plans and capital budget requests and the secretaries of the various executive offices in their review and recommendations with regard to such plans and requests may include among them plans and requests for one or more contingency, or other lump-sum or reserve accounts, including but not limited to planning, design and construction contingency, preventive maintenance, emergency repair, energy conservation, life-safety, and architectural barrier funds or accounts. Each shall include in their plans and request recommendations as to the purpose of such funds or accounts and the priorities and procedures for allocating the monies kept therein.
The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall forthwith establish priorities and procedures for allocating such funds in conformity with the terms of the appropriation authorizing them and legislative intent in regard to long range capital facilities development plans. The commissioner shall forthwith submit copies of the priorities and procedures so established to the commissioner of administration and to the house and senate ways and means committees.
Unless otherwise provided for in the appropriation authorizing such funds or accounts or other applicable law and in conformity therewith and the priorities and procedures established by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, the monies kept therein shall not be allocated unless and until:(a) the using agency, whether or not it is the agency requesting the funds for the proposed project, certifies in writing to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance that the project corresponds to the current needs of the using agency, including its current long range capital facilities development plan;(b) the commissioner requests that one or more of the directors of the office of programming, office of project management, or the office of facilities management review the project proposal, and the director or directors certify in writing to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance that the project proposal reflects the agency’s needs as stated, that it provides an accurate estimate of the project requirements, cost and schedule, and that the project can be accomplished within the limits of the funds requested;(c) The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance certifies in writing to the commissioner of administration and to the house and senate ways and means committee that the project proposal has been evaluated in conformity with the terms of the appropriation or authorization of the fund or account and the priorities and procedures promulgated by him pursuant thereto and approves the allocation.
The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall, upon his certification, file copies of the project proposal and other supporting documents, his certification and those of the director or directors whose review is requested and the agency requesting such funds with the commissioner of administration and with the house and senate ways and means committees.
If either the director or directors whose review is requested or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance should fail to give the aforementioned certifications or approvals, the commissioner shall forthwith send notice of his decision and the reasons therefor to the commissioner of administration and to the house and senate ways and means committees.
The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall by February fifteenth of each year prepare and submit to the commissioner of administration and to the general court a report containing separate sections summarizing the disposition and the status of the funds or accounts and descriptions of all projects for which monies from such fund have been allocated.
Assistance Fund Section 2FF. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Children’s and Seniors’ Health Care Assistance Fund. There shall be credited to said fund (a) all revenues collected pursuant to sections seven A and seven B of chapter sixty-four C, together with any penalties, forfeitures, interest, costs of suits and fines collected in connection therewith, all as determined by the commissioner of revenue according to his best information and belief; and (b) any appropriations transferred to said fund pursuant to the provisions of subsection (9) of section 9B of chapter 118E, any federal reimbursement received for medical benefits provided to expansion beneficiaries as defined by subsection 2 of section 9A of said chapter 118E, any other appropriations or monies made available by law for the purposes of the demonstration project known as MassHealth established pursuant to said section 9A of chapter 118E, and any premiums, grants, gifts, or other contributions explicitly made to said fund; (c) any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to said fund; (d) any federal reimbursement received for benefits and payments provided pursuant to section 9C of said chapter 118E; and (e) any appropriations transferred to said fund pursuant to the provisions of section 10E of chapter 118E. Amounts credited to said fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, for: (a) the provision of medical benefits to expansion beneficiaries pursuant to section nine A of chapter one hundred and eighteen E; (b) a program of health care assistance authorized pursuant to the provisions of section 16C of chapter 118E; (c) a program of primary and preventive health care for children from birth through age 18 authorized pursuant to the provisions of section 24G of chapter 111; provided, however, that expenditures from said fund, exclusive of revenue which may be received through a manufacturer rebate arrangement, for said pharmacy assistance program shall not exceed thirty million dollars in any fiscal year.
The comptroller shall report in the annual statutory basis financial report on the amounts of revenue credited to said fund as defined by clause (a) of the preceding paragraph for the prior fiscal year and an estimate of said amounts projected to be credited to said fund for the current fiscal year. Not later than January first, the comptroller shall report an update of said revenues for the current fiscal year and prepare estimates of said revenues to be credited to said fund in the subsequent fiscal year. Said report shall be filed with the secretary of administration and finance, the commissioner of medical assistance and the house and senate committees on ways and means for the purposes of making and evaluating the budget neutrality finding required pursuant to section nine B of chapter one hundred and eighteen E and for the purpose of adjusting, as necessary, revenues available to support the pharmacy assistance program established by section sixteen B of said chapter one hundred and eighteen E. In the event that revenues credited to said fund are less than the amounts estimated to be credited to said fund, the comptroller shall duly notify said secretary, commissioner and committees that said revenue deficiency shall require proportionate reductions in expenditures from the revenues available to support programs appropriated from said fund.
All expenditures made from said fund shall be made subject to appropriation; provided, however, that five percent of said fund shall be held in reserve to be appropriated only to compensate for declines in available revenues which would result in the termination of benefits to persons eligible for such benefits under the provisions of said chapters one hundred and eighteen E and one hundred and eighteen G.
Section 2FFF. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth an expendable trust to be known as the Dam Safety Trust. There shall be credited to the trust all receipts and revenues generated through agreements executed between the department of environmental management and public or private entities for dam safety purposes, and all fines, costs, expenses, and interest imposed pursuant to sections 44 to 48A, inclusive, of chapter 253. The amounts credited to the trust shall be available for expenditure subject to appropriation, by the department of environmental management up to an amount of $250,000 each fiscal year for the costs associated with the operations of the office of dam safety within the department, but such expenditures shall be solely for the purposes stated in this section and no funds shall be transferred from the trust to any other fund. The comptroller may assess the trust for fringe and overhead costs pursuant to section 5D and 6B. If the amount credited to the trust exceeds $250,000, the excess amount shall be deposited into the General Fund. No expenditure made from the fund shall cause the fund to become deficient at any point during fiscal year.
Section 2G. There is established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, consisting of monies appropriated to the fund by the general court and income derived from the investment of monies appropriated to the fund, known as the capital facility planning fund.
Allocation of monies from such fund shall be made according to the provisions of section 2F of this chapter. The purpose of the capital facility planning fund shall be to provide monies for the planning of capital facility projects by state agencies other than counties. Priority in the allocation of monies from such fund shall be given to projects:(i) which are included in any long range capital facilities development plan previously approved by the general court or in any master plan, consistent with such long range plans, previously approved by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance or(ii) whose rapid progress is indicated by statutes which provide for capital facility projects to advance specific agency programs, goals or objectives; and for which the delay in seeking monies through the normal capital budget process provided for by this chapter would cause a serious loss in use of the proposed capital facility if it were unavailable or cause a percentage increase in total project cost substantially larger than that for other projects at a comparable stage of development.
Monies from the capital facility planning fund may be allocated, in accordance with priorities stated above, for the preparation of environmental impact reports to comply with the requirements of chapter twelve and chapter thirty.
Monies from the capital facility fund may be allocated, in accordance with the priorities stated above, for options to purchase land or buildings which will be used for capital facility projects specifically identified in the allocation request.
If monies spent on a capital facility project are allocated from the capital facility planning fund and the funds for the acquisition of a site for or the design or design and construction of such project are appropriated or authorized then a sum of money equal to that allocation shall be deducted from the amount so appropriated or authorized and returned to the capital facility planning fund.
In no case shall a request for monies or monies be allocated for projects for which a similar request is currently being considered according to the capital budget process for the current fiscal year provided for by this chapter or which was so considered during the capital budget process for the previous fiscal year and failed to receive an appropriation or authorization.
Requests for monies from the capital facility planning fund may be made by state agencies other than counties and only after approval of such requests by the secretary of the executive office in which that agency is located, except in the case of a public institution of higher learning, only after approval by the board of higher education.
facilities Section 2GGG. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the division of medical assistance and the department of public health shall deposit all monies collected as civil monetary penalties from nursing homes participating in the Medicaid program authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act into a separate expendable trust fund which shall be designated and known as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Civil Monetary Penalties Fund. Monies collected as civil monetary penalties from nursing homes shall include both monies collected from Medicaid-only facilities, known as nursing facilities, and the commonwealth portion of funds collected from dually participating facilities, known as skilled nursing facilities or nursing facilities, for noncompliance with sections 1919(b), 1919(c) and 1919(d) of the Social Security Act and monies collected from individuals pursuant to sections 1919(b)(3)(B)(ii)(I), 1919(b)(3)(B)(ii)(II) and 1919(g)(2)(A)(i) of the Social Security Act. The department may expend monies from this fund without further appropriation in accordance with this section. The department shall administer the fund in accordance with law including, without limitation, section 1919(h)(2)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act. The department shall expend monies in the fund for measures to protect the health and property of nursing home residents in nursing home facilities found by the department or the secretary of health and human services to be deficient including, without limitation, the following: (i) nursing facility staff training and education; (ii) technical assistance for troubled facilities; (iii) dissemination of best practice models for quality of care issues, such as malnutrition and dehydration; (iv) state operation of facilities pending correction of deficiencies or closure; (v) reimbursement of facility residents for lost personal funds or property; and (vi) costs of relocating residents from 1 facility to another. No expenditure shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the end of the fiscal year.
Section 2H. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund, consisting of amounts transferred to the fund in accordance with the provisions of section five C and income derived from the investment of amounts so transferred. The purpose of the fund shall be to create and maintain a reserve to which any available portion of a consolidated net surplus in the operating funds shall be transferred and from which appropriations may be made for the following purposes: (1) to make up any difference between actual state revenues and allowable state revenues in any fiscal year in which actual revenues fall below the allowable amount and (2) to replace the state and local loss of federal funds or (3) for any event which threatens the health, safety or welfare of the people or the fiscal stability of the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions. Such event or events, as determined by the general court, shall include, but not limited to, a substantial decline in economic indicators which result in severe reductions in state revenues or state financial assistance to local governmental units, or court ordered or otherwise mandated assumptions by the commonwealth of programs or costs of programs previously borne by local governmental units. The determination by the general court to transfer and appropriate for any such purpose shall be made, after a hearing before the joint committee on ways and means and a comprehensive analysis of alternative legislative action and revenue sources, upon a finding that the transfer and appropriation will not adversely affect the overall fiscal health of the commonwealth, taking into account indicators of future economic performance and conditions affecting state revenues.
In the event that the amount remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year exceeds 15 per cent of the budgeted revenues and other financial resources pertaining to the budgeted funds, as confirmed by the comptroller in the audited statutory basis financial report for the immediately preceding fiscal year, the amounts so in excess shall be transferred to the Tax Reduction Fund established by section 2I.
[Text of section expires as provided by 1996, 450, Sec. 267.
] Section 2HH. There is hereby established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Federal Facilities Reserve Fund. There shall be credited to said fund all revenues resulting from the development leasing, operation, granting of concessions or other use of the selected site and its facilities or agreements related thereto including, without limitation, grants, fees, compensation, payments or revenues of any kind from any agency of the federal government or any other governmental entity.
Amounts credited to said fund shall be available, subject to appropriation, for planning and studies, acquisition of land and buildings and interest therein, the preparation of plans and specifications, the development, construction, reconstruction, improvement, renovation, enlargement, expansion, remodeling, build-out, repair, furnishings and equipment, or management, operation or maintenance of the selected site and its facilities and any administration costs associated therewith; provided, however, that said funds shall not be used for management, operation or maintenance unless the commissioner determines that adequate reserves necessary to meet the foreseeable capital needs of the selected site and its facilities will be available in said Fund despite such use.
Section 2HHH. There shall be set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Open Space Acquisition Revolving Fund. There shall be credited to the fund all revenues or other financing sources directed to the fund by appropriation, any income derived from the investing of all amounts credited to the fund and the monies from the repayment of loans from the fund. Monies credited to the fund may be expended by the department of environmental management, without further appropriation, for loans to cities and towns for the acquisition of open space under section 3E of chapter 21.
Section 2I. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Tax Reduction Fund, consisting of amounts transferred to the fund in accordance with the provisions of section two H and of section six of chapter twenty-nine B and income derived from the investment of amounts so transferred. The purpose of the fund shall be to maintain a reserve which shall be used only to reduce personal income taxes as provided herein.
On or before October 31, the secretary for administration and finance shall certify to the governor the total amount in the Tax Reduction Fund as shown in the financial report of the comptroller for the preceding fiscal year. A temporary increase in the amounts of the personal exemption allowable on the income tax shall be provided, subject to appropriation, for the taxable year ending on the succeeding December thirty-first to the extent that the amount in the Tax Reduction Fund equals an integer multiple of five percent of the amount of the personal income taxes which will not be collected for said taxable year on account of said personal exemptions. Said secretary for administration and finance shall recommend to the commissioner of revenue the amount of the temporary increase, of any, in said personal exemptions for said taxable year. The comptroller shall transfer from the Tax Reduction Fund forty percent of the amount equal to said integer multiple of five percent of the amounts not collected due to said personal exemptions to the Local Aid Fund, and sixty percent of said amount to the General Fund.
grants, donations, annual audit and report Section 2III. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Agricultural Resolve and Security Fund, the funds of which shall be expended for the purpose of fostering agriculture in the commonwealth, as the term “agriculture” is defined pursuant to section 1A of chapter 128, and for furthering other purposes of the department of food and agriculture as set forth in any general or special law. These purposes may include, but shall not be limited to, agricultural education, support for sustainable agriculture and pollution prevention, agricultural integrated pest management programs, agricultural land preservation, control of animal diseases and emergency preparedness.
The Agricultural Resolve and Security Fund shall receive monies from: (1) gifts, grants and donations from public or private sources; (2) federal reimbursements and grants-in-aid; and (3) any interest earned from the fund. The state treasurer shall receive, deposit and invest funds held in such a manner as to ensure the highest interest rate available consistent with the safety of the fund. The books and records of the fund shall be subject to an annual audit by the state auditor. The department may expend such funds, subject to appropriation, and no expenditure from the fund shall cause it to be in deficiency at the close of a fiscal year. The commissioner of food and agriculture shall report annually to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on natural resources and agriculture on income received into the fund and the sources of that income, any expenditures from the fund and their purposes and fund balances.
Section 2JJ. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Child Care Quality Fund. There shall be credited to said Fund revenues received from the sale of Invest in Children distinctive registration plates issued pursuant to subsection (b) of section 2E of chapter 90. Amounts credited to said fund shall be available for expenditure by the commissioner of the office for children for providing grants to not for profit child care organizations for the purpose of improving child care services including, but not limited to, teacher training, training and education of consumers and parents, the purchase of educational curricula and materials, specialized training for bilingual and bicultural providers and consumers and technical assistance for acquiring accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Section 2JJJ. (a) There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Registers Technological Fund for the benefit of the registers of deeds under the control of the state secretary. This fund shall consist of the amounts specified in and collected pursuant to section 31 of chapter 9. The state treasurer shall deposit these amounts into the fund, which shall be expended solely for the purposes of automation, modernization, operation and technological improvements at the registries of deeds. The state secretary for the benefit of the registers under his control, shall submit a spending plan to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, who shall refer the plan to the house and senate committees on ways and means and house and senate committees on post audit and oversight. In preparing the plan, the secretary shall consult with the commonwealth’s chief information officer and require that the projects and purchases funded through disbursements in this section shall be consistent with the enterprise information technology strategy, plan and information technology standards adopted by him. All such monies shall be used to purchase information technology systems that are interoperable with other like systems that are used or will be used by all registries. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the cost and description of all intangible, personal and real property to be purchased or services to be received and any and all personnel changes for the automation, modernization, operation and technological improvements. If the general court takes no final action relative to the plan within 30 days after the date on which the plan is first referred to those committees, the state treasurer shall disburse the funds according to the plan.
(b) In conjunction with the preparation of the commonwealth’s comprehensive annual financial report, the comptroller shall prepare and issue an annual report detailing the revenue and expenditure of the fund.
Section 2KKK. (a) There shall be established on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund for the counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth and Nantucket, to be known as the County Registers Technological Fund, for the benefit of the registers of deeds under the control of the governments of those counties. The fund shall consist of the amounts specified in and collected pursuant to section 41 of chapter 36. The state treasurer shall deposit these amounts into the fund, which shall be expended, subject to section 40 of said chapter 36, solely for the purposes of automation, modernization, operation and technological improvements at the registries of deeds. Each such register shall submit a spending plan to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, who shall refer the plan to the house and senate committees on ways and means and house and senate committees on post audit and oversight. In preparing the plan, the register shall consult with the commonwealth’s chief information officer and the state secretary and require that the projects and purchases funded through disbursements in this section shall be consistent with the enterprise information technology strategy, plan information and technology standards adopted by him. All such monies shall be used to purchase information technology systems that are interoperable with other like systems that are used or will be used by all registries. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the cost and description of all intangible, personal and real property to be purchased or services to be received for the automation, modernization, operation and technological improvements. If the general court takes no final action relative to the plan within 30 days after the date on which the plan is first referred to those committees, the state treasurer shall disburse the funds according to the plan.
(b) In conjunction with the preparation of the commonwealth’s comprehensive annual financial report, the comptroller shall prepare and issue an annual report detailing the revenue and expenditure of the fund.
Section 2L. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund, consisting of amounts credited to the fund in accordance with chapter twenty-nine C. The fund shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of said chapter twenty-nine C by the board of trustees of the water pollution abatement trust created thereunder and shall be held in trust exclusively for the purposes and the beneficiaries described therein. The state treasurer shall be treasurer-custodian of the fund and shall have the custody of its monies and securities.
Trust Fund Section 2LLL. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification Trust Fund. Amounts credited to such fund shall be available, without further appropriation, to the department of state police for the purposes of financing fingerprint identification verifications with the fingerprint records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigations or any other federal agency for the verification of firearms license applicant identities. $25 of the fee assessed under sections 122, 122B, 129B, 131, 131A, 131F, and 131H of chapter 140 of the General Laws shall be deposited into the fund. The funds shall be utilized for the sole purpose of making payments charged to the department by the Federal Bureau of Investigations or other entity for fingerprint identification verification.
and Engineering Grant Fund Section 2MMM. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Massachusetts Mathematics, Science, Technology and Engineering Grant Fund, hereinafter referred to as the pipeline fund, to which shall be credited any appropriations, bond proceeds or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited thereto, and additional funds designated by the corporation for deposit to the pipeline fund, including any pension funds, federal grants or loans, or private donations made available to the chancellor of higher education for the purpose. The board of higher education shall hold the pipeline fund in an account or accounts separate from other funds or accounts. Amounts credited to the pipeline fund shall be used by the chancellor of higher education, in consultation with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Massachusetts Technology Park Corporation to carry out the purposes of subsection (b).
(b) The public purpose of the pipeline fund shall be to increase the number of Massachusetts students who participate in programs that support careers in fields related to mathematics, science, technology, and engineering. In furtherance of this public purpose, and in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the subcommittee on science, mathematics, technology and engineering education of the Massachusetts council of economic advisors, the chancellor of higher education, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of education and the president of the University of Massachusetts, shall employ the pipeline fund through grants and other disbursements and activities that are calculated to increase the number of qualified mathematics, technology, engineering and science teachers in the commonwealth and to improve the mathematics, technology, engineering and science educational offerings available in public and private schools. The grants and other disbursements and activities may involve, without limitation, the University of Massachusetts, state and community colleges, business and industry partnerships, workforce investment boards, private colleges and universities, and public and private schools, and school districts to work together to further the purposes of the pipeline fund. The grants and other disbursements and activities may support, without limitation: (i) the development and use of innovative curricula, courses and programs in mathematics, technology, engineering and science for new teachers and in-service teachers that provide appropriate mathematics, technology, engineering and science content, and instruction in innovative ways to teach mathematics, technology, engineering and science, including but not limited to the use of hands on, experimental learning, and that are consistent with the Massachusetts standards and curriculum frameworks established pursuant to sections 1D and 1E of chapter 69 but, not less than $360,000 dollars shall be allocated to support a collaborative planning effort among six Workforce Investment Boards to develop a pilot high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Internship program (S.
T.
E.
M.
) designed to increase the number of high school students pursuing post-secondary education in S.
T.
E.
M. careers.
; (ii) the development of a mathematics, science, technology and engineering network to create, implement, share and make broadly and publicly available best practices and innovative programs relative to mathematics, technology, engineering and science instruction and expanding and maintaining student interest in mathematics, science, technology and engineering studies and careers; (iii) effective ways to teach mathematics, technology, engineering and science; and (iv) give priority to grants that provide effective course and curricula for in-service teachers in low income schools or school districts. Not more than 20 per cent of the fund may be warded to any single institution.
(c) The board of higher education shall promulgate policies, rules and regulations consistent with this chapter to implement subsections (a) and (b). The chancellor of higher education shall file any such policies, rules, and regulations with the joint committee on education, arts, and humanities for review and comment at least 30 days before the effective date of the policies, rules, and regulations.
Section 2NNN. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Roche Community Rink Fund. There shall be credited to such fund revenues generated from fees, fines, leases, gifts, grants, interest earned on any monies within this fund or any other revenue sources at the Roche Community Rink, formerly the Bryant Rink, in the West Roxbury section of the city of Boston. Revenues credited to the fund shall be used, not subject to appropriation, for operational costs, capital improvements, equipment and maintenance of said rink, including the costs of personnel, but no expenditure shall be made from the fund that shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the close of a fiscal year.
Section 2O. There is hereby established in the Highway Fund a subfund to be known as the Infrastructure Fund, which will be invested by the state treasurer, and which for the purposes of chapter twenty-nine and twenty-nine B shall be deemed a part of the Highway Fund. Forty-seven and sixty-two hundredths percent of the receipts paid into the treasury of the commonwealth and directed to be credited to the Highway Fund under the provisions of paragraph (a) of section thirteen of chapter sixty-four A, hereinafter referred to, together with investment earnings thereon, as “special receipts,” shall be credited to the Infrastructure Fund and used in accordance with this section. Expenditures from the Infrastructure Fund shall, subject to appropriation, be made for the following purposes: (i) for the payment of the principal, including sinking fund payments of and premium, if any, and interest on special obligation bonds of the commonwealth, as hereinafter described, issued for one or more of the purposes described in clause (2) of section thirty-four of chapter ninety, (ii) for the maintenance of, or provision for, any reserves, additional security, insurance or other form of credit enhancement required or provided for in any trust agreement entered into pursuant to this section to secure such bonds, and (iii) for direct expenditures for any such purposes described in said clause (2), any such direct expenditures to be made only in compliance with any applicable restrictions relating thereto, including without limitation any coverage requirements contained in any such trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement, and (iv) for capital projects and capital assistance funds for regional transit authorities as described in section twenty-three of chapter eight hundred and eleven of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-five.
Any such bonds shall be authorized by a vote, taken by the yeas and nays, of two-thirds of each house of the general court present and voting thereon. Any such bonds shall be special obligations of the commonwealth payable from special receipts to the extent available and in any case payable solely from monies credited to the Highway Fund; notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, including without limitation section sixty A of chapter twenty-nine, such bonds shall not be general obligations of the commonwealth. Bonds may be issued in such manner and on such terms and conditions as the state treasurer may determine in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph and, to the extent not inconsistent with the provisions hereof, provisions of general law for the issuance of bonds of the commonwealth. Bonds may be secured by a trust agreement entered into by the state treasurer, with the concurrence of the secretary of administration and finance and the secretary of transportation and construction, on behalf of the commonwealth, which trust agreement may pledge or assign all or any part of moneys credited to the Highway Fund and rights to receive the same, whether existing or coming into existence and whether held or thereafter acquired, and the proceeds thereof. The state treasurer is also authorized, with the concurrence of the secretary of administration and finance and the secretary of transportation and construction, to enter into additional security, insurance or other forms of credit enhancement which may be secured on a parity or subordinate basis with the bonds. A pledge in any such trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement shall be valid and binding from the time such pledge shall be made without any physical delivery or further act, and the lien of such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise, irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Any such pledge shall be perfected by filing of the trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement in the records of the state treasurer, and no filing need be made under chapter one hundred and six. Any such trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement may establish provisions defining defaults and establishing remedies and other matters relating to the rights and security of the holders of the bonds or other secured parties as determined by the state treasurer, including provisions relating to the establishment of reserves, the issuance of additional or refunding bonds, whether or not secured on a parity basis, the application of receipts, monies or funds pledged pursuant to such agreement, hereinafter referred to as “pledged funds”, and other matters deemed necessary or desirable by the state treasurer for the security of such bonds, and may also regulate the custody, investment and application of moneys. Any such bonds shall be deemed to be investment securities under chapter one hundred and six, shall be securities in which any public officer, fiduciary, insurance company, financial institution or investment company may properly invest funds and shall be securities which may be deposited with any public custodian for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds is authorized by law. Any such bonds, their transfer and the income therefrom, including profit on the sale thereof, shall at all times be exempt from taxation by and within the commonwealth.
The provisions hereof relating to bonds shall also be applicable to the issuance of notes insofar as such provisions may be appropriate therefor.
In order to increase the marketability of any such bonds or notes issued by the commonwealth, and in consideration of the acceptance of payment for any such bonds or notes, the commonwealth covenants with the purchasers and all subsequent holders and transferees of any such bonds or notes that while any such bond or note shall remain outstanding, and so long as the principal of or interest on any such bond or note shall remain unpaid, (i) special receipts shall not be diverted from the purposes identified herein, (ii) no pledged funds shall be diverted from the Highway Fund, (iii) in any fiscal year of the commonwealth, unless and until an appropriation has been made which is sufficient to pay the principal, including sinking fund payments, of and interest on all such bonds and notes of the commonwealth and to provide for or maintain any reserves, additional security, insurance or other form of credit enhancement required or provided for in any trust agreement securing any such bonds or notes, no pledged funds shall be applied to any other use and (iv) so long as such revenues are necessary, as determined by the state treasurer in accordance with any applicable trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement, for the purposes for which they have been pledged, the rates of the fees collected pursuant to section thirty-three of chapter ninety and of the excises imposed in chapters sixty-four A, sixty-four E and sixty-four F shall not be reduced below the amount in effect at the time of issuance of any such bond or note.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirteen of chapter sixty-four A or any other general or special law to the contrary, no more than ten percent of the net fiscal year receipts in any fiscal year prior to July first, two thousand, under the excise imposed in section four of said chapter sixty-four A, including all amounts received as a result of penalties, forfeitures, interest, cost of suits and fines, less any amounts reimbursed under sections seven and seven A of said chapter sixty-four A, shall be expended for the construction of the central artery/third harbor tunnel project. If, in any such fiscal year, less than ten percent of the net fiscal year receipts is expended for such construction, the difference between ten percent of the net fiscal year receipts and the amount actually expended on such construction during that fiscal year shall be available during that or any subsequent fiscal year for any other construction or reconstruction purpose, or in any subsequent fiscal year for central artery/third harbor tunnel construction; provided, however, amounts of said ten percent net fiscal year receipts expended in any fiscal year for purposes other than the central artery/third harbor tunnel construction project as hereinbefore provided, shall be available for expenditure for central artery/third harbor tunnel construction in any subsequent fiscal year. If the above-described difference is used in a subsequent year for such central artery/third harbor tunnel construction, the total amount used for such central artery/third harbor tunnel construction during that subsequent fiscal year may exceed the ten percent of net fiscal year receipts permitted by this section, provided that the total amount used for such construction shall not exceed twenty percent of the net fiscal year receipts in that subsequent fiscal year. Further, notwithstanding the foregoing, no more than twenty percent of the special receipts received in any fiscal year shall be paid in that or any subsequent fiscal year for debt service on bonds or notes or portions thereof, issued to finance the central artery/third harbor tunnel project, so-called, or for direct expenditures on such project, and any trust agreement or credit enhancement agreement entered into by the commonwealth pursuant to this section, shall contain a covenant to such effect.
Section 2Q. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Intragovernmental Service Fund. There shall be credited to such fund all revenues generated through the charging of any state agency for services provided by another state agency, including, but not limited to charges levied by the human resources division for workers’ compensation chargeback.
Amounts credited to said fund shall be expended subject to appropriations.
Section 2QQ. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the Drinking Water Revolving Fund, consisting of amounts credited to the fund in accordance with chapter 29C. The fund shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of said chapter 29C by the board of trustees of the water pollution abatement trust created thereunder and shall be held in trust exclusively for the purposes and the beneficiaries described therein. The state treasurer shall be treasurer and custodian of the fund and shall have the custody of its moneys and securities.
[Text of section effective until December 31, 2005. Repealed by 1998, 175, Sec. 3A. See 1998, 175, Sec. 25 as amended by 1999, 172, Sec. 1 and 2002, 184, Sec. 159.
] Section 2RR. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Workforce Training Fund, in this section called the Fund. There shall be credited to the Fund the workforce training contributions required by section 14L of chapter 151A.
(b) Subject to appropriation, the commissioner, which in this section shall have the meaning assigned by section 1 of chapter 151A, shall make expenditures from the Fund for the following purposes:(1) To provide grants to employers, employer groups, labor organizations and training providers for projects to provide education and training to existing employees and newly hired workers. In determining who shall receive grants, the commissioner shall consider the following criteria:(i) whether the project will increase the skills of low-wage, low-skilled workers;(ii) whether the project will create or preserve jobs at wages sufficient to support a family;(iii) whether the project will have a positive economic impact on a region with high levels of unemployment or a high concentration of low-skilled workers;(iv) whether the employer has made a commitment to provide significant private investment in training during the duration of the grant and after the grant has expired;(v) whether the project will supplement, rather than replace, private investments in training;(vi) whether the employer is a small business that lacks the capacity to provide adequate training without such assistance;(vii) whether the project will provide residents of the commonwealth with training for jobs that could otherwise be filled only by residents of other nations; and(viii) whether the project is consistent with the workforce development blueprint prepared by the regional employment board.
(ix) whether the employer has recently or plans to locate its business in the commonwealth and employ residents of the commonwealth who will benefit from training, provided that said employer shall not receive funds until said employer has located its business in the commonwealth.
[Second paragraph of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) effective until June 30, 2005. For text effective June 30, 2005 until December 31, 2005, see below.
] Such grants shall be for amounts not to exceed $1,000,000 and shall be for a term not to exceed two years.
[Second paragraph of paragraph (1) of subsection (b) effective June 30, 2005 until December 31, 2005. See 2003, 141, Sec. 79. Repealed by 1998, 175, Sec. 3A. See 1998, 175, Sec. 25 as amended by 1999, 172, Sec. 1 and 2002, 184, Sec. 159. For text effective until June 30, 2005, see above.
] Such grants shall be for amounts not to exceed $250,000 and shall be for a term not to exceed two years.
(2) To provide technical assistance to increase training opportunities available to employees. The commissioner may provide this direct technical assistance by using existing institutions such as regional employment boards, community colleges, labor organizations, administrative entities for service delivery areas under the federal Job Training Partnership Act, and other entities that have expertise in providing technical assistance regarding employee training or with employees of the department of labor and workforce development or of the Commonwealth Corporation. Such expenditures shall not exceed $3,000,000 each year and the commissioner shall demonstrate that each dollar expended generates not less than $5 in private investment in job training.
(c) The commissioner shall adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this section, including the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (b). The commissioner may contract with a private organization to carry out some or all of the commissioner’s duties provided in this section.
(d) Not later than September 1 of each year, the commissioner shall file a report in writing with the joint committee on commerce and labor and the house and senate committees on ways and means concerning the grants made in the fiscal year ending on the preceding June 30, together with such recommendations and additional information as the commissioner considers appropriate.
(e) Documentary materials or data made or received by an employee of the division of employment and training, to the extent that such materials or data consist of trade secrets or commercial or financial information regarding the operation of a business conducted by an applicant for a grant from the fund established by this section, shall not be public records and shall not be subject to section 10 of chapter 66.
(f) The director, in consultation with the secretary of economic development, shall adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this section, including the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (b). The regulations shall provide for a rolling applications process and shall allow employers with plans to locate in the commonwealth and employ commonwealth residents to apply for grants. The director may contract with a private organization to carry out some or all of the director’s duties provided in this section.
The board may require a match or co-investment from participating organizations; provided, however, that in determining the amount of any match, the board shall establish different requirements for organizations based on the size of the organization, its profit or not-for-profit status and financial capacity.
(g) Documentary materials or data made or received by an employee of the department of workforce development, or previously by the division of employment and training, to the extent that such materials or data consist of trade secrets or commercial or financial information regarding the operation of a business conducted by an applicant for a grant from the fund established by this section, shall not be public records and shall not be subject to section 10 of chapter 66.
(h) The director shall, in accordance with section 328 of chapter 127 of the acts of 1999, prepare a performance evaluation of the workforce training grants awarded under this section. The evaluation shall assess the effectiveness of each grant awarded in terms of the (1) development of employee skills; (2) increase in employee wages; (3) improvement in employee retention rates; (4) improvement of employee productivity; (5) impact on employer’s business and (6) impact on regional economy, including reduction of regional unemployment levels. The director shall require, as a condition of receiving a grant under this section, employers to provide, within a time frame following the end of the grant period as established by the director, such information and data determined by the director to be necessary to complete the performance evaluation.
(i) The director shall make no grant under this section to any person or entity from the Fund, nor shall any technical assistance be provided by the department out of the proceeds of the Fund, to any person or entity unless the person or entity applies for and receives a certificate of tax in good standing with the department of revenue with respect to all tax types for which it should be registered and for which it is obligated to file reports or returns. A certified copy of the certificate shall be presented to the director before the issuance of any grant under this section before the department’s providing any technical assistance to the person or entity.
(j) There is hereby established a board to be known as the Workforce Training Fund Advisory Board, consisting of 9 members, who are citizens of the commonwealth, to be appointed by the governor. Three members shall be persons representing businesses or employers; 3 shall be persons representing employees or employees of labor organizations, 2 of whom shall be selected from a list of 5 recommended by the President of the Massachusetts AFL–CIO; and 3 shall be persons representative of the public, 2 of whom shall have expertise or experience in workforce training and 1 of whom shall represent a non-profit workforce training provider. The governor shall designate as chairman of the advisory board 1 of the members appointed as representative of the public. Members shall serve for a term of 6 years. Of the members originally appointed, 1 employer representative and 1 employee representative shall serve for a term of 4 years, and 1 employer representative and 1 employee representative shall serve for a term of 6 years; and thereafter, as their terms expire, the governor shall appoint members for terms of 6 years. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the governor for the remainder of the unexpired term. All members shall serve until the qualification of their respective successors. Members shall serve without compensation. The advisory board shall advise the director of the department of workforce development on the administration of the workforce training fund grant program, including but not limited to reviewing and making recommendations on grant requirements and selection criteria and reviewing grant applications and making recommendations about grant awards. The advisory board shall, from time to time, submit recommendations to the legislature on any legislative changes it deems necessary for the successful operation of the program.
(k) To provide technical assistance to increase training opportunities available to employees. The director may provide this direct technical assistance by using existing institutions such as local workforce investment boards, community colleges, labor organizations, administrative entities for service delivery areas under the federal Workforce Investment Act, or its successor statute, and other entities that have expertise in providing technical assistance regarding employee training or with employees of the departments of labor and workforce development or of the commonwealth corporation. Such expenditures shall not exceed $3,000,000 each year and the director shall demonstrate that each dollar expended generates not less than $5 in private investment in job training. Of the $3,000,000, not less than $75,000 shall be provided annually to the Workforce Investment Board Association to support the activities of business, labor, education, youth councils and community members in leading regional workforce development systems; each of the 16 workforce investment boards shall receive $75,000 annually; and each of the 16 workforce investment boards shall receive $20,000 annually for youth councils.
Section 2TT. There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Liability Management and Reduction Fund. The purposes of said fund shall be to provide: (1) insurance coverage to state agencies by charging premiums to such agencies for the payment of judgments and settlements and the commonwealth’s investigation and litigation costs in connection with tort claims under chapter 258; (2) services to reduce the number and size of claims against agencies including, but not limited to, risk reduction training programs and incentive payments of not more than $1,000 for effective risk reduction suggestions; and (3) such other services and activities as the comptroller shall determine are desirable to create financial and other incentives for agencies to reduce the commonwealth’s tort and other monetary liability, including litigation costs; provided, however, that on or before July 1, 1999, any and all proceeds of said fund shall be used exclusively for the purposes outlined in clause (2). The fund shall consist of premiums charged to agencies, any amounts appropriated for the purposes of the fund and interest income from investments made by the state treasurer of amounts in the fund. Monies in the fund shall be expended by the comptroller under section 16 of chapter 7A, without further appropriation, for the purposes of the fund.
The comptroller shall submit not later than December 31 of each year to the house and senate committees on ways and means, the secretary of administration and finance and the attorney general a report of the activities of the fund. The report shall include a financial statement which accounts for the revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balance for the preceding fiscal year. The comptroller shall also submit to said committees and officials, not later than October 1, 1998 not later than October 1 of each fiscal year thereafter, a financial plan presenting all expected and proposed revenues and other financial sources, expenditures and other financial uses, net gain or loss from operations and changes in fund balance. The first such report shall make specific recommendations relative to any proposed decrease in the appropriation in the settlements and judgments account, so-called, and any corresponding increase in the appropriation to particular agencies, as a result of the experience rating established by the comptroller pursuant to subparagraph (c) of section 16 of chapter 7A. All such reports shall also specify the number and duties of employees of the fund, if any, the amount of any direct appropriation requested or expected and any other information relevant to the achievement of the purposes of the fund. The comptroller may at any time recommend in such reports statutory changes necessary to expand the scope of said section 16 of said chapter 7A and this section in order to cover claims other than those asserted under chapter 258.
Section 2V. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Dairy Equalization Fund. There shall be credited to such fund all monies payable pursuant to sections ten, eleven and twelve of chapter ninety-four A and any interest earned on monies within the fund. Amounts credited to said fund shall be made available by the state treasurer, without further appropriation, exclusively for the purposes of said chapter ninety-four A, only after receipt of notice certified by the commissioner of the department of food and agriculture that amounts are due pursuant to said chapter ninety-four A. Said commissioner shall file quarterly reports with the house and senate clerk and the house and senate committees on ways and means regarding the distribution of monies from the fund.
Projects Administration Fund Section 2W. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Water Pollution Abatement and Drinking Water Projects Administration Fund. There shall be credited to said fund any amounts transferred pursuant to sections 5 and 18 of chapter 29C and any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to said fund. Amounts credited to said fund shall be held in an expendable trust and the department of environmental protection shall report monthly all amounts credited to said fund and all expenditures by subsidiary on the Massachusetts management and accounting reporting system, so-called. Said amounts shall be used solely for the administration of the provisions of section 27A of chapter 21 and section 18 of said chapter 29C.
Commonwealth Liability Reduction Fund Section 2X. Allocation of revenues under sections two M, two N and two O and to the Commonwealth Liability Reduction Fund established by chapter two hundred and eighty-seven of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-nine shall be determined by the commissioner of revenue according to his best information and belief.
Section 2Z. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Commonwealth Sewer Rate Relief Fund. The fund shall consist of all amounts credited to the fund and any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to the fund. All amounts credited to the fund shall be held in trust and used solely for the purposes of this section. Amounts credited to the fund shall be available to mitigate sewer rate increases due to debt service obligations created by issuing eligible indebtedness. For the purposes of this section, eligible indebtedness shall mean debt issued on or after January 1, 1990, which has a final date of maturity more than 5 years after the date of issuance and which is incurred, wholly or in substantial part, to finance or refinance the cost of planning, design or construction of a water pollution abatement project, or part thereof, required to be constructed to meet the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.
S.
C. sections 1251 et seq.
, and sections 26 to 53, inclusive, of chapter 21, or any wastewater collection or transportation project related thereto. Eligible indebtedness shall not include any indebtedness for which the issuer has received assistance provided from state grants. Notwithstanding this section, eligible indebtedness shall include indebtedness incurred to finance the Metrowest Water Supply Tunnel and the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct Redundancy Project. Eligible indebtedness shall include indebtedness incurred pursuant to loan agreements under the provisions of chapter 275 of the acts of 1989 which exceeded $50,000,000 by June 30, 1995, and the debt service attributable thereto for any year, for purposes of this section, shall be the net obligation borne by the issuer after application of any credits, subsidies or assistance, however characterized, provided under the provisions of the aforementioned laws. No city, town, district, commission, agency, authority, board or other instrumentality of the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions which is responsible for the ownership or operation of wastewater treatment projects and is authorized to finance all or any part of the cost thereof through the issuance of eligible indebtedness, in this section called an issuer, shall receive relief authorized by this section in excess of 20 per cent of its annual debt service obligations due to eligible indebtedness. The division of local services of the department of revenue, in consultation with the department of environmental protection, shall develop guidelines to certify an issuer’s eligible indebtedness and shall create a process to distribute funds equitably to eligible issuers, in order to mitigate extraordinary increases in sewer costs. Funds disbursed in any fiscal year shall be disbursed on or before March 31 of the fiscal year. The board, office or commission responsible for setting sewer charges in each city, town, district or commission that either receives aid itself or is a member of a regional entity that receives aid pursuant to this section shall certify to the division of local services that it has reduced sewer charges to reflect its share of any such aid. No expenditure shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the end of the fiscal year.
Section 2ZZ. (a) There is hereby established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate nonlapsing, revolving fund to be known as the Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund, hereinafter called the fund. The fund shall be administered by The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund commission established pursuant to chapter 111K and shall be credited with monies received pursuant to sections 6, 9 and 10 of said chapter 111K.
(b) The state treasurer, ex officio, shall be the custodian of the fund and shall receive, deposit and invest all monies transmitted to her under this section and shall credit interest and earnings on the fund to said fund.
(c) The state treasurer shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with chapter 30A on procedures for the collection of the fee established under section 9 of said chapter 111K.
appropriations, estimates, and recommendations; review Section 3. Every officer having charge of any state agency which receives a periodic appropriation from the commonwealth, including all periodic appropriations to be met from state revenues shall annually, on or before a date set by the commissioner submit to the budget director statements (1) showing in detail the amounts appropriated for the preceding and the current fiscal years; (2) the interchanges during the preceding fiscal year between the subsidiary accounts prescribed in accordance with section twenty-seven; (3) the deficiencies and overdrafts, if any, in appropriations for the latest complete fiscal year and for the current fiscal year; (4) estimates of the amounts required for ordinary maintenance for the ensuing fiscal year, with an explanation of any increased appropriations recommended and with citations of the statutes relating thereto, a statement indicating the priorities assigned to each program by said officer; (5) and statements showing in detail the revenue of the state agency in his charge for the latest complete fiscal year, and the revenue and estimated revenue thereof for the current fiscal year, and his estimated revenue from the same or any additional sources for the ensuing fiscal year, with his recommendations as to any changes in the management, practices, rules, regulations or laws governing such state agency which would effect an increase or cause a decrease in revenue from operations, fees, taxes or other sources, or which would facilitate the collection thereof; (6) together with such other information on the expenditures, revenues, activities, output or performance of any such state agency as may be required by rule or regulation of the commissioner, and any other information, including the priorities assigned to each program by said officer, required at any time by the budget director. Every such officer shall also submit to the budget director a statement showing in detail the number of permanent, temporary, and part-time positions authorized for the state agency in his charge and the volume of work performed in the latest complete fiscal year, and justifying his request for permanent, temporary and part-time positions in the ensuing fiscal year in relation to the volume of work expected to be performed by the state agency.
All such statements, recommendations and estimates shall, to the fullest possible extent, conform with the programs of the state agency as defined by the commissioner, with the advice of the officers responsible for the administration thereof and the officer making the submission to the budget director. The said estimates shall not include any estimate for any new or special purpose or object not authorized by statute.
Copies of all such statements, recommendations, and estimates as they pertain to space rentals and maintenance and construction or repair of capital facilities shall be submitted on or before the aforementioned date to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. They shall include a report detailing the current condition of the using agency’s buildings, broken down into individual structural or mechanical components, as defined by rule or regulation of the commissioner. Such report shall specify those individual maintenance and repair items for which monies requested in the operating budget shall be used. The commissioner shall review them and submit his evaluation of the priority, necessity, and feasibility of the request contained therein to the officer making such statements, recommendations, and estimates, the budget director, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the secretary, if any, having charge of such state agency.
Before any such statements, estimates, recommendations or other information relating to a state agency shall be so submitted, they shall be submitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means. In addition, each state agency shall submit such statements, estimates, recommendations, and other information to the secretary having charge of such state agency, if any, who shall review the same and make such additions thereto, deletions therefrom and modifications therein as such secretary deems appropriate; provided, however, that prior to making any such additions, deletions or modifications, such secretary shall conduct public hearings, for which he shall give five days’ public notice prior thereto, on all items for which he shall submit a recommendation for appropriations to the governor. Said secretaries shall furnish, to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committees on post audit and oversight copies of all such statements, estimates, recommendations, and other information and of all such additions, deletions, and modifications.
Section 30. No officer or board shall insure any property of the commonwealth without special authority of law.
system; direct credit to bank accounts; wage garnishments Section 31. Salaries payable by the commonwealth shall for all classified services, unless otherwise provided, be paid monthly through the last Saturday of each month, and shall be in full for all services rendered to the commonwealth by the persons to whom they are paid. Salaries payable by the commonwealth to persons in statutory positions shall be payable in equal monthly payments. Advances on account of salaries may be made upon request of any employee, under such regulations as the state treasurer may prescribe, not exceeding the proportion of salary then due. No salary shall be paid to any person for a longer period than that during which he has been actually employed in the duties of his office. If a salary shall be diminished, no greater rate shall be paid because of any previous appropriation therefor. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the annual salary of each teacher and each supervisor employed in any school or college within any department of the commonwealth shall be the weekly rate set out in the job group to which his position has been allocated in the general salary schedule times the number of Saturdays in the fiscal year established by law for the payment of salaries and if the regular services of such teacher or supervisor are rendered from September first to June thirtieth, said salary shall be for his service for the number of weeks established by the department for such school to be in session during said period, payable, however, monthly through the last Saturday of each month and the amount earned and unpaid at the time of his resignation, retirement, death or entry on leave of absence shall be paid forthwith to the persons entitled thereto, and advances of pay may be made to any state officer or employee in advance of his regular vacation to the extent of the pay to which he is about to become entitled during such vacation period under such regulations as the state treasurer may prescribe. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the payment of premiums for the purchase of an individual or group annuity contract for any employee of the department of education or of any educational institution within any department of the commonwealth as provided in section eighteen A of chapter fifteen.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section or any other provisions of law, the commissioner of administration may establish a centralized payroll system and may include therein salaries payable by the commonwealth, for all classified services in any agency of the commonwealth and for teachers and supervisors employed in any school or college in any department of the commonwealth and any salary payable by the commonwealth to a person holding a statutory position.
Such centralized payroll system shall conform to such rules and regulations as the commissioner of administration, with the approval of the state treasurer, the comptroller, and the personnel administrator, may from time to time make. Such rules and regulations shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty A.
The comptroller shall prepare and submit to the governor and council, for their approval, a weekly warrant which shall include a sum sufficient in each item of appropriation to meet the total current weekly cost of salaries included within such centralized payroll system. The comptroller shall require certification from each spending authority that each employee receiving a salary under the warrant is being paid for duties performed directly for the employing agency and not for duties performed for another state agency. The treasurer shall pay such salaries from the amounts approved by the governor and council in said warrant and shall, within five days after such payment, provide a detailed record thereof to the comptroller. The comptroller, no later than twenty working days after the close of each monthly pay period, shall provide the house and senate committees on ways and means with a record of full and part-time personnel who were paid during the most recently completed monthly pay period. Said report shall identify for each state agency all positions, their position titles and monthly salaries by account, whether appropriation account for ordinary maintenance, federal grant account, revolving account, retained revenue expenditure account, trust account, bond fund account, or any other type of account maintained or established by the comptroller. The provisions of this section shall not be construed so as to prohibit the payment of premiums for the purchase of a life insurance contract, annuity contract or other deferred compensation program for state employees under section sixty-four.
The state treasurer or other state official authorized to expend money on behalf of the commonwealth may pay any salary, wages or other compensation to any person in the service of the commonwealth by means of deposits to employee bank accounts, provided, employees have expressly authorized said deposits.
The state treasurer or other state official authorized to expend money on behalf of the commonwealth may pay any retirement benefit due to any retired employee in the state system or retired teachers in the teachers retirement system by means of deposits to such retired person’s bank account, provided, the retired persons have expressly authorized said deposits.
The state treasurer or other state official authorized to expend money on behalf of the commonwealth may comply with administrative wage garnishments issued by the federal government for nonpayment of student loans by employees of the commonwealth, by paying to the federal government not more than 10 per cent of the employee’s salary or wages. For the purposes of this section, the term “employee” shall mean “employee” as defined in section 1 of chapter 32.
employees; accumulated vacation or sick-leave allowances; payments Section 31A. (a) Upon the death of a state employee who is eligible for vacation under the rules of the director of personnel and standardization, or judge, justice or any other employee of the courts of the commonwealth who is eligible for vacation, payment shall be made in an amount equal to the vacation allowance as earned in the vacation year prior to the employee’s death but which had not been granted, and, in addition, that portion of the vacation allowance earned in the vacation year during which the employee died, up to the time of his separation from the payroll; provided, that no monetary or other allowance has already been made therefor. The bureau of personnel and standardization may, upon request of the appointing officer of the deceased employee, authorize the payment of such compensation upon the establishment of a valid claim therefor, in the following order of precedence.
First: To the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries, if any, lawfully designated by the employee under the state employees’ retirement system;Second: If there be no such designated beneficiary, to the estate of the deceased.
The chief administrative justice of the trial court of the commonwealth may, upon request of the appointing officer of the deceased employee, authorize the payment of such compensation for the court system upon the establishment of a valid claim therefor, in the same order of precedence.
(b) Employees who are eligible for vacation under the rules of said personnel administrator and whose services are terminated by dismissal through no fault or delinquency of their own, or by retirement, shall be paid or at the option of the employee, entitled to a contribution to a qualified retirement plan established in the employee’s name under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and under chapter 32 an amount equal to the vacation allowance as earned in the vacation year prior to such dismissal or retirement which had not been granted, and, in addition, that portion of the vacation allowance earned in the vacation year during which such dismissal or retirement occurred, up to the time of separation; provided, that no monetary or other allowance has already been made therefor.
(c) Employees who are eligible for vacation under the rules of said administrator and whose services were terminated for reasons other than those defined in paragraphs (a) or (b) shall be paid or at the option of the employee, entitled to a contribution to a qualified retirement plan established in the employee’s name under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and under chapter 32 an amount equal to the vacation allowance credited but not granted to them as of the final date of the next preceding vacation year; provided, that no monetary or other allowance has already been made therefor.
(d) Managers and employees, except employees covered under the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty E, currently in the employment of the commonwealth who retire and who have accrued unused sick-leave credits shall be paid or at the option of the employee, entitled to a contribution to a qualified retirement plan established in the employee’s name under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and under chapter 32 an amount equal to twenty per cent of the value of such credits computed by multiplying the number of days of sick-leave available times the daily rate of salary compensation received by the manager or employee at the time of his retirement; provided, however, that such payment for unused sick-leave shall not affect the amount of retirement allowance available to such manager or employee.
Section 31B. Teachers in institutions of the commonwealth having weekly payrolls, at the option of the department within which such institutions are established, may be paid weekly.
vacation time Section 31C. Any officer or employee of the commonwealth, employed in a non-teaching position in any school or college within any department of the commonwealth, whose regular service is rendered between September first and June thirtieth, may be granted the vacation leave to which he is entitled either during the period of his regular service, or after the expiration of said period, as is determined by the employing authority of such officer and employee. Funds made available by appropriation for the payment of personal services required in the operation and maintenance of such schools shall be available for the payment of vacations, which, under the authority of this section, are granted to be taken after the termination of the period of regular service of an officer or employee subject to this section.
employees; discharge of liability Section 31D. Whenever an officer or employee or former officer or employee of the commonwealth dies, and the commonwealth owes him any sum or sums, not exceeding, in the aggregate, five hundred dollars, by reason of services rendered or by reason of the terms of his employment, the state treasurer may, after the expiration of thirty days from the date of death of such decedent, provided no petition for letters testamentary or letters of administration has been filed with the probate court of the county in which the decedent resided and no attested copy of a statement duly filed under section sixteen of chapter one hundred and ninety-five has been issued by the register of said probate court, pay such sum or sums to the husband, widow, or next of kin of such officer or employee. Payments made as provided in this section shall discharge the liability of the commonwealth to all persons with respect to such sum or sums.
employees; effect on salaries Section 31E. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, a state employee, during working hours and at such times as are approved by his supervisor and in accordance with regulations promulgated hereunder, may, without loss of salary, provide voluntary services at a public elementary, secondary, or vocational-technical school to assist the improvement of a student’s or school’s educational program; provided, however, that said voluntary services do not exceed the equivalent of one work day per month. There shall be no requirement that the employee have a child as a student in the school or school district. Said services shall not be compensated by a school.
Section 32. Any check issued by the state treasurer or by any agent or agency of the commonwealth, other than checks issued in payment of obligations of the state board of retirement and the teachers’ retirement board, which is not presented for payment within one year from its date shall be payable only at the office of the state treasurer. On the thirtieth day of June in each year the comptroller shall transfer to the abandoned property fund all funds which are identified by the state treasurer as funds of the commonwealth which have remained in the unclaimed check fund for at least one year. On such date, the comptroller also shall refund to the unemployment compensation fund and to each applicable account of monies separately accounted for by the comptroller as other than commonwealth monies, such amounts which in the opinion of the state treasurer represent all monies of such unemployment compensation fund or such account which have remained in the unclaimed check fund for at least one year. All checks issued in payment of obligations of the state board of retirement and the teachers’ retirement board shall be payable only in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (3) of section eleven of chapter thirty-two.
refunds Section 32A. No wage or salary which is or shall be due from the commonwealth shall be payable later than six years after the same has or shall become due, and the obligation of the commonwealth to pay such wage or salary or otherwise to pay for the services rendered by the person to whom the wage or salary is or shall be due shall not be enforceable if the wage or salary is not claimed within six years after the same has or shall become due; provided, however, that section thirty-two shall be applicable and controlling in the case of any wage or salary represented by a check issued by the state treasurer or by any agent or agency of the commonwealth. On the thirtieth day of June in each year the comptroller shall transfer to the General Fund so much of the balance then in the unclaimed wage fund as, in the opinion of the state treasurer, shall not be needed for payments during the ensuing fiscal year from the said unclaimed wage fund. On such date the comptroller also shall refund to the unemployment compensation fund and to each applicable account of monies separately accounted for by the comptroller as other than commonwealth monies, such amount of the said balance as the state treasurer shall advise him shall represent all unclaimed wages or salaries from monies of the said fund or such account, respectively, the payment of which shall have been outlawed in accordance with this section during the fiscal year ending on such date.
Section 34. State officers, departments, institutions and other agencies may deposit any portion of the public monies in their possession in such national banks, trust companies or banking companies, lawfully doing business in the commonwealth, as shall be designated by the state treasurer from a list of depositories prepared by him and approved at least once in three months by the governor and council; provided, however, that the state treasurer shall not include in any such list any state-chartered bank having a descriptive rating of (d) or (e) under section fourteen of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven or any federally insured depository institution having an assigned rating of (C) or (D) under section 807 (b)(2) of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, 12 USC 2901 et seq.
; but the aggregate balance on deposit in any one such national bank, trust company or banking company by the state treasurer, by a state officer of funds advanced under the provisions of section twenty-three by a state officer, department, institution or other agency of fees or other money as referred to in section twenty-seven of chapter thirty shall not exceed, as of the close of the business each business day, fifty-five per cent of its paid up capital, surplus, capital notes, and undivided profits in accordance with the records of the national bank, trust company, or banking company. The state treasurer may provide that any such bank may receive additional deposits not to exceed eighty-five per cent of its paid up capital, surplus, capital notes, and undivided profits, providing that such additional deposits are subject to collateral approved by the state treasurer. Deposits of the proceeds from the sale of bonds and notes by the state treasurer shall not be subject to the fifty-five per cent limit for a period of seven days from the date of the deposit or other credit to the account of the state treasurer. All certificates of deposit of any such national bank, trust company or banking company whether issued directly to the state treasurer or purchased on the open market shall be considered deposits within the meaning of this section. For the purpose of paying the principal or interest due on any bond, note or other obligation of the commonwealth, which is payable in the city of New York or the city of Chicago, the state treasurer may keep on deposit in any national bank or trust company in said cities, approved for the purpose by the governor and council, a sum not exceeding in the aggregate twenty-five thousand dollars; provided, that for a period of seven days prior to the date of any such payment or payments, said amount may be increased by a sum or sums sufficient to cover the same.
A state treasurer who knowingly makes any deposit in violation of the foregoing provisions shall be deemed guilty of misconduct and maladministration in his office within the meaning of the constitution, any other officer who knowingly makes any deposit in violation of the foregoing provisions shall be deemed guilty of misconduct and maladministration in his office, and any national bank, trust company or banking company knowingly receiving any deposit in violation thereof shall be disqualified from receiving said monies for the period of three years from the date of said deposit. All interest received on any deposits under this section shall be paid to the commonwealth.
Section 34A. The state treasurer may deposit any portion of the public monies in his possession and funds over which the commonwealth has exclusive control in savings banks as defined in chapter one hundred and sixty-eight or in co-operative banks as defined in chapter one hundred and seventy for one year or more, subject, however, to the limitations set forth in chapter one hundred and sixty-seven D and in federal savings and loan associations lawfully doing business in the commonwealth for one year or more which shares and accounts are insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, but the amount so invested in any one association shall not exceed the amount covered by such insurance. The state treasurer shall not make such deposits in any state-chartered bank having a descriptive rating of (d) or (e) under section fourteen of chapter one hundred and sixty-seven or any federally insured depository institution having an assigned rating of (C) or (D) under section 807(b)(2) of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, 12 USC 2901 et seq.
Section 35. No bond or security belonging to the commonwealth shall be transferred except with the written approval of the governor. A note, bond, mortgage or other security which has been made to the state treasurer by name may be assigned, transferred or discharged by him or by any successor in office.
assignments Section 36. If the state treasurer is authorized to discharge a mortgage held by the commonwealth, he may instead thereof assign it; but such assignment shall not impose upon the commonwealth any liability, express or implied.
Section 37. Real estate acquired by the commonwealth by foreclosure may, with the approval of the governor and council, be conveyed by the state treasurer upon payment of the amount of the mortgage debt with the interest and expenses accrued thereon.
Section 38. With the exception of funds used in connection with a deferred compensation program for state employees, and funds of the state employees’ retirement system or the teachers’ retirement system, all funds over which the commonwealth has exclusive control shall be invested by the state treasurer with the approval of the governor and council as follows:(a) In the public funds of the United States or of the District of Columbia or of this commonwealth, or in the legally authorized bonds of any other New England state, or of any other state of the United States, other than a territory or dependency thereof, which has not less than seven hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants as established by the last national census, and which has not within the twenty years prior to the making of such investment defaulted in the payment of any part of either principal or interest of any legal debt.
(b) In the bonds or notes of a county, city or town of this commonwealth.
(c) In the bonds or notes of an incorporated district in this commonwealth whose net indebtedness does not exceed five per cent of the last preceding valuation of the property therein for the assessment of taxes.
(d) In the bonds or notes of any city of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island or Connecticut, whose net indebtedness does not exceed five per cent of the last preceding valuation of the property therein for the assessment of taxes; or of any county or town of said states whose net indebtedness does not exceed three per cent of such valuation; or of any incorporated water district of said states which has within its limits more than ten thousand inhabitants, and whose bonds or notes are a direct obligation on all the taxable property of such district, and whose net indebtedness does not exceed three per cent of such valuation; provided, that there is not included within the limits of such water district, either wholly or in part, any city or town the bonds or notes of which are not a legal investment.
(e) In the legally authorized bonds for municipal purposes of any city of any state of the United States, other than one of the New England states, whose bonds are eligible under subdivision (a) of this section; provided, that such city was incorporated as such at least twenty-five years prior to the date of such investment, and has at such date not less than thirty thousand nor more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, as established by the last national census preceding such date, and that its net indebtedness does not exceed five per cent of the valuation of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last preceding valuation of property therein for the assessment of taxes.
(f) In the legally authorized bonds for municipal purposes of any city of any state of the United States, other than one of the New England states, whose bonds are eligible under subdivision (a) of this section; provided, that such city was incorporated as such at least twenty-five years prior to the date of such investment, and has at such date more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, established in the same manner as is provided in subdivision (e) of this section, and that its net indebtedness does not exceed seven per cent of the valuation of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained as provided in said subdivision (e).
(g) In subdivisions (d), (e) and (f) of this section the words “net indebtedness” mean the indebtedness of a county, city, town or district, omitting debts created for supplying the inhabitants with water and debts created in anticipation of taxes to be paid within one year, and deducting the amount of sinking funds available for the payment of the indebtedness included.
(h) The state treasurer, with the approval of the attorney general and of the governor and council, may consent to any refunding plan relative to securities held in funds over which the commonwealth has exclusive control and may do such incidental acts as may be necessary in connection with such refunding.
(i) In the promissory notes of an industrial, commercial, finance, banking, railroad or public utility corporation conducting business in this state when such notes mature not later than one year subsequent to their respective dates of issue; provided, however, that, at the time of any such investment, (1) such corporation has capital stock, premium thereon and surplus of at least twenty-five million dollars, (2) the securities of such corporation are eligible for investment by life insurance companies authorized to do business in the commonwealth, and (3) all outstanding debt obligations of such corporation which have any rating from two or more standard rating services are rated within the three highest classifications established by at least two such rating services, or, if none of the outstanding debt obligations of such corporation has any rating from two such rating services, that such outstanding debt obligations are rated at the time of investment within the three highest classifications established by at least two such rating services, or the notes of such corporation at the time of investment are rated prime by the National Credit Office; provided, further, that the commonwealth’s investment in the notes of any one company shall not exceed twenty per cent of the capital and surplus of such company.
(j) In bankers acceptances and bills of exchange eligible for purchase by federal reserve banks and which have been accepted by a bank, a trust company, a private banker or an investment company, or by a banking corporation which is organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof and which is a member of the federal reserve system.
(k) In repurchase agreements secured by United States Treasury obligations or United States Treasury obligations bearing a maturity date not later than one year.
The state treasurer may purchase with a portion of the State Lottery Fund, as established and defined in section thirty-five of chapter ten, from insurance companies lawfully doing business in the commonwealth, annuities payable to the commonwealth to be used for payment of lottery prizes. Such annuities shall not be subject to the provisions of section one hundred and eighteen of chapter one hundred and seventy-five limiting payment of annuities to individuals, and shall, to the extent that such annuities are payable to the commonwealth, be exempt from taxation under section twenty of chapter sixty-three. Contracts for the purchase of such annuities shall be subject to competitive bidding and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. All such bids and contracts shall be public records.
The state treasurer may also purchase with a portion of the said State Lottery Fund, bonds, notes, shares in combined investment funds or other interest bearing obligations in accordance with the standards set forth in subdivision (3) of section twenty-three of chapter thirty-two.
Funds in connection with a deferred compensation program for state employees may be invested by the treasurer pursuant to section sixty-four; provided, however, that such funds, whether or not invested, shall remain in the sole control of the treasurer, and may be used by the commonwealth at any time and for any purpose.
The treasurer may lend securities purchased from funds authorized by this section, provided that at the time of the execution of the loan at least one hundred per cent of the market value of the security lent shall be secured by cash or securities guaranteed by the United States government or any agency of the United States government. At all times during the term of each such loan the collateral shall be equal to not less than ninety-five per cent of the full market value of the security and said collateral shall not be more than one hundred thousand dollars less than the full market value of the security.
participation units Section 38A. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, the state treasurer may establish, with the advice of the investment advisory council, one or more combined investment funds for the purpose of investing funds of the commonwealth, trust funds, and funds under the custody of agencies, authorities, commissions, boards, political subdivisions and other public units within the commonwealth; provided, that the state treasurer shall adopt appropriate accounting procedures from which the exact interest of such funds so combined for investment can be determined. The state treasurer may adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to administer the provisions of this act.
The state treasurer is authorized to sell to all agencies, authorities, commissions, boards, political subdivisions and other public units within the commonwealth, participation units in any such combined investment fund. Such participation units issued by the treasurer are made legal investments for all the funds under the custody of such agencies, authorities, commissions, boards, political subdivisions and other public units within the commonwealth. With the advice of the investment advisory council, the state treasurer shall adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to administer the provisions of this section.
The state treasurer may invest in only those instruments permitted within this chapter or chapter thirty-two.
treasurer’s office Section 38B. There shall be in the office of the state treasurer a deferred compensation committee, consisting of three members, one of whom shall be appointed by the governor, shall represent the employees who contract with the state treasurer for a deferred compensation program under section sixty-four, and shall be chairman, one of whom shall be appointed by the commissioner of insurance, and one of whom shall be appointed by the state treasurer. Said committee shall meet from time to time and shall oversee the operation of the day to day operation of the deferred compensation program. The members of said committee shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties.
of state treasurer Section 38C. In connection with or incidental to the acquisition or carrying of any investment or program of investment or carrying of bonds or notes, the state treasurer, after consultation with the finance advisory board, may enter into such contracts as he may determine to be necessary or appropriate to place the investment or obligation of the commonwealth, as represented by the bonds or notes, investment or program of investment and the contract or contracts, in whole or in part, on such interest rate or cash flow basis as he may desire, including without limitation interest rate swap agreements, insurance agreements, forward payment conversion agreements, futures, contracts, contracts providing for payments based on levels of, or changes in, interest rates or stock or other indices, contracts to exchange cash flows or a series of payments and contracts to hedge payment, rate, spread or similar exposure, including without limitation interest rate floors or caps, options, puts and calls. Such contracts shall contain such payment, security, default, remedy and other terms and conditions as the state treasurer, after consultation with the finance advisory board, may deem appropriate and shall be entered into with such party or parties as the state treasurer, after consultation with the finance advisory board, may select, after giving due consideration, where applicable, for the creditworthiness of the counterparty or counterparties, including any rating by a nationally recognized rating agency or any other criteria as may be appropriate.
Section 39. When the commonwealth holds any bond, note or certificate of indebtedness payable to bearer and issued by a county, city, town or district or any domestic corporation, such county, city, town, district or corporation shall, at the request of the state treasurer, issue in exchange therefor a bond, note or certificate of the same effect, payable to the commonwealth by name. The commonwealth shall pay the expense involved in making such exchange. Any county, city, town, district or corporation neglecting or refusing to comply with this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.
of costs Section 3A. Any officer having charge of any state agency which receives a periodic appropriation from the commonwealth, or any officer of a state authority or commission, shall upon the request of any standing committee of the house or senate, or of any joint standing committee of the general court, furnish in writing to such committee, in a format prescribed by such committee, any information requested by such committee that is necessary for the committee to perform its duties. The information shall include, but not be limited to, historical, current or proposed operational costs funded through any appropriation, capital accounts, federal grants, trust funds or other funding sources, the officer’s estimate of the cost of proposed legislation affecting activities which are or would be under his supervision, estimates of and reasons for any supplemental funding that is projected to be needed during the fiscal year, estimates of revenue collections, estimates of proposed changes in fees or taxes, and any other such information as may be required by the committee. Such estimates shall be provided to such committee within 10 days of the receipt of such a request by the officer. If the officer fails to respond within 10 days, the matter shall be referred to the house or senate committee on post audit and oversight which shall, in conjunction with the committee that originally requested the information, determine if further action is necessary.
employment for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and regional transit authorities Section 3B. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the several regional transit authorities shall annually, on or before September fifteenth, submit to the state budget director, the joint committee on transportation, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority advisory board (1) statements showing planned expenditures for the current fiscal year and the subsequent fiscal year; provided, however, that said statements shall detail planned expenditures according to the expenditure classification plan promulgated by the state comptroller pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-seven and also by program; and (2) a statement detailing the number of full time equivalent employees of the authority for the current fiscal year and an estimate of the number of full time equivalent employees for the subsequent fiscal year. The state budget director and the state comptroller are hereby authorized and directed to establish such procedures as they deem necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of this section.
evaluation; review Section 4. Every officer having charge of any state agency who, in his annual reports or otherwise, recommends or petitions for the expenditure of money by the commonwealth from any source of revenue, including expenditures to be met by assessments or from bond revenues or trust funds, for any purpose not covered by the estimates required to be submitted under section three, shall, annually, on or before a date set by the commissioner, submit detailed estimates thereof to the budget director, together with any other information required by said budget director. Such estimates and other information relating to such state agency before being submitted to the budget director, shall first be submitted to the appropriate secretary, if any, on or before a date set by him; said secretary shall review the same and make such additions thereto, deletions therefrom and modifications therein as he deems appropriate; provided, however, that prior to making any such additions, deletions or modifications, said secretary shall conduct public hearings, for which he shall give five days’ public notice prior thereto, on all items for which he shall submit to the governor a recommendation for an appropriation of one million dollars or more.
All copies of such statements and information relative to expenditures from bond revenues shall be submitted to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance on or before the aforementioned date. The commissioner shall evaluate them as to the priority, necessity, and feasibility of the requests contained therein in relation to long range capital facilities development plans and capital facilities development plans and capital facility projects contained therein, as defined by section thirty-nine A of chapter seven. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall submit his evaluation to the officer providing such estimates and information, the budget director, and the appropriate secretary.
Section 40. No deposit required to be made by any corporation in trust with the state treasurer, or any part thereof, shall consist of a mortgage upon real estate or of a loan upon personal notes or of notes secured by collateral. He may receive, as a part of such deposit, money or certificates of deposit, or certified checks on any approved state depositary, and may hold the same without interest until it may reasonably be invested in a proper legal security.
Section 41. The state treasurer shall have the custody and keep a separate account of all notes, bonds and mortgages belonging to the commonwealth, and shall receive all money accruing therefrom. All deeds and instruments conveying real estate to the commonwealth shall, when recorded, be deposited with and safely kept by him. Such records shall not include those pertaining to real property acquired for the use of state agencies, pursuant to section forty M of chapter 7.
Section 42. The governor shall, annually in August, appoint a committee of the council, which shall examine the value of the notes and securities in charge of the state treasurer and report thereon to the governor and council, who may direct him to sell or to collect notes or securities over which the commonwealth has exclusive control and to reinvest the proceeds according to section thirty-eight.
Section 44. The income or any surplus of funds belonging to or in the custody of the commonwealth shall, unless otherwise provided, be added to the principal.
Section 45. No securities shall hereafter be purchased for any sinking fund which do not mature on or prior to the maturity date of the indebtedness on account of which said sinking fund was established.
Section 46. The state treasurer, instead of selling any securities, belonging to any fund over which the commonwealth has exclusive control, to meet maturing liabilities, may transfer them to any other such fund upon terms and conditions approved by the governor and council.
notes to pay taxes of bearer Section 47. The state treasurer may borrow at any time during the fiscal year, in anticipation of the receipts for that year other than assessments for the metropolitan districts, such sums of money as may be necessary for the payment of ordinary demands on the treasury, and other legal obligations, including guaranties, of the commonwealth, and may issue notes therefor. Money so borrowed and notes so issued may be at such rates of interest as shall be found necessary. He shall repay any sums borrowed under this section as soon after said receipts are paid as is expedient, but in any event before the close of the fiscal year in which the same were borrowed.
Notes issued under and pursuant to this section may bear on their face a statement that if principal and interest thereon are not paid when due said notes will be accepted thereafter at face value plus accrued interest to the date of such acceptance as payment to that extent of taxes owed by the bearer to the commonwealth under chapters sixty-two, sixty-two B, sixty-three, or sixty-three B. Notes bearing such legend shall be accepted in payment of such taxes, including penalty and interest thereon, at face value plus accrued interest by all persons responsible for collecting taxes but shall otherwise be payable in accordance with their terms as provided in the first paragraph of this section.
borrowing in anticipation Section 47A. The state treasurer may borrow, in anticipation of assessments for any metropolitan district payable within one year, such sums of money as may be necessary for the payment of interest, sinking fund and serial or other bond requirements and maintenance charges of said districts and may issue notes therefor. Money so borrowed and notes so issued may be at such rates of interest as shall be found necessary. He shall repay any sums borrowed under this section as soon after said assessments are paid as is expedient, but in any event within one year after the same were borrowed. He may collect proportionately from the cities and towns of each such district all interest that may be paid upon money borrowed for that district under this section.
Section 48. Bonds issued by the commonwealth shall be signed by the state treasurer or a deputy treasurer and approved by the governor. Notes issued by the commonwealth shall be signed by the state treasurer or a deputy treasurer, approved by the governor, and countersigned by the comptroller or a deputy comptroller or an assistant to the comptroller.
coupons; signatures of former officers Section 48A. Facsimiles of the signature of the governor on original issues or transfers of bonds or notes of the commonwealth shall have the same validity and effect as his written signature, and facsimiles of the seal of the commonwealth may be used on bonds and notes of the commonwealth and shall have the same validity and effect as though said seal were impressed thereon. Interest coupons, if any, attached to any bond or note of the commonwealth may bear the facsimile signature of the state treasurer. If any officer whose signature or a facsimile of whose signature appears on any notes, bonds or coupons shall cease to be such officer before the delivery of, and receipt of proceeds from the borrowing evidenced by, such notes or bonds, such signature or such facsimile shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes as if such officer had remained in office until such delivery and receipt of proceeds.
advertising; collateral tax consequences to social security recipients Section 48B. Any official statement prepared in connection with the sale of any bonds or notes of the commonwealth and all advertising of such bonds and notes, the interest on which is excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes under the provisions of section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 103), shall include a reference to the collateral tax consequences which may result under section 86 of said Code (26 USC 86) to the holders of such bonds or notes who are recipients of social security benefits.
Section 49. The aggregate principal amount of bonds, if any, of any issue of commonwealth bonds stated to mature in any year may vary from the aggregate principal amount of bonds of such issue stated to mature in any other year. The state treasurer may agree at or prior to the time such issue of bonds is issued with the holders of bonds of such issue or with a trustee, which shall be a trust company or bank with trust powers doing business in the commonwealth, for the benefit of such holders to establish a sinking fund for such issue of bonds, to make deposits into such sinking fund according to a schedule theretofore established by the state treasurer and to use the monies in such sinking fund only for (a) the payment of principal of or interest on, or purchase, at a price not to exceed par of, the bonds of such an issue or (b) the payment of principal of or interest on, or purchase, at a price not to exceed par of, the bonds of any one or more specified maturities of such an issue. The full faith and credit of the commonwealth is pledged to the making of payments to any such sinking fund. Withdrawals from any such sinking fund for the payment of principal of or interest on such bonds, or for the purchase thereof as permitted by this paragraph, may be made without further appropriation or authorization by any officer of the commonwealth. Pending their application for such purpose, monies in any such sinking fund shall be held by the state treasurer or such trustee and invested in (i) direct obligations of, or obligations the payment of the principal and interest of which are unconditionally guaranteed by, the United States of America; (ii) obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Financing Bank, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, Federal Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Land Banks, Federal Home Loan Banks, Farmers Home Administration, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Student Loan Marketing Association, United States Postal Service, Tennessee Valley Authority or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or by any other agency or corporation which has been or is hereafter created pursuant to an act of Congress of the United States as an agency or instrumentality of the United States of America; (iii) housing authority bonds issued by public agencies or municipalities and fully secured as to the payment of both principal and interest by a pledge of annual contributions under an annual contributions contract or contracts with the United States of America or project notes issued by public agencies or municipalities and fully secured as to the payment of both principal and interest by a requisition or payment agreement with the United States of America; (iv) interest-bearing time deposits or certificates of deposit of banking institutions or trust companies organized under the laws of any state of the United States or any national banking association, provided that such deposits or certificates shall be continuously and fully secured by obligations described in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, having a market value, exclusive of accrued interest, at least equal to the aggregate amount of such deposits and certificates; (v) any of the securities described in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, which are subject to repurchase agreements with any bank or trust company organized under the laws of any state of the United States or any national banking association; or (vi) obligations that have been advance refunded or defeased prior to their maturity, that are fully and irrevocably secured as to principal and interest by moneys or securities described in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, held in trust for the payment thereof, and that are not callable prior to maturity except at the option of the holder thereof. Securities purchased as an investment of monies credited to any sinking fund shall be deemed at all times to be a part of such sinking fund. Notwithstanding any provision in any act authorizing all or part of an issue of commonwealth bonds to the effect that such bonds shall be issued upon the serial payment plan or to the effect that the maturities thereof shall be so arranged that the amounts payable in the several years of the period of amortization, other than the final year, shall be as nearly equal as in the opinion of the state treasurer it is practicable to make them or to any similar effect, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any issue of commonwealth bonds made after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty unless the act authorizing such issue expressly states that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to such issue.
Bonds of the commonwealth may be issued as registered bonds or as bearer bonds, with or without coupons, as the state treasurer may deem best. Such bonds shall bear interest at such rate or rates, including rates variable from time to time according to an index, banker’s loan rate or otherwise, as the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, shall fix. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any bonds issued after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-two unless the act authorizing such issue expressly states that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply.
Registered bonds may be uncertificated. Books shall be maintained by or on behalf of the state treasurer specifying the persons entitled to uncertificated bonds, and the rights represented thereby shall be registered upon such books. A true copy of the official actions of the commonwealth relating to such bonds shall be kept by or on behalf of the state treasurer, a copy of which, verified to be such by an authorized officer, shall be admissible before any court of record, administrative body or arbitration panel without further authentication.
Bonds or notes of the commonwealth which are subject to the requirement imposed by Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth that the governor recommend the term thereof to the general court shall not be issued, and monies to finance projects authorized to be financed by such bonds or notes shall not be advanced in anticipation of the issuance thereof, until legislation has been enacted upon such term recommendation.
Unless otherwise specifically provided, a provision in any statute authorizing the state treasurer to issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth shall authorize him to issue and sell such bonds in such denominations as he shall determine to be in the best interests of the commonwealth, and any requirement that the maturities thereof be so arranged that the amounts payable in the several years of the period of amortization other than the final year shall be as nearly equal as in the opinion of the state treasurer it is practicable to make them shall mean that the amounts so payable shall be as nearly equal considering the denominations of the bonds issued and sold as in the opinion of the state treasurer it is practicable to make them.
Bonds issued pursuant to two or more bond authorization acts may be consolidated for the purpose of sale and issued, sold, printed, and delivered as a single bond issue despite the requirement of any bond authorization act requiring or designating a particular total for bonds issued pursuant to that act. Notwithstanding any requirement of any such act that bonds issued thereunder shall bear any particular designation, bonds consolidated pursuant to this section shall be designated on their face “Consolidated Loan of” followed by the year of issue and the series thereof in such year. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the state treasurer shall separately account for the bonds issued under and the proceeds received from bond sales under the particular authorizing act. In connection with any such consolidated issue, the state treasurer shall specify at the time of issuance (i) the amount of proceeds to be allocated to each bond authorization act or section thereof, in which case allocation of proceeds shall occur at the time of issuance, or (ii) the various sections of bond authorization acts to which proceeds of the issue may be allocated as expenditures are made pursuant to the authorizations referenced in such sections, in which case allocation of proceeds shall occur at such later time or times as such expenditures shall occur, or (iii) any combination of the foregoing.
Notwithstanding any general or special provision of law to the contrary, a provision in any statute authorizing the state treasurer to issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth providing that such bonds shall bear interest at such rate as the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, shall fix; or a provision of similar import, shall be construed to provide that such bonds shall bear interest at such rate or rates as the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, shall fix.
Unless otherwise specifically provided, a provision in any act authorizing the state treasurer to issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth shall authorize him, with the approval of the governor, to issue and sell bonds subject to call for redemption at any time or from time to time, with or without premium, as he determines to be in the best interest of the commonwealth. The provisions of this section shall apply to all bonds issued after the effective date of this act.
Bonds or notes of the commonwealth may be sold at par, premium or discount and may be sold as instruments the principal amount of which either remains constant or increases during the life of the instrument. Whenever bonds or notes are issued under a statute to which the provisions of this paragraph apply, the amount issued shall be deemed to be the net proceeds of the issue,; provided that the state treasurer may determine to apply all or a portion of any premium received on the sale of any such bonds or note, without appropriation, to the costs of issuance thereof or other financing costs related thereto or to the payment of the principal thereof or sinking fund installments with respect thereto, in which case the amount of any premium so applied shall not be included in the amount of the issue. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any bonds or notes issued after January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight unless the act authorizing such issue expressly states that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply.
In connection with the issuance of bonds and notes of the commonwealth which are intended to qualify for tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and to induce the purchase of such bonds and notes, the state treasurer may covenant on behalf of the commonwealth with the purchasers or with the holders from time to time of such bonds or notes or with a trustee or trustees for the benefit of such holders with respect to compliance with the requirements of said Internal Revenue Code relative to such tax exemption, including without limitation compliance with provisions relating to the use of proceeds by private parties, the investment of proceeds and the payment of rebate, so-called, to the federal government. Any such covenant may appear on the bonds or notes or may be included in a separate contract or trust indenture, a copy of which shall be available for public inspection at the office of the state treasurer. Any right of a holder of a bond or note in respect of any such covenant may be enforced as a claim against the commonwealth.
A provision in any act authorizing the state treasurer to issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth shall also authorize the state treasurer, without any further authorization, to borrow from time to time on the credit of the commonwealth such sums of money as may be necessary for the purpose of making payments for the purposes for which such bonds are authorized and to issue and renew, from time to time, notes of the commonwealth therefor in anticipation, of such bonds, bearing interest payable at such time and at such rates as shall be fixed by the state treasurer. The notes shall be issued and may be renewed one or more times for such terms not exceeding three years, as the governor may recommend to the general court pursuant to Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth. The provisions of this paragraph; (i) shall apply to all bond authorization acts in effect as of July 1, 1999 and all bond authorization acts validly enacted after such date, unless any particular act expressly states that the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply; and (ii) shall constitute authority to issue notes in anticipation of such bonds in addition to and not in limitation of any authority to issue notes in anticipation of bonds contained in any bond authorization act.
regulations Section 49A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the laws of the commonwealth, whenever the state treasurer is authorized to issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth and he determines to issue and sell all or a portion of such bonds in denominations of less than five thousand dollars (minibonds), he may issue and sell such minibonds at public or private sale, maturing in such amounts and upon such dates, at such interest rate or rates, payable at such time and in such manner, at par or at discount, in bearer or registered form, and upon such other terms and conditions, all as he shall determine to be in the best interests of the commonwealth; provided that (1) not more than fifty million dollars principal amount of minibonds shall be sold by the state treasurer in any one fiscal year; (2) no minibond shall mature more than five years after its date; (3) no one sale to a purchaser of minibonds shall be in an aggregate principal amount equal to or greater than five thousand dollars; and (4) each minibond shall provide that it shall be redeemed by the commonwealth upon due presentation by an appropriate person on any business day after one year from its date of sale by the state treasurer at such price as the state treasurer shall determine according to a schedule established with respect to each issue of minibonds prior to the sale thereof. The state treasurer may adopt regulations with respect to the issuance and sale of minibonds. A facsimile of the signature of the state treasurer on minibonds shall have the same validity and effect as his written signature. Sections forty-five, forty-nine, and fifty-three of this chapter shall not apply to the issuance of minibonds.
notes; agreements with brokers Section 49B. In addition to any other security provided by laws, bonds and notes of the commonwealth may, in the discretion of the state treasurer, be secured or supported, in whole or in part, by insurance or by lines or letters of credit or other credit or liquidity facilities provided by any bank, trust company or other financial institution.
The state treasurer may enter into agreements with brokers for the placement of any such commonwealth notes issued as commercial paper.
bonds; powers and duties of state treasurer Section 49C. (a) In issuing bonds of the commonwealth, pursuant to the provisions of law applicable thereto, the state treasurer is authorized, pursuant to the conditions set forth in this section, to set aside and issue portions of said bonds in such form as shall be appropriate for the purposes of the college opportunity program, as defined in section five A of chapter fifteen C, or for the purposes of such other college savings programs as may be established pursuant to paragraph (f1/2) of section five of said chapter fifteen C.
(b) Before issuing any bonds in a fiscal year for the use of a college savings program, the state treasurer shall prepare a report establishing the maximum amount of bonds to be issued in that year for use of such programs. Said report, and any subsequent amendment thereto which revises said maximum amount, shall include the state treasurer’s reasons for determining that it is prudent for the commonwealth to authorize use of such bonds to the stated extent, in light of the anticipated future interest and principal payments on such bonds, as compared to the anticipated interest and principal payments on commonwealth bonds not issued in connection with such programs, and in light of available financial arrangements to limit or control the commonwealth’s potential costs of meeting its obligations on such bonds, and in light of such other considerations as the state treasurer shall deem relevant. The state treasurer shall file copies of said report, and of any amendments thereto, with the Educational Financing Authority, the secretary of administration and finance, and the house and senate ways and means committees.
(c) For the purposes of issuing bonds to support college savings programs, the state treasurer shall have, in addition to his other powers and duties, the following additional powers and duties:(i) To employ financial, marketing, legal and other consultants and advisors for the purpose of consulting with the commonwealth on the implementation and ongoing administration of the savings programs and to enter into contracts and agreements necessary in connection therewith.
(ii) To enter into appropriate agreements or arrangements with banks or other financial institutions or with other departments or agencies of the commonwealth or other public entities to provide protection for the commonwealth from risks associated with the variable interest rate on such bonds, and to provide liquidity for purchasers of such bonds in the event of extraordinary circumstances which require them to have access to their capital, including but not limited to interest rate swap agreements, interest rate caps, liquidity facilities, futures agreements, letters of credit and similar arrangements, including provisions regarding the custody of commonwealth funds and the maintenance of collateral and other security for the commonwealth’s obligations thereunder.
(iii) To establish procedures to ensure that interest on such bonds is and remains excludable from the gross income of the owners thereof for federal income tax purposes.
(iv) To establish a schedule of fees and charges, including premiums in connection with the sale of such bonds, sufficient to provide for the estimated costs of the program incurred by the commonwealth, including the costs of any agreements or arrangements entered into pursuant to paragraph (ii) and reasonable amounts to allow the commonwealth to self-insure against possible variations in interest rates on such bonds; provided that the difference in anticipated future interest and principal payments on such bonds as compared to the anticipated interest and principal payments on commonwealth bonds not issued in connection with such programs shall not exceed five million dollars per year. Any such fees or charges shall be received by the state treasurer impressed with a trust on behalf of the participants in such college savings programs and shall be deposited in a separate fund. The amounts in said fund, including any income earned on amounts therein, shall be expended by the state treasurer, without appropriation, solely for the commonwealth’s cost of operating such college savings programs, including without limitation the costs of agreements or arrangements entered into pursuant to paragraph (ii) and the costs of self-insuring against variations in interest rates on such bonds.
(v) To take such further actions and establish such further procedures as shall be appropriate to carry out the purposes of the savings programs.
(d) All bonds, or units of participation therein, issued pursuant to this section shall be subject to the following provisions:(i) Any payment received by a purchaser of such bonds or units of participation in accordance with the provisions of this section and chapter fifteen C and the interest or other income earned in connection therewith shall be exempt from all taxation by the commonwealth and any of its political subdivisions, including income, commonwealth, transfer, inheritance, death and personal property taxes.
(ii) The bonds and units of participation are hereby made securities in which administrators, guardians, executors, trustees, fiduciaries, and others authorized to invest in bonds of the commonwealth may properly and legally invest funds and shall be exempt from qualification and registration under the securities laws of the commonwealth.
(iii) The commonwealth hereby covenants and agrees to take all steps reasonably necessary to provide that interest on said bonds and units of participation whenever paid or accrued shall be excluded from the gross income of any person having an interest therein under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as amended from time to time.
(e) The provisions of section fifty-three shall not apply to the sale of any bonds issued in connection with college savings programs.
Section 50. The state treasurer shall annually in December certify to the budget director the amount necessary to be included in the state tax for the fiscal year beginning on July first following, to provide for serial and sinking fund payments with respect to any bonds or notes of the commonwealth, and each such amount shall be included in the state tax for the year for which it is so certified.
Section 51. On all bonds issued for the benefit of any of the metropolitan districts, so called, the state treasurer shall assess upon the said metropolitan districts annually amounts necessary to provide for the serial and sinking fund payments falling due with respect to such bonds.
after issuance; requirements for inviting purchase proposals; waiver Section 53. Whenever there is to be an issue of bonds or notes of the commonwealth maturing at a time later than three years from their dates, excepting such bonds or notes as are to be issued for the investment of cash in any of the sinking or other established funds of the commonwealth, the state treasurer shall solicit bids for the purchase thereof, and shall provide reasonable notice to the public of such solicitations. The state treasurer may reserve the right to reject any or all bids. If no bid is accepted, the whole or any part of the loan may be awarded to any person. Compliance with the provisions of this section may be waived with respect to an issue of bonds or notes upon the approval of the finance advisory board, established under the provisions of section ninety-seven of chapter six.
report Section 53A. The state treasurer is hereby authorized, upon request of the governor, to issue and sell refunding bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time for the purpose of paying, at maturity or upon acceleration or redemption, any bonds of the commonwealth then outstanding, including the payment of any redemption premium thereon and any interest accrued or to accrue to the date of maturity, acceleration or redemption of such bonds; provided, however, that the state treasurer shall not issue any such refunding bonds unless he shall find that the present value, discounted at such rate as he shall deem appropriate, of the principal and interest payments due on the refunding bonds is less than the present value, discounted at such rate, of the principal and interest payments to be paid, from the proceeds of such refunding bonds and investment earnings thereon, on the bonds to be refunded. Such refunding bonds may be issued at such time prior to the maturity, acceleration or redemption of the bonds to be refunded thereby as the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, may deem advisable. The issuance of such bonds, the security therefor, the maturities and other details thereof, the rights of the holders thereof and the rights, duties and obligations of the commonwealth with respect thereto shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter which relate to the issuance of bonds, insofar as such provisions may be appropriate therefor. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the provisions of section forty-nine applicable to sinking funds established with trustees shall apply to the deposit of refunding bond proceeds with a trustee except that such proceeds shall be held for the benefit of the holders of the bonds to be refunded thereby. All bonds issued by the commonwealth as aforesaid shall be designated on their face General Obligation Refunding Bonds or Special Obligation Refunding Bonds, as appropriate, and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding thirty years, as the governor may recommend to the general court pursuant to Section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, provided, however, that the bonds of any particular issue shall mature not later than five years after the date of final maturity of the bonds being refunded by such issue; and provided, further, that the debt service on such refunding bonds shall be charged to the various budgeted funds of the commonwealth in proportion to the principal amounts being refunded.
The state treasurer shall file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means no later than thirty days after the sale of any refunding bonds issued pursuant to this section. Said report shall include written documentation of compliance with the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, the issue or issues to be refunded, the projected dollar savings and the projected present value savings.
bidders Section 54. The state treasurer may require each bidder submitting a proposal pursuant to section 53, as a condition precedent to the consideration of such bidder’s proposal, to submit a good faith deposit or otherwise secure such bidder’s proposal, in such manner and amount as the state treasurer shall determine to be appropriate.
Section 55. The state treasurer may annually expend such sums as the general court shall appropriate for the purpose of providing for and advertising sales of bonds for the direct debt of the commonwealth and for the purpose of preparing and paying for bond books necessary for such sales. But, when bonds of the commonwealth are issued, the payment of which is provided by assessments upon the metropolitan or other districts, the expenses of providing for and advertising sales and for the preparing and paying for bond books shall be paid from the maintenance appropriation of the district from which the assessment is to be received.
other securities Section 56. Funds from a sale of specific bonds or other securities which have reverted at the close of a fiscal year, in accordance with the provisions of the act authorizing the expenditures to be financed by the sale of said bonds or other securities, or in accordance with the provisions of section fourteen shall first be transferred in the succeeding fiscal year or years on the books of account of the commonwealth, without appropriation, to the fund which is liable for the maturities on said bonds or other securities but only in such amount as is necessary to meet the specific bonds or other securities matured and paid from said fund, if any, in a fiscal year. When such transfers are no longer required to meet such maturities any balance of said funds remaining, after setting aside a sufficient amount to cover any such bonds or other securities which have matured but have not been presented for payment, shall be transferred, without appropriation, on the books of account of the commonwealth to the fund from which said bonds or other securities were paid.
defaced bonds Section 58. The state treasurer may, upon terms and regulations prescribed by the governor and council, issue, in denominations of not less than one thousand dollars, registered bonds in exchange for any coupon bonds of the commonwealth, which, with the exception of the coupons, shall be in conformity with the laws authorizing the issue of such coupon bonds. He shall mutilate and retain the bonds so received in exchange. The comptroller shall certify such registered bonds; and he and the state treasurer shall each keep a register of their dates, numbers and amounts, the names of the persons to whom they were issued, when they are payable, and for what bonds they were issued in exchange. The state treasurer may also, upon the same terms and regulations, issue in substitution for mutilated, defaced or endorsed bonds presented to him other bonds of like or equivalent issues.
duplicates Section 59. If it appears to the governor and council that any interest-bearing bond of the commonwealth identified by number and description has, without bad faith upon the part of the owner, been lost or destroyed, wholly or in part, they shall, under regulations and with restrictions as to time and retention for security or otherwise prescribed by them, order the state treasurer to issue a registered duplicate of such bond, payable at the same time, bearing the same rate of interest as the bond lost or destroyed, and so marked as to show the number and date of the original bond. If such bond was of a class or series which has been called in for redemption before the application for a reissue, it shall be paid, with such interest only as would have been paid if the bond had been presented in accordance with such call.
consensus tax revenue forecast Section 5B. The commissioner, with the approval of the governor, shall on or before both October 15 and March fifteenth of every year, prepare estimates of the total state revenues and total allowable state tax revenues as defined in chapter twenty-nine B which in his judgment will be available for the annual budget for the ensuing fiscal year. In making such estimates he shall take into account the computed maximum state tax revenues as defined in chapter twenty-nine B, the impact of existing taxes, the probable economic growth within the state, anticipated federal fund receipts, the anticipated growth in wages and salaries, departmental and other revenue based on existing laws, and amounts available to be transferred into budgetary funds.
In estimating revenues available for the current year, he shall include the amount certified by the comptroller under the provisions of section five C as available from the consolidated net surplus in the operating funds at the close of the preceding fiscal year and not in excess of one-half of one per cent of the total state tax revenues in such fiscal year. In estimating revenues to be available for the annual budget for the ensuing fiscal year, he shall include an amount of any anticipated consolidated net surplus in operating funds not in excess of one-half of one per cent of the estimated total state tax revenues for the current fiscal year.
The commissioner, with the approval of the governor, shall annually on or before December fifteenth, prepare estimates of the tax expenditures which in his judgment will occur during the ensuing fiscal year. Such estimates of tax expenditures shall be prepared to facilitate a comparison of increases or decreases from actual collections of the preceding fiscal year the estimates of such revenue for the then current fiscal year.
The commissioner shall transmit the estimates of total state revenue and the estimates of tax expenditures to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, to every secretary, to every statutory officer of the commonwealth, who shall transmit to each subordinate agency such of the information which each such officer or secretary determines is appropriate to assist each such agency in its budget preparations, to the house and senate committees on ways and means, and to the joint committee on taxation.
Said secretaries shall identify any new program approved by them that will require additional revenue.
On or before October fifteenth, January fifteenth and April fifteenth, said commissioner, shall prepare and submit to the governor, to the house and senate committees on ways and means, and to the joint committee on taxation revised estimates of revenue available to meet appropriations and other needs in the current fiscal year, unless, in his opinion, no significant change in his previous estimates of total available revenues is indicated by information then available to him, and he shall accompany his revised estimates with explanations of any changes in his estimates for specific sources of revenue.
In accordance with section twenty-one of chapter sixty-two C, the commissioner of revenue shall provide the commissioner of administration the data necessary to estimate tax expenditures.
On or before January 15, the commissioner shall meet with the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall jointly develop a consensus tax revenue forecast for the budget for the ensuing fiscal year which shall be agreed to by the commissioner and said committees. In developing such a consensus tax revenue forecast, the commissioner and said committees, or subcommittees of said committees, are hereby authorized to hold joint hearings on the economy of the commonwealth and its impact on tax revenue forecasts; provided, however, that in the first year of the term of office of a governor who has not served in the preceding year, said parties shall agree to the consensus tax revenue forecast not later than January 31 of said year. Said consensus tax estimate shall be net of the amount necessary to transfer, from the General Fund to the Commonwealth’s Pension Liability Fund, to fully fund the system according to the schedule established pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 22C of chapter 32. Said consensus tax estimate shall also include an estimate of taxes collected pursuant to chapter 62 for capital gain income, as defined therein. The department of revenue shall report on a monthly basis to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on taxation the amount of revenues estimated to be collected in that month from capital gains income. Said consensus tax revenue forecast shall be included in a joint resolution and placed before the members of the general court for their consideration. Such joint resolution, if passed by both branches of the general court, shall establish the maximum amount of tax revenue which may be considered for the general appropriation act for the ensuing fiscal year.
of consolidated net surplus Section 5C. The comptroller shall annually, on or before October 31, certify to the commissioner of administration the amount of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds at the close of the preceding fiscal year. The amounts so certified shall be disposed as follows:(a) an amount equal to 1/2 of 1 per cent of the total revenue from taxes in the preceding fiscal year shall be available to be used as revenue for the current fiscal year and 1/2 of 1 per cent of the total revenue from taxes in the preceding fiscal year shall be transferred to the Stabilization Fund.
(b) any remaining amount of such consolidated net surplus after amounts made available in clause (a) shall be transferred to the Stabilization Fund; and(c) all transfers specified in this section shall be made from the undesignated fund balances in the budgetary funds proportionally from said undesignated fund balances provided that no such transfer shall cause a deficit in any of said funds.
recovery by comptroller Section 5D. At the close of each fiscal year, the comptroller shall determine the amount expended during the fiscal year from each state fund or accounts comprising such funds, other than the General Fund, for the compensation of state personnel. On the basis of said determination, the comptroller shall charge each such fund or accounts therein an amount for fringe benefit costs attributable to compensation paid from said other funds, based on a fringe benefit rate to be set annually by the commissioner of administration. The amount so charged shall be credited to the General Fund.
The comptroller shall make charges to recover the commonwealth’s cost of fringe benefits provided to or on behalf of any person paid compensation by any state agency, state authority, or public institution of higher education, or by any entity otherwise directly or indirectly receiving state funds, from any source other than a direct expenditure of an appropriation charged to a state fund subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph. The comptroller may establish such systems of periodic charges or billings as he deems necessary and appropriate to ensure the recovery of said costs. Any bill rendered for the purpose of recovery of said costs shall be payable to the comptroller within thirty days of receipt of said bill, provided that all amounts so paid shall be credited to the General Fund.
information Section 5F. Every officer having charge of any state agency which receives a periodic or other appropriation from the commonwealth, shall annually, on or before a date set by the commissioner submit to the budget director a department financial plan for the current fiscal year and, at such times as specified by said commissioner, revisions to said department financial plan; provided, however, that said officer shall also submit said financial plans to the chairmen of the house and senate committees on ways and means.
The department financial plan shall include statements, in a form prescribed by the budget director, showing in detail (1) amounts proposed to be expended from each expenditure budget account for each month in the current fiscal year; (2) amounts projected to be received in each revenue budget account on account of revenue, other than revenue from state taxes, federal grants or proceeds of bonds issued by the commonwealth, for each month in the current fiscal year; and, (3) such other information on the expenditures, revenues, activities, output or performance of the state agency as required by the budget director.
The budget director shall provide to the comptroller information from department financial plans for the purpose of developing estimates of monthly cash flow and for the purpose of preparing monthly reports of planned and actual expenditure and planned and actual revenue for each major state program, department, and executive or other constitutional office.
Section 6. The budget director shall study and review all estimates and requests for appropriations and other authorizations for expenditures of state funds filed with him as provided by sections three and four, and shall make such investigations as will enable him to prepare an operating budget for the governor, setting forth such recommendations as the governor shall determine. The governor may call upon the comptroller for information relative to finances and for assistance in the preparation of the operating budget. The operating budget shall embody all estimates, requests and recommendations for appropriations, distributions of state revenues and other authorizations for expenditures by the commonwealth in accordance with existing law, other than for capital facility projects and prior-year appropriations, but including those from revolving and revenue retention accounts and those from federal grants, as submitted by each officer having charge of any state agency which receives a periodic appropriation from the commonwealth. The budget recommendations of the governor shall not assume future continuing appropriation of the unspent balances of current or previous appropriations.
The operating budget shall be set out in accordance with the provisions of section six D and classified and designated so as to show separately estimates and recommendations for: (a) expenses for administration, operation and maintenance; (b) deficiencies or overdrafts in appropriations for former years; (c) interest on the public debt and sinking fund and serial bond requirements; and (d) all requests and proposals for expenditures for new programs and other undertakings; and shall include in detail definite recommendations of the governor relative to the amounts which should be appropriated therefor. The operating budget shall show the estimated state revenue of each state agency. The operating budget shall indicate the number of positions proposed to be authorized for each state agency or such other public instrumentality for the ensuing fiscal year, the number of positions for each state agency in the current and ensuing fiscal years and such other information as may be held to explain the anticipated results of the proposed expenditures.
owner’s indemnity bonds Section 60. The owner of such bond shall surrender so much thereof as may remain, if any, and shall give to the state treasurer a bond in double the amount of said lost or destroyed bond and of the interest which would accrue until the principal is due and payable, with a sufficient surety, a resident of the commonwealth, approved by the governor and council, conditioned to indemnify and save harmless the commonwealth from any claim on account of said lost or destroyed bond.
faith and credit; negotiable instruments; direct debt limit Section 60A. Unless otherwise specifically provided, provisions contained in any act heretofore or hereafter enacted by a vote, taken by the yeas and nays of two-thirds of each house of the general court present and voting thereon, and approved by the governor, authorizing the state treasurer to issue and sell bonds or notes of the commonwealth or authorizing the commonwealth to borrow money requiring that the principal of and interest on such bonds or notes shall be (i) paid by or from a particular fund or funds of the commonwealth now existing or hereafter created, (ii) part of the debt and expenses of a particular district, or (iii) assessed by particular methods, or other provisions or words of similar import, shall not affect the status of such bonds and notes as general obligations of the commonwealth to which the full faith and credit of the commonwealth is pledged for the payment of principal and interest when due. All bonds and notes executed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be general obligations of the commonwealth to which its full faith and credit is pledged for the payment of principal and interest when due, unless specifically provided on the face of such bond or note to the contrary. All bonds or notes of the commonwealth executed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall have all of the qualities and incidents of negotiable instruments under the Uniform Commercial Code.
There is hereby established a direct debt limit for the commonwealth which shall apply to any direct bonds issued whose issuance would cause the sum of the principal amounts of all direct bonds issued by the commonwealth and then outstanding to exceed the limit set herein; provided, however, that bonds for the payment or redemption of which, either at or prior to maturity, refunding bonds shall have been issued, shall be excluded in the computation of outstanding bonds; and provided, further, that the principal amount of bonds issued at a discount shall be the original net proceeds of such bonds. For the fiscal year starting July first, nineteen hundred and ninety, such limit shall be six billion eight hundred million dollars. For each subsequent fiscal year, the limit shall be the limit established for the previous fiscal year plus five percent. The preceding paragraph shall not apply to direct bonds in excess of the direct debt limit. The treasurer is authorized to issue regulations enforcing the provisions of this paragraph, which regulations shall take effect upon their approval by the house committee on ways and means and thirty days after filing such regulations with the house and senate committees on ways and means; provided, however, that under no circumstances shall the provisions of this paragraph be interpreted to impair any bond covenants or other guarantees to bond holders relative to any such bonds or notes issued prior to July first, nineteen hundred and ninety.
Section 60B. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the total appropriations authorized for any fiscal year beginning after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety shall provide that not more than ten percent of all such appropriations shall be expended for payment of interest and principal on general obligation debt of the commonwealth.
commonwealth; oath of claimants Section 61. The comptroller or any other person authorized to approve claims for materials, supplies or other articles furnished to, or for service or labor performed for, the commonwealth, may, before approving any such claim, require the claimant to certify on oath that all the articles have been furnished, for which the claim has been made, or that the service or labor has been performed, and that no commission, discount, bonus, present or reward of any kind has been received or promised or is expected on account of the same.
commonwealth, commissions, officers, etc.
; court restraint Section 63. If a department, commission, board, officer, employee or agent of the commonwealth is about to expend money or incur obligations purporting to bind the commonwealth for any purpose or object or in any manner other than that for and in which such department, commission, board, officer, employee or agent has the legal and constitutional right and power to expend money or incur obligations, the supreme judicial or superior court may, upon the petition of not less than twenty-four taxable inhabitants of the commonwealth, not more than six of whom shall be from any one county, determine the same in equity, and may, before the final determination of the cause, restrain the unlawful exercise or abuse of such right and power.
employees; investments Section 64. The state treasurer, on behalf of the commonwealth, may contract with an employee to defer a portion of that employee’s compensation and may, for the purposes of funding a deferred compensation program for said employee, established in accordance with the U.
S. Internal Revenue Code, (the “Code”), invest the deferred portion of the employee’s income in a life insurance or annuity contract, mutual fund, or a bank investment trust. The treasurer shall, before making any such investment, solicit bids from insurance companies authorized to conduct business within the commonwealth pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-five, mutual fund managers, and banks, which bids shall be sealed, and opened at a time and place designated by the treasurer. Any bid submitted by an insurance company, mutual fund, or bank investment trust to fund the deferred compensation program shall, where applicable, clearly indicate the interest rate which shall be paid on the deferred funds, any commissions which will be paid to the salesmen, any load imposed for the purpose of administering the funds, mortality projections, expected payouts, tax implications for participating employees and such other information as the treasurer may require. Any contract entered into between an employee and the commonwealth pursuant to this section shall include all such information in terms the employee can reasonably be expected to understand.
As used in this section the word “employee” shall have the same meaning as “employee” in section one of chapter thirty-two and shall include members of the state police temporarily assigned to and paid by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the Massachusetts Port Authority or any other board, agency, commission or authority to which they may be temporarily assigned and by which they are paid, and consultants and independent contractors who are natural persons paid by the commonwealth.
An employee may defer compensation; provided, however, that such deferral does not exceed the maximum allowable under the appropriate provisions of the Code, as amended and in effect for the taxable year, and appropriate regulations thereunder.
Such deferred compensation program shall be in addition to and not a part of the retirement program or pension system as provided under said chapter thirty-two and any other benefit program provided by law for such employee. Any compensation deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation, as defined in section one of said chapter thirty-two, for the purpose of computing the retirement and pension benefits earned by any such employee, but any compensation so deferred shall not be included in the computation of any taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.
The state treasurer, on behalf of the commonwealth, shall contract with every person, who is receiving compensation from the commonwealth for services performed for the commonwealth and who is not eligible for membership or has exercised an option not to participate in the state retirement system set forth in chapter thirty-two, to defer a portion of that person’s compensation, and shall invest the deferred portion of that person’s income in a deferred compensation program established in accordance with said Code. For persons holding positions which would have rendered the holder of the position eligible for participation in the commonwealth’s deferred compensation program on November fifth, nineteen hundred and ninety, the state treasurer shall contract for plan years prior to January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, to defer six percent of that person’s regular compensation, as defined in section one of chapter thirty-two for the period subsequent to December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and forty-five, but no greater than the maximum deferral allowable for that person pursuant to the provisions of said Code for government deferred compensation programs. For persons holding positions which would not have rendered the holder of the position eligible for participation in the commonwealth’s deferred compensation program on November fifth, nineteen hundred and ninety, the state treasurer shall contract to defer seven and one-half percent of that person’s regular compensation, as defined in said section one of said chapter thirty-two for the period subsequent to December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and forty-five, but no greater than the maximum deferral allowable for that person pursuant to the provisions of said Code for government deferred compensation programs.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the state treasurer need not contract with any part-time, seasonal or temporary employee not required by said Code to participate in a public retirement system. All contracts formed with part-time, seasonal or temporary employees pursuant to the provisions of the previous paragraph shall entitle the employee to a single-sum distribution of the employee’s deferrals plus reasonable interest.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or grant any rights not previously enjoyed under chapter thirty-two A or one hundred and fifty E.
Section 64A. The state treasurer of the commonwealth, on behalf of the commonwealth, may contract with an employee to make contributions for and in the name of such employee, from amounts otherwise payable to the employee as current compensation, to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) by such employee established in accordance with the U.
S. Internal Revenue Code, (the “Code”). The participating employee may invest that portion of his income so contributed to an IRA in an annuity contract, mutual fund, bank investment trust or other investment authorized by the Code. Before making such deduction, the treasurer shall be required to solicit bids from insurance companies authorized to conduct business within the commonwealth pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-five, mutual fund managers, and banks, which bids shall be sealed, and opened at a time and place designated by the treasurer. Any bid submitted by an insurance company, mutual fund, or bank investment trust seeking investment of the IRA contribution shall, where applicable, clearly indicate the interest rate which shall be paid on the invested funds, any commissions which will be paid to the salesmen, any load imposed for the purpose of administering the funds, expected payouts, tax implications for participating employees and such other information as the treasurer may require. Upon the treasurer’s determining which provider offers the product or products most beneficial to the employee in each category for which bids were solicited, the treasurer may offer such employee the opportunity to establish an IRA with one or more such providers. The employee who wishes to invest his IRA funds with any such provider, or combination of providers, may authorize the treasurer to deduct from amounts otherwise payable to the employee, at one time or on a periodic basis, amounts to be paid into the employee’s IRA. If the employee so elects, the treasurer shall pay to the providers the amount designated by the employee, in the name of the employee, to the employee’s IRA. Amounts so paid to the providers for the employee’s IRA account shall belong exclusively to the employee. Except as otherwise provided herein, the treasurer may restrict an employee’s right to contract to have contributions made to an IRA through deductions and payments by the treasurer, to those providers selected as the result of the competitive bidding process outlined herein, but the authority conferred upon the treasurer shall not be construed to restrict or limit the right of any employee to establish one or more IRAs with such banks, insurance companies, or similar authorized institutions as the employee may choose in any manner other than through an authorized deduction by the treasurer of a portion of the employees compensation as outlined herein. Any contract entered into between an employee and the commonwealth pursuant to this section shall include all information in terms the employee can reasonably be expected to understand.
As used in this section the word “employee” shall have the same meaning as “employee” in section one of chapter thirty-two and shall include members of the state police temporarily assigned to and paid by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the Massachusetts Port Authority or any other board, agency, commission or authority to which they may be temporarily assigned and by which they are paid, and consultants and independent contractors who are natural persons paid by the commonwealth.
An employee may contribute a portion of his compensation to an IRA under the program outlined herein so long as such contribution, for an employee who is single, is the lesser of two thousand dollars or one hundred per cent of his compensation for a taxable year, and, for an employee who is married, the contribution is the lesser of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars or one hundred per cent of his compensation for a taxable year. If an employee has any compensation deferred under a deferred compensation plan for employees of the commonwealth, if one is established by the treasurer under section sixty-four, then the aggregate amount of such deferred compensation deduction and amounts contributed to such employee’s IRA shall not exceed the limits imposed upon such combined deduction and contribution by the Code.
Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, the treasurer shall not be required to solicit bids to invest the contributed portion of an employee’s income into the employee’s IRA provided: (a) the treasurer is authorized by the employee to pay that portion of the employee’s compensation into the employee’s IRA in the same investment products as provided through a deferred compensation or IRA plan for employees of the commonwealth administered by the state treasurer, or a deferred compensation plan for employees of the city or town administered by the treasurer, provided such plan resulted from the solicitation of bids in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section; or (b) the treasurer is authorized by the employee to pay that portion of the employee’s compensation into the employee’s IRA in the investment products offered pursuant to a deferred compensation plan or an IRA investment option program developed through a competitive selection process, provided that such plan or program resulted from the solicitation of bids by a group of any combination of three or more city, town, county or public authority treasurers acting as a “Common Group” for purposes of soliciting such proposals in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section.
Such IRA plan shall be in addition to and not a part of the retirement program or pension system as provided under said chapter thirty-two and any other benefit program provided by law for such employee. Any compensation contributed by the employee to his IRA under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation, as defined in section one of said chapter thirty-two, for the purpose of computing the retirement and pension benefits earned by any such employee, but any compensation so contributed shall not be included in the computation of federal taxes but shall be included in the computation of state taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.
governmental bodies and employees; investments Section 64B. The treasurer or, if there is no treasurer, the chief financial officer by whatever name that person is called, on behalf of any political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth or any county, city or town or group thereof by whatever name the body is called, including without limitation, an agency, authority, board, corporation or district, including also without limitation, any regional school, police, fire, refuse or sewage district, and hereinafter referred to as a “governmental body,” which is not otherwise subject to any general or special law authorizing deferred compensation contracts with its employees, may contract with an employee of such governmental body to defer a portion of an employee’s compensation and may, for the purposes of funding a deferred compensation program for said employee, established in accordance with the U.
S. Internal Revenue Code, (the “Code”) invest the deferred portion of the employee’s income in a life insurance or annuity contract, mutual fund, or a bank investment trust. The treasurer or chief financial officer shall, before making any such investment, solicit bids from insurance companies authorized to conduct business within the commonwealth pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-five, mutual fund managers, and banks, which bids shall be sealed, and opened at a time and place designated by the treasurer or chief financial officer. Any bid submitted by an insurance company, mutual fund, or bank investment trust to fund the deferred compensation program shall, where applicable, clearly indicate the interest rate which shall be paid on the deferred funds, any commissions which will be paid to the salesmen, any load imposed for the purpose of administering the funds, mortality projections, expected payouts, tax implications for participating employees and such other information as the treasurer or chief financial officer may require. Any contract entered into between an employee and the governmental body pursuant to this section shall include all such information in terms the employee can reasonably be expected to understand.
As used in this section the word “employee” shall have the same meaning as the word “employee” in section one of chapter thirty-two and shall include consultants and independent contractors who are natural persons paid by the governmental body.
Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the treasurer or chief financial officer shall not be required to solicit bids to invest the deferred portion of an employee’s income provided: (a) the treasurer or chief financial officer elects to invest such funds in the same investment products as are provided through the deferred compensation plan for employees of the commonwealth administered by the state treasurer, provided such plan resulted from the solicitation of bids in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section; or (b) the treasurer or chief financial officer elects to invest such funds in the investment products offered pursuant to a plan developed through a competitive process, provided that such plan resulted from the solicitation of bids by a group of any combination of three or more city, town, county or public authority treasurers or treasurers or chief financial officers of governmental bodies covered by this section acting as a “Common Group” for purposes of soliciting such proposals in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section.
An employee may defer compensation; provided, however, that such deferral does not exceed the maximum allowable under the appropriate provisions of the Code, as amended and in effect for the taxable year, and appropriate regulations thereunder.
Such deferred compensation program shall be in addition to and not a part of any retirement program or pension system as provided under said chapter thirty-two and any other benefit program provided by law for such employee. Any compensation deferred under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation, as defined in section one of said chapter thirty-two, for the purpose of computing any retirement and pension benefits earned by any such employee, but any compensation so deferred shall not be included in the computation of any taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.
governmental bodies and employees Section 64C. The treasurer or, if there is no treasurer, the chief financial officer, by whatever name that person is called, of any political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth or by any county, city, or town or group thereof by whatever name the body is called, including without limitation an agency, board, authority, corporation or district, including, also without limitation, any regional school, police, fire, refuse or sewage district, hereinafter referred to as a “governmental body,” which is not subject to a general or special law authorizing deferred compensation contracts with its employees, may contract with an employee of that governmental body to make contribution for and in the name of such employee, from amounts otherwise payable to the employee as current compensation, to an Individual Retirement Account (“IRA”) by such employee established in accordance with the U.
S. Internal Revenue Code, (the “Code”). The participating employee may invest that portion of his income so contributed to an IRA in an annuity contract, mutual fund, bank investment trust or other investment authorized by the Code. Before making such deduction, the treasurer or chief financial officer shall be required to solicit bids from insurance companies authorized to conduct business within the commonwealth pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-five, mutual fund managers and banks, which bids shall be sealed and opened at a time and place designated by the treasurer or chief financial officer. Any bid submitted by an insurance company, mutual fund, or bank investment trust seeking investment of the IRA contribution shall, where applicable, clearly indicate the interest rate which shall be paid on the invested funds, any commissions which will be paid to the salesmen, any load imposed for the purpose of administering the funds, expected payouts, tax implications for participating employees and such other information as the treasurer or chief financial officer may require. Upon the treasurer’s or chief financial officer’s determining which provider offers the product or products most beneficial to the employee in each category for which bids were solicited, the treasurer or chief financial officer may offer such employee the opportunity to establish an IRA with one or more such providers. The employee who wishes to invest his IRA funds with such provider, or combination of providers, may authorize the treasurer or chief financial officer to deduct from amounts otherwise payable to the employee, at one time or on a periodic basis, amounts to be paid into the employee’s IRA. If the employee so elects, the treasurer or chief financial officer shall pay to the providers the amount designated by the employee, in the name of the employee, to the employee’s IRA. Amounts so paid to the providers for the employee’s IRA account shall belong exclusively to the employee. Except as otherwise provided herein, the treasurer or chief financial officer may restrict an employee’s right to contract to have contributions made to an IRA through deductions and payments by the treasurer or chief financial officer, to those providers selected as the result of the competitive bidding process outlined herein, but the authority conferred upon the treasurer or chief financial officer shall not be construed to restrict or limit the right of any employee to establish one or more IRAs with such banks, insurance companies, or similar authorized institutions as the employee may choose in any manner other than through an authorized deduction by the treasurer or chief financial officer of a portion of the employee’s compensation as outlined herein. Any contract entered into between an employee and the governmental body pursuant to this section shall include all information in terms the employee can reasonably be expected to understand.
As used in this section the word “employee” shall have the same meaning as the word “employee” in section one of chapter thirty-two and shall also include consultants and independent contractors who are natural persons paid by the governmental body.
An employee may contribute a portion of his compensation to an IRA under the program outlined herein so long as such contribution, for an employee who is single, is the lesser of two thousand dollars or one hundred per cent of his compensation for a taxable year, and, for an employee who is married, the contribution is the lesser of two thousand two hundred and fifty dollars or one hundred per cent of his compensation for a taxable year, such dollar amount to be adjusted to reflect any applicable amendments to the code adopted from time to time. If an employee has any compensation deferred under a deferred compensation plan for employees of the governmental body, if one is established by the treasurer or chief financial officer under section sixty-four B, then the aggregate amount of such deferred compensation deduction and amounts contributed to such employee’s IRA shall not exceed the limits imposed upon such combined deduction and contribution by the Code.
Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, the treasurer or chief financial officer shall not be required to solicit bids to invest the contributed portion of an employee’s income into the employee’s IRA provided: (a) the treasurer or chief financial officer is authorized by the employee to pay that portion of the employee’s compensation into the employee’s IRA in the same investment products as are provided through a deferred compensation or IRA plan for employees of the commonwealth administered by the state treasurer or a deferred compensation plan for employees of the governmental body administered by the treasurer or chief financial officer, provided such plan resulted from the solicitation of bids in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section; or (b) the treasurer or chief financial officer is authorized by the employee to pay that portion of the employee’s compensation into the employee’s IRA in the investment products offered pursuant to a deferred compensation or IRA plan developed through a competitive selection process, provided that such plan resulted from the solicitation of bids by a group of any combination of three or more city, town, county or public authority treasurers or treasurers or chief financial officers of government bodies covered by this section acting as a “Common Group” for purposes of soliciting such proposals in accordance with bidding requirements comparable to those required under this section.
Such IRA plan shall be in addition to and not a part of any retirement program or pension system as provided under said chapter thirty-two and any other benefit program provided by law for such employee. Any compensation contributed by the employee to his IRA under such a plan shall continue to be included as regular compensation, as defined in section one of said chapter thirty-two, for the purpose of computing any retirement and pension benefits earned by any such employee, but any compensation so contributed shall not be included in the computation of federal taxes but shall be included in the computation of state taxes withheld on behalf of any such employee.
defined contribution plan; required participation Section 64D. Any governmental body, as defined in section sixty-four B, may require any person, who is receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed and who is not a member of a retirement system as provided under chapter thirty-two or any other retirement system which meets the requirements of Section 3121(b)(7)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, to participate in the deferred compensation program established with regard to the governmental body, or tax sheltered annuity or any other defined contribution plan. The treasurer, or if there is no treasurer, the chief financial officer by whatever name that person is called, on behalf of a governmental body which has accepted the provisions of this section shall contract with any person, who is receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed for the governmental body and who is not eligible for membership in the retirement system set forth in said chapter thirty-two that pertains to the governmental body, to withhold from that person’s compensation at least such amounts as are necessary to provide the minimum level of benefits required to qualify said deferred compensation program, tax sheltered annuity or other defined contribution plan as a retirement system for said person as defined under said Section 3121(b)(7)(F) of said Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder but no greater than permitted under other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
All contracts formed with part-time, seasonal or temporary employees pursuant to the provisions of the first paragraph shall entitle the employee to a single-sum distribution of the employee’s deferral plus reasonable interest.
A governmental body may accept the provisions of this section by a majority vote of the selectmen for a town, the city council for a city, the county council for a county, the district members in a district, the members of the authority in an authority, and the governing body, by whatever name and in whatever form composed, in any other political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth.
Any governmental body already requiring, on the effective date of this act, participation in a public retirement system for persons who are receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed and who are not members of a retirement system as provided under said chapter thirty-two shall be deemed to have accepted the provisions of this section without the requirement of a majority vote of the selectmen for a town, the city council for a city, the county council for a county, the district members in a district, the members of the authority in an authority, and the governing body, by whatever name and in whatever form composed, in any other political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth.
secretaries of executive offices established under Chapters six A and seven; review by commissioner Section 65. The secretary having charge of any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven may by rule or regulation not inconsistent with the law delegate to one officer within the office of the secretary, in whole or in part, the authority to exercise in his name any power, or to discharge in his name any duty conferred upon such secretary by the provisions of sections twenty-seven A, twenty-seven B, twenty-nine, and twenty-nine A; sections twenty-four C, twenty-five B, thirty-six and paragraph (5A) of section forty-six of chapter thirty; and section fifteen, section fifteen F, section sixteen A, and section sixteen B of chapter thirty-one.
The commissioner of administration shall from time to time make a random examination of approvals granted and actions taken by such secretary or his designee under the provisions of the aforementioned sections, in order to determine the extent of compliance with the provisions of such sections and the rules or regulations established thereunder. Following any such examination, the commissioner of administration may, after consultation with the secretary, by order transfer from such officer to the commissioner of administration, for such period of time as said commissioner deems appropriate, the authority to give such approvals or to take such actions. Upon making such order, the commissioner of administration shall forthwith file a copy of said order with the budget director, the comptroller, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint legislative committee on post audit and oversight of the general court, specifying the scope of the authority so transferred and the duration of said transfer.
Section 66. Any officer or employee who knowingly violates, authorizes or directs another officer or employee to violate any provision of this chapter, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or any other provision of law relating to the incurring of liability or expenditure of public funds, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than one year, or both. Any sheriff who expends funds in excess of the budget approved by the county government finance review board pursuant to section twelve of chapter sixty-four D shall be punished as provided in this section.
Section 6B. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no state agency shall apply for federal grants or for participation in a federally assisted program under any federal law, and no state agency may approve an application for such a federal grant or approve participation submitted by an agency other than a state agency, unless such state agency shall have, at least thirty days prior to submitting an application, notified the commissioner, the house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on federal financial assistance, on forms and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. Such notice shall, at a minimum, include:—(1) reference to the federal statutory authority under which the action is proposed;(2) a description of the substance of the application;(3) a fiscal statement setting forth:—(i) the projected grant budget per year including the number of personnel to be funded with federal funds;(ii) the estimated amount of cash match, inkind match or other monies to be supplied by the state and any other source from which such match will be required, and a description of the federal allocation formula and matching requirements including whether the grant is distributed to the commonwealth on the basis of a federally specified formula or on the basis of the federal grantor’s discretion and a description of the federal constraints placed on the agency’s discretion to use the grant; and(iii) the duration of the grant, the number of fiscal years the agency has been receiving assistance and the number of fiscal years in which assistance can be expected to continue under the program, and a statement as to the priority of the program alongside other state or federally funded programs, including whether the agency would request that all or part of the program be funded out of the General Fund in the event federal funds are reduced or discontinued.
If, within thirty days of notification of intent to apply for a federal grant, no action has been taken by either the commissioner, the house or senate committee on ways and means, or the joint committee on federal financial assistance, the application may proceed. To avoid any inconsistency or duplication in review, the commissioner shall establish procedures whereby notices given under this section shall be coordinated with other notice requirements for project or plan proposals in connection with federal aid including those required under Circular A–95 of the United States Office of Management and Budget.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, any federal grant which is included as an appropriation in the state budget shall not be subject to the foregoing review by the house and senate committees on ways and means.
(b) Upon official notification to a state agency from a federal department or agency of approval of a state plan or application for federal funds, the state agency shall notify the commissioner and the comptroller promptly of the amount, duration, payment schedule and other attendant financial terms and conditions. Such notification shall be for the purposes of appropriate recording. The commissioner shall issue a quarterly report detailing, by agency, the status of federal funds applied for, received, and expended. Upon issuance, this report shall be made immediately available to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint committee on federal financial assistance.
(c) All requests for appropriations by an agency for submission to the governor and recommendation to the general court, shall contain, on forms and in a format prescribed by the commissioner, all federal grants received by an agency including that information required in subsection (a). Pursuant to section six the budget director shall include all federal grants received or anticipated by state agencies as a part of the budget.
(d) Notwithstanding the provision of any general or special law to the contrary, no state agency shall establish new, or expand existing programs involving federal or other non-state monies beyond the scope of those already established, recognized, and approved by the general court, until the program and the projected or actual availability of money is submitted to the budget director for recommendation to the general court. No state agency may make expenditures from any federal grant unless such expenditures are made pursuant to specific appropriations of the general court and allotment thereof, said allotment to be made by the comptroller upon receipt of federal grant funds.
Every state agency shall submit a spending plan for such federal grants, by subsidiary accounts, to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on federal financial assistance by September first of each year and shall submit revisions of such spending plans to said committees as they shall from time to time be revised.
Pursuant to section two C, all such expenditures shall be charged to the General Federal Grants Fund. Notwithstanding the amount of the appropriation for a specific federal grant, the amount so expended from such federal grant shall not exceed the amount actually received and deposited in the General Federal Grants Fund for such federal grant. To the extent not precluded by the terms and conditions under which federal monies are made available by the United States government, a state agency shall use federal grants in accordance with any policies or priorities established by the general court for the activity being assisted.
(e) If federal grant monies become available to the state for expenditure, as provided for in subsection (a), and the availability of such monies could not reasonably have been anticipated and included in the budget approved by the general court for the fiscal year in question, the treasurer may accept such monies on behalf of the state and the governor may make expenditures of such monies as are authorized by federal and state law. Upon application for, and receipt of, such monies, the governor shall submit to the house and senate committees on ways and means a statement:—(1) describing the proposed federal expenditures in the same manner as described in the budget document; and(2) explaining why the availability of such federal grants and the necessity of their expenditure could not have been anticipated in time for such expenditures to have been approved as part of the budget enacted for that particular fiscal year.
No federal grant monies may be expended by a state agency for any program for more than one fiscal year without appropriation by the general court in accordance with this section.
(f) Each spending agency in receipt of federal grant monies shall at the commencement of each fiscal year, and no later than July thirty-first, and any agency which has not previously been in receipt of a federal grant shall, upon notification of grant approval, authorize the comptroller upon his receipt of notice of a federal grant award to initiate such procedures as are established by the commissioner to transfer from the federal grant account to the General Fund for the costs of fringe benefits, indirect costs and space use charges related to each federal grant received by that spending agency; provided, however, that the share of the cost of fringe benefits, attributable to employee pension costs shall be transferred to the Commonwealth’s Pension Liability Fund to meet the costs of the unfunded liability of state employees. Upon approval by the commissioner, and subject to regulations established by him, the amount of indirect costs, either in whole or in part, charged to a federal grant may be utilized to comply with federal requirements for inkind contributions. The costs of fringe benefits must, in all cases, be recovered in cash. The comptroller shall not allow expenditures for the payment of salaries to be made from any federal grant account for which he has not been authorized to charge the full amount of fringe benefits to the account. On or before August fifteenth, and upon request throughout the year, the commissioner shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means, detailing compliance with this provision by all state agencies in receipt of federal funds. Notwithstanding any provision of general or special law to the contrary, this paragraph shall apply to all state agencies; provided, however, that any institution of higher learning shall be exempt from those charges associated with indirect costs, as described in the following paragraph.
(g) Any portion of a federal grant received by an institution of higher learning which, according to the conditions of said federal grant, is to be paid for or to cover any overhead expenses, indirect costs, supporting services or facilities, or for any purpose other than the direct object of the grant, may be transferred in whole or in part to separate accounts and expended without appropriation for the support of a computer or computers, of another research grant, or of publishing programs under the exclusive control of such institution, or for faculty research or research and scholarly work under the supervision of members of the faculty of such institution.
(h) No individual, corporation or other organization utilizing grants shall be permitted to occupy or use land, buildings, equipment or facilities of the commonwealth or use the services of any officer or employee of the commonwealth during his regular working hours unless there is a written agreement, approved by the commissioner, between said individual, corporation or other organization and said officer or employee, that the commonwealth will be reimbursed for such occupancy or use; provided, however, that upon recommendation of any department, institution, board, commission, agency or employee setting forth good and sufficient reasons, this requirement may be waived in whole or in part by the commissioner on a particular project or projects. All such reimbursements shall be paid into the state treasury. Notice of such waiver shall be filed with the state auditor.
(i) Federal grants shall not be used to supplement the regular salary or compensation of any officer or employee of the commonwealth for services performed during his regular working hours.
(j) The following are excluded from subsections (a), (d) and (e):—(1) federal grant funds coming to institutions of higher education, including research grants;(2) research grants to individuals, agencies or institutions not exceeding fifty thousand dollars in annual amount and not creating new, or expanding existing, programs or commitments of state resources;(3) any federal grant funds not exceeding five thousand dollars in annual amount; and(4) federal grant funds made available to the state for costs and damages resulting from natural disasters, civil disobedience, or other occurrences of sufficient severity to have occasioned the declaration by the governor of a state of emergency.
bond funds; reconciliation of reports of budget director and comptroller Section 6C. In addition to information required by section six to be included in the budget submitted by the governor, said budget shall also include the following information:(a) a description of and the amount of expenditure by state agencies from trust funds and bond funds anticipated for the subsequent fiscal year; and(b) a narrative description accompanied by appropriate fiscal statements which shall reconcile the amounts for state revenues and expenditures for the previous fiscal year as presented by the budget director in the governor’s budget with the amounts of state revenues and expenditures for the previous fiscal year as presented by the comptroller in the annual financial report of the commonwealth. Such description shall include a statement concerning the net consolidated surplus or deficit in the budgetary funds which are subject to direct appropriation.
Section 6D. Each appropriation account or other authorization to expend monies of the commonwealth contained in the general appropriations and as any supplemental or deficiency appropriations acts shall include the following information: (a) the account number of the appropriation; (b) the purpose of the appropriation and other restrictive language; and (c) the amount of the appropriation or the maximum expenditure allowed, set out in numeric figures. No appropriation otherwise set out in any act shall be valid and the comptroller shall not allow monies to be expended on any appropriation not conforming to the requirements herein established.
The general appropriations act shall include the following sections: (a) section 2 which shall include all direct appropriations and authorizations to retain revenue; (b) section 2B which shall include all appropriations from the Intragovernmental Service Fund; (c) section 2C which shall include all authorizations to continue a prior appropriation, including an amount set forth in numeric figures of the prior appropriation continued; and (d) section 2D which shall include all appropriations of federal grants.
Supplemental and deficiency appropriations acts shall include separate sections for: (a) direct appropriations and authorizations to retain revenue which do not require changes to the purpose of the appropriation or other restrictive language; (b) direct appropriations and authorizations to retain revenue which require new or amended language regarding the purpose of the appropriation or other restrictive language; (c) all appropriations from the Intragovernmental Service Fund; and (d) all authorizations to continue a prior appropriation.
The provisions of this section shall apply to all appropriations of commonwealth funds, including direct appropriations, retained revenue authorizations, federal grant appropriations, accounts with prior appropriations continued and appropriations from the Intragovernmental Service Fund.
This section shall not apply to appropriations which are included as part of a capital budget.
Section 6E. The governor shall recommend, the general court shall enact, and the governor shall approve a general appropriation bill which shall constitute a balanced budget for the commonwealth. No supplementary appropriation bill shall be approved by the governor which would cause the state budget for any fiscal year not to be balanced.
intercepts Section 71. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to affect the obligation of the state treasurer to withhold from the receipts, distributions, reimbursements or other assistance payable to any city, town or other local governmental unit under any reimbursement, grant, assistance or other local aid program any amount determined in accordance with section ten of chapter forty-four A or any amount certified to the state treasurer as owing to a public instrumentality of the commonwealth pursuant to paragraph (b) of section ten of chapter three hundred and seventy-two of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-four or paragraph (d) of section ten or section eleven of chapter twenty-nine C, or any similar provision relative to local aid intercepts, so-called.
policy statements Section 7A. Each public agency other than a city or town shall prepare a long range capital facilities development plan. Such plan shall include projections at least five years from the date of submission of the plan. Each such public agency shall revise the plan annually or at such other time as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may require, or as otherwise mandated by statute or appropriation act. Each plan or revision thereof shall be submitted to the commissioner at such time or according to such schedule as he shall specify. Each state agency the authorization of which is otherwise required for capital facility projects of one or more cities and towns shall include in its plan required by this section and its capital facility budget request required by section seven C the information about such projects specified by those sections. The state agency may request from cities and towns the information needed to complete the above-mentioned plan and budget and said information shall be promptly submitted to the state agency. To the maximum extent feasible the commissioner and state agencies shall coordinate the timing and content of their requests for information to minimize duplication of reporting. In the case of local operating agencies as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and twenty-one B, any such plan, revision, capital facility budget, or capital facility budget requests required by this section or section seven C of this chapter shall be prepared and submitted by the department of housing and community development.
After consultation with the governor and the commissioner of administration, the commissioner shall, in a timely manner, prepare and send to public agencies a capital facility planning policy statement to inform in the formulation of their long range capital facilities development plans and capital facility budget requests.
The commissioner may at his discretion provide guidance and technical assistance to those public agencies lacking sufficient resources to prepare such plans. He shall specify the information required, the manner or preparation of the plan, and the form in which it is to be provided.
development plans Section 7B. In formulating requirements for the information to be provided in long-range capital facilities development plans, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall require at least the following: the history, legislative authority and major responsibilities of the public agency as defined by law and by administrative rule, regulation or directive; the programs being carried out by each as they affect capital facility needs; an appraisal of the responsibilities, objectives and current programs and evaluation of the factors expected to influence future programs; tabulations of the numbers of people served by and staffing the agency and its subunits; a detailed description of the land and facilities currently owned, leased or used by the agency to the extent that such description has not previously been submitted to the commissioner as part of the real property inventory maintained by him and an estimate of their utilization in relation to current and future programs.
In formulating requirements for each long-range capital facilities development plan, the commissioner shall require at least the following: a determination of the capital facility needs based on the programs, population to be served, and the adequacy of existing facilities; a proposed capital facility project schedule and an explanation of the relationship between the need for each project and the stated programs; a summary of the schedule of needs for funds; a tabulation of the estimated staffs required for such new or modified programs and facilities; a tabulation of such projects showing the effect upon staffing, operating, and maintenance expenses; and a description of the geographic and spatial location of the facility relative to other facilities or land of the agency or its subunits.
In formulating requirements for any revisions of long-range capital facilities development plans the commissioner shall require at least the following: a statement of the changes in the agency’s responsibilities, objectives and programs; revised estimates of institutional population and staff, and geographic and spatial descriptions of capital facilities; and changes in capital facility requirements as they would have effect at least five years from the date of submission.
Section 7C. Each public agency other than cities and towns shall prepare and submit to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance in addition to its long-range capital facilities development plan or revision thereof, an annual capital facility budget at such time as the said commissioner shall require.
In preparing both long-range capital facilities development plans and revisions thereof and capital facility budget requests, the agency shall provide timely public notice of such proposed plans and requests and reasonable opportunity for potential users and staff of the facilities controlled or to be controlled by the agency to comment thereon.
The long-range capital facility development plans and capital facility budget requests submitted by the agency to the division of capital asset management and maintenance shall contain a summary of those comments and a statement of the extent to which they are reflected in the proposed plans and requests.
The commissioner may provide guidelines to agencies for soliciting and reporting on such views.
The commissioner may, at his discretion, provide guidance and technical assistance to agencies without sufficient resources to prepare capital facility budget requests. He shall specify the information being sought, how it might be prepared and the form in which it is to be provided.
The commissioner shall provide for a format and content of long-range capital facilities development plans and capital facility budget requests which is, to the maximum extent feasible, consistent with that provided for the operating budget by the director of the fiscal affairs division within the executive office for administration and finance.
Any public agency may include among its capital facility budget requests, ones for appropriations or authorizations for a class or classes of similar or related capital facility projects. Such request shall include a statement of a) how the class of projects is defined; b) the reasons for requesting appropriations or authorizations for a class of projects rather than individual projects; c) the priorities and procedures for allocating the appropriated or authorized monies among the class of possible projects, making reference to and submitting copies of any studies, surveys, plans, analyses and other documents from which criteria for allocation are to be derived; and d) a proposed initial allocation of the appropriated or authorized monies based on the suggested priorities, procedures and criteria.
In formulating requirements for capital facility budget requests for individual projects, the commissioner shall include at least the following: (a) a concise title description of the project; (b) the location of the project and its site in relation to any existing facilities in close proximity; (c) the estimated schedule for completion of the project including the dates upon which the design and construction of the project are estimated to be commenced and completed and the facility occupied or used; (d) a description of the project and what it involves, appending any planning documents, accurate summaries of design documents and any other documents prepared for or pertaining to that project, if not previously submitted to the commissioner; (e) the useful life of the project before replacement would be necessary; (f) the current status of the plans and site for the project; (g) the status of utilities required for the project; (h) the relationship of the project to the long range capital facilities development plan; (i) the total project cost; (j) the effect of the proposed project on annual operating costs (including maintenance costs); (k) the proposed source of funds; (l) an explanation of the need for the proposed project. The description of the project shall identify any and all previously approved appropriations or authorizations pertaining to the proposed or earlier phases of the project; the phase or phases approved, in progress, and completed, the estimated or final cost of each phase of the project through completion, and the sum of money permitted to be expended on the project as so approved. To assist his staff and user agencies in preparation and review of long-range plans and requests, the commissioner shall establish a file of approved appropriations and authorizations of all projects pertaining to each state-owned capital facility. The total project cost shall include at least the following items: the cost of all real estate, properties, rights and easements acquired, utility services, site development; the cost of construction and the initial furnishing thereof; all architectural and engineering and legal expenses, the cost of surveys and plans and specifications; and such other expenses as are necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of any project. The estimate of the total project cost shall be based on the assumption that the project will be undertaken and completed according to the estimated schedule. Included in the estimate shall be a statement of its accuracy. The estimate of the effect of the proposed project on annual operating costs shall be based on the estimated date of use or occupancy of the facility. In the proposal for source of funds, there shall be included a statement of what federal funds are potentially available, what efforts are necessary and have been or must be made to obtain them, or why they cannot be obtained.
agencies for review; reports; hearings Section 7D. Copies of the proposed plans and requests shall be submitted simultaneously to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, the secretaries of all executive offices, the director of the fiscal affairs division within the executive office for administration and finance, the state treasurer, and the commissioner of the department of revenue, and the house and senate ways and means committees. The secretaries shall submit to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance a report on the consistency of any public agency’s plans and requests with the programs and policies of the executive office on which it is located, except in the case of a public institution of higher learning, the board of higher education, including the secretary’s recommendations as to those plans and requests. Prior to making their reports, each secretary shall conduct public hearings, for which he shall give five days public notice prior thereto, on his analysis and recommendations as to those plans and requests. Any secretary, when requested by said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, shall submit to him a report on the impact of the specific statutory mission of the secretariat of the plans and request of any public agencies not located within his secretariat. Each secretary shall furnish to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the legislative committees on post audit and oversight of the general court, copies of all such plans, requests, and reports.
The director of the bureau of programming, director of the office of project management or the director of the office of facilities management, as said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance directs, shall report to him as to the technical feasibility, cost, and schedule of proposed building projects; the technical, financial, and related requirements for the operation and maintenance of such buildings upon completion of the proposed projects; where relevant, the efficacy and efficiency of the proposed project in relation to current and projected available space and current and projected standards for the allocation and utilization of space; the accuracy and adequacy of any planning and design documents and any other documents prepared in relation to the stated needs, and as to any other matters which the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may require relative to his evaluation of such plans and requests. At the request of said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, the head of the public agency which administers or would administer a capital facility project, other than a building project, or consultants hired by him for that purpose, or members of said commissioner’s staff shall report to him as to the technical feasibility, cost and schedule of that project; the technical, financial, and related requirements for the operation and maintenance of such facilities upon completion of the proposed projects; where relevant, the proposed project in relation to current and projected available facilities of a similar kind; the accuracy and adequacy of any planning documents, accurate summaries of design documents and any other documents prepared in relation to stated needs, and as to any other matters which said commissioner may require relative to his evaluation of such plans and requests.
The director of the fiscal affairs division within the executive office for administration and finance shall report in writing to said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance on the impact of proposed agency plans and requests, based on the stated and projected overall agency programs, on the agency’s operating budgets for the next five years or for such longer period as said commissioner shall request. The commissioner of the department of revenue shall report in writing to said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance on the impact of proposed agency plans and requests on their requirements for and production of revenue for at least the next five years or for such longer period as said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall request. The reports of the director of the fiscal affairs division within the executive office for administration and finance and the commissioner of the department of revenue shall be sent to the state treasurer. The state treasurer may if requested by said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance report in writing to said commissioner on the impact of all plans and requests, separately and as a whole on the financial health of the commonwealth and make such recommendations as to the form and nature of the financing as he deems necessary.
Copies of the proposed plans and requests shall in a timely manner be submitted to each of the regional planning agencies established pursuant to the provisions of chapter forty B for their review. They shall submit to said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance a statement of their comments and recommendations, including those of cities and towns in the region which are affected by such plans and requests.
Said commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may request such other reports from public agencies as said commissioner may deem necessary to fulfill his responsibilities for the integration and coordination of capital facility projects.
commissioner; recommendations Section 7E. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall study and review all long range capital facility development plans and capital facility budget requests and reports pertaining thereto filed with him as provided by sections seven A, seven B, seven C, and seven D, and shall make such investigations as will enable him to prepare a capital facility budget for the governor. The commissioner shall include in such budget an integrated and comprehensive long range capital facilities development plan and capital facility budget request and such other recommendations as the governor shall determine upon. The capital facility budget shall embody all plans, estimates, requests, and recommendations submitted to the commissioner in accordance with sections seven A, seven B, seven C, and seven D. The capital facility budget shall be classified and designated to present at least the same kind and quality of information as are required of plans and requests by sections seven A, seven B, seven C, and seven D. The commissioner shall include an evaluation of the proposed plan and budget request in terms of the capital facilities planning policy statement and any revisions thereof he proposes.
The governor in his capital facility budget and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in his recommendation to the governor of a capital facility budget, shall include in such requests for each building project contained therein, for which the using agency is a state agency, a recommendation as to the need for and where appropriate, a request for, a study and program as a prerequisite to contracting for, performance of, or allotment or expenditure of funds for any design or construction-related activities. If a study or program is not recommended the governor and commissioner shall include the reasons therefor. They shall also include a recommendation as to the mode of procurement of such facility, including but not limited to, sequential, construction management, turnkey, design/build procurement, and the phasing of such procurement, including but not limited to approval of design and construction stages as separate or combined phases, which will most efficiently, economically and best serve the interests of the commonwealth. When an alternative mode of procurement is recommended, the governor and commissioner shall also recommend the method by which design and construction services shall be procured for such project, provided that such method shall be compatible with the policies and procedures for the selection of designers in sections thirty-eight A1/2 to thirty-eight O, inclusive, of chapter seven and with the policies and procedures for the selection of contractors in sections forty-four A to forty-four H, inclusive of chapter one hundred and forty-nine, to the extent feasible. If the governor or the commissioner should recommend a mode of procurement other than the sequential mode or a phasing of procurement other than approval of design and construction as a combined phase, each shall state in detail the reasons therefor.
Furthermore, their requests shall contain a statement as to the expected useful life of the facility from the date of construction, renovation, acquisition, or other procurement; a statement of the proposed source of funds; where relevant, a recommendation as to the form and scheduling of financing of said project; and a recommendation as to the date upon which the authorization for the expenditure of the funds should expire. If the governor or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance should recommend a means and form of financing of the project such that the term of repayment exceed the expected useful life of the project, the governor and commissioner shall state in detail the reasons therefor. The governor and the commissioner shall transmit therewith a statement showing the total indebtedness proposed to be incurred for each capital facility project and the fund to be charged therefor, and the total cost of financing said project according to the recommended form and scheduling of such financing. The governor and the commissioner shall also transmit therewith a statement relative to the condition of the state debt, including an analysis of the impact of the proposed capital facility budget, including the long range capital facilities plan, on the financial health of the commonwealth. Such statement shall, where appropriate, include reference to the impact of obligations of public agencies which are guaranteed by or are contingent liabilities of the commonwealth.
account Section 7F. The governor’s and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance capital facility budget shall include provision for establishment of a design and construction contingency reserve account, the purpose of which shall be to provide monies for the design and construction of capital facility projects by state agencies which, because of unforeseeable circumstances, not within the contemplation of the using or the administering agency, and for justifiable reasons, would cause the project cost to exceed the sums then appropriated or authorized therefor. Allocation of monies from such reserve account shall be made according to the provisions of section two F. Priority in the allocation of monies from such account shall be given to projects for which the delay in seeking monies through the normal capital budget process provided for by this chapter would cause a serious loss in use of the capital facility if it were unavailable when needed or cause a percentage increase in total project cost substantially larger than that for other projects at a comparable stage of progress.
In no case shall a request for monies be made or monies be allocated for projects for which a similar request is currently being considered according to the capital budget process for the current fiscal year provided for by this chapter, or which was so considered during the capital budget process for the previous fiscal year and failed to receive an appropriation or authorization. Further, in no case shall a request for monies be made or monies be allocated if as a result of the review provided for by section two F the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance finds (a) that the proposal for use of such monies will result in a substantial deviation from any study or program for the project most recently approved by him or from any design for the project most recently approved by the administering agency or (b) that the proposal for use of such monies will result in a cumulative increase in the number of gross square feet to be constructed in the project in excess of ten per cent of the number most recently specified in an appropriation or authorization for the project.
Requests for monies from the design and construction contingency reserve account may be made by state agencies which are the using agencies of those projects.
In establishing priorities and procedures for allocation of monies from the design and construction reserve account pursuant to section two F, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall establish specific limits for the amount of money which may be allocated from the account for any particular project, the amount which may be allocated for the construction of any particular project excluding price inflation contingencies, and the amount which may be allocated for the construction of any particular project for price inflation contingencies. In no event shall the cumulative amount allocated from the account to any one capital facility project exceed ten percentum of the total cost specified by the appropriation or authorization for that project.
Section 7G. The governor’s and the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance capital facility budget shall include provisions for establishment of an emergency repair reserve account, the purpose of which shall be to provide monies for the performance of repair projects of such a nature that funding through the capital budget process provided for by this chapter would be burdensome. Allocation of monies from such reserve accounts shall be made according to the provisions of section two F. Priority in the allocation of monies from such fund shall be given as follows:(1) top priority shall be given to funding requests for projects designed to remedy clear and present dangers to the health and safety of the users of the facility in question;(2) secondary priority shall be given to funding requests for projects which would prevent imminent destruction or damage of property or equipment beyond reasonable repair; and(3) third priority shall be given to funding requests for projects, that would restore use of a facility or part of a facility to its user, where the loss of use has seriously disrupted the agency’s program functions.
In no case shall a request for monies be made or monies be allocated for projects for which a similar request was considered during the capital budget process for the previous year as provided for by this chapter, and which failed to receive an appropriation or authorization.
Requests for monies from the emergency repair reserve account may be made by state agencies other than counties and by the office of facility management.
recommended corrective amendments message Section 7H. The governor shall submit to the general court annually within three weeks after the general court convenes in regular session a budget including an operating budget and a capital facility budget and long range capital facilities development plan. In the first year of the term of office of a governor who has not served in the preceeding year, the governor shall recommend the budget within 8 weeks after the convening of the general court. The recommendations contained therein shall, to the fullest possible extent, conform with the programs of the several offices and departments as defined by the commissioner of administration with the advice of the agency heads or other officers responsible for the administration thereof and long range capital facilities development plans as defined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. The budget shall also include definite recommendations of the governor for financing the expenditures recommended, and the relative amounts to be raised from ordinary revenue, direct taxes or loans. All appropriations based upon the budget to be paid from taxes or revenue shall be incorporated in a single bill to be designated the general appropriation bill. With the budget the governor shall submit to the general court statements detailing and explaining his reasons for recommending any increase in, decrease in, or deletion from the budgetary recommendations (a) of any department office, commission, or institution, or other public agency, or in the case of a department, office, commission or institution within any executive office established by chapters six A and seven of the secretary of such executive office, (b) of the general court, (c) of the judiciary, and (d) of the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. The governor shall also submit such other messages, statements of supplemental data relative to the budget as he deems expedient and, from time to time during the session of the general court may submit supplemental messages on recommendations relative to appropriations, revenues and loans. Upon submission of the budget to the general court, the governor shall, through the executive office for administration and finance, make available to the public all material relevant to said budget, including all supporting documents pertinent thereto. This shall include at least the mailing, at the time of submission of the Governor’s budget and subsequently the House and Senate Ways and Means budgets, of (a) copies of these budgets to the state house library, and to the state office building in Springfield, (b) copies of all reports, statements, recommendations, or evaluations required by sections three, three A, four, five, five B, six, seven D, seven E, or seven J of this chapter to the state house library. They shall be placed on public display and made available for reproduction during business hours.
All information required under this section to be filed with or as part of the budget by the governor, and which is not contained within the budget as filed or within accompanying documents filed at the same time, shall be filed by the governor within the following fourteen days and shall be accompanied by a detailed statement explaining the failure to provide the material at the time the budget was submitted.
In the event that the governor determines from information supplied by the executive office for administration and finance, from the tax revenue resolution established pursuant to section five B, or from any other competent source that the tax revenues or non-tax revenues supporting the general appropriation bill have materially decreased, or that appropriations or statutory amendments that would provide funding to support recommended levels of appropriations have materially changed from the time the general appropriation bill was originally submitted, he shall submit to the general court by message recommended corrective amendments to his original budget submission to ensure that total appropriations recommended in the general appropriation bill do not exceed total revenues supporting said bill. Such message shall be submitted to the general court within fifteen days from the date of such determination.
or authorizations for expenditures; review of proposed legislation providing for capital facility projects Section 7I. All requests and recommendations for appropriations or authorizations for expenditures by the commonwealth, other than those submitted by the governor to the general court pursuant to section two of Articles LXIII of the Amendment to the Constitution, shall be submitted by the governor to the general court; shall be classified to show the request of each officer having charge of an office, department or undertaking, including the priorities assigned to each program by said officer, the recommendation of the secretary of the executive office within which such office, department or undertaking shall be, the recommendation of the governor, and the prior year appropriation, if any; and shall indicate the number, if any, of permanent positions proposed to be authorized for an office, department or undertaking and the number of persons to be served or the number of actions to be taken by such office, department or undertaking.
All such requests and recommendations as they pertain to capital facility projects shall also be studied by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance with reference to any current long range capital facility development plans proposed in accordance with the requirements of sections seven A, seven B, seven C and seven D. The commissioner in his study shall consider the effects upon the policies, programs, and priorities with regard to which he is required to report in accordance with section seven J and with reference to any other matters which the commissioner requires to be reported to him in his review and evaluation of capital facility budget requests by public agencies in accordance with the provisions of sections seven A, seven B, seven C, seven D and seven E. After such review and study, the commissioner shall promptly prepare and submit his recommendations to the general court.
The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall promptly review any petition, motion or amendment introduced in either chamber of the general court which makes a provision for a capital facility project. During such review the commissioner shall study the necessity, desirability, and relative priority of such capital facility project by reference to any current long range capital facilities development plans proposed in accordance with the requirements of sections seven A, seven B, seven C, seven D, and seven E. The commissioner in his study shall consider the effects upon the policies, programs, and priorities with regard to which he is required to report in accordance with section seven J, and with reference to any other matters which the commissioner requires to be reported to him in his review and evaluation of capital facility budget requests by public agencies in accordance with the provisions of sections seven A, seven B, seven C, seven D, and seven E. After such review and study the commissioner shall promptly prepare and forward his recommendation on the petition, motion, or amendment to the chamber in which it was introduced and where it is pending.
operations Section 7J. The commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall, each year, no later than thirty days after the governor submits the budget in accordance with the provisions of section seven H, submit to the governor and to the general court a report which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: an evaluation of the effect of the capital facility budget, and the implementation of the proposed long range capital facilities development plan upon important policies, programs, and priorities mandated by the general court or established by the governor in accordance with law such as impact on the environment, energy conservation, preventative maintenance, architectural barriers, and the effective coordination of such policies, programs, and priorities with those of the federal government to assure the maximum benefit to the commonwealth from such federal programs.
No later than an additional thirty days thereafter, the commissioner shall submit to the governor and to the general court a similar report on the impact of and the progress made in the implementation of long range capital facilities plans and previously authorized capital facility projects.
appropriation or authorization Section 7K. Every appropriation or authorization for the design or construction of a building project for which a state agency is the using agency shall be deemed to require the satisfactory completion of a study or program before any services for the design or construction of such project may be contracted for, performed by contract or otherwise, or funds allotted, encumbered or expended therefor, unless such appropriation or authorization specifically states that no such study or program need or shall be done.
No provider of design services for any building project for which a state agency is the using agency shall be selected by the designer selection board or by the administering agency in accordance with the provisions of sections thirty B through thirty P inclusive of chapter seven and no design services shall be performed for or by such administering agency for any building project for which the satisfactory completion of a study program is required prior to the design or construction of that project, unless and until: (a) said study, program or where appropriate, both, have been satisfactorily completed; (b) the using agency certifies in writing to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance that the study, program, or where appropriate both, correspond to the current needs of that agency, including its current long term capital facilities development plan; (c) the commissioner requests that one or more of the directors of the office of programming, office of project management, or office of facilities management review the study or program, or where appropriate, both, and the director or directors certify in writing to the commissioner that the study, program, or where appropriate both, reflect the using agency’s needs as stated, that they provide an accurate estimate of the project requirements, cost and schedule, that the project can be accomplished within the appropriation or authorization for that project, and recommends proceeding with design, construction, or where appropriate, both; and (d) the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance certifies in writing to the commissioner of administration that the study, program, or where appropriate both, are in conformity with the scope and purpose of the appropriation or authorization for the project and legislative intent in regard to long range capital facility plans for the using agency, and approves proceeding with design, construction, or where appropriate, both.
If either the director or directors whose review is requested or the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance should fail to so certify, recommend, or approve, the commissioner shall forthwith send notice of his decision and the reasons therefor to the commissioner of administration and to the house and senate ways and means committees.
subject matter Section 7L. A law making an appropriation for expenses of the commonwealth shall not contain provisions on any other subject matter. As used in this section, expenses of the commonwealth shall include expenses of the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, interest, payments on the public debt, local aid, and other items of expense authorized or required by existing law.
House of Representatives and Senate Section 7M. The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate may transfer funds, as needed, among items of appropriation for the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively.
for joint legislative expenses. Section 7N. The speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate, acting jointly, may transfer funds, as needed, among the items of appropriation for joint legislative expenses.
joint legislative expenses to items for the house of representatives and the senate Section 7O. The speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate, acting jointly, may transfer funds, as needed, from the items of appropriation for joint legislative expenses to the items of appropriation for the house of representatives and the senate.
or repair; statements; qualification for classes of work; hearings Section 8B. The commissioner of highways or the commissioner of the metropolitan district commission shall require that any person proposing to bid on any work, excepting the construction, reconstruction, repair or alteration of buildings, to be awarded by the department of highways or by the metropolitan district commission, respectively, and the commissioner of highways shall require that any person proposing to bid on any such work to be awarded by a municipality under section thirty-four of chapter ninety, submit a statement under the penalties of perjury setting forth his qualifications to perform such work. Such statement shall be in such detail and form and shall be submitted at such times as such commissioner may prescribe under rules promulgated by said department or commission, respectively, subject to the requirements of chapter thirty A. Such rules may require such information as may be necessary to implement this section and may establish a basis for the classification and maximum capacity rating of bidders which shall determine the class and aggregate amount of work such bidders are qualified to perform. The statement shall set forth, among other matters that may be prescribed by the rules, the proposed bidders’s financial resources, his current bonding capacity, his experience, the number and kinds of equipment which he has for use on such work, and the number, size and completion dates of other construction jobs, whether in this state or another state, which he has under contract. The information contained within such statement, together with other relevant available information and the proposed bidder’s past performance on work of a similar nature, may be considered by said department or commission in determining whether or not the proposed bidder is qualified to perform any specific work for which proposals to bid are invited.
Based on information received and available and on past performance of the prospective bidder on work of a similar nature, each such commissioner, acting through a prequalification committee consisting of engineering personnel of said department or commission, respectively, to be appointed by him, shall determine the class and aggregate amount of work that a prospective bidder is qualified to perform, and shall limit a proposed bidder to such class and aggregate amount of work as he may be qualified to perform. Said aggregate amount of work shall not be less than the amount of the bidder’s current bonding capacity, as verified to the commissioner’s satisfaction, by a surety company incorporated pursuant to section one hundred and five of chapter one hundred and seventy-five, or authorized to do business in the commonwealth under section one hundred and six of said chapter one hundred and seventy-five, and satisfactory to the commissioner. Said department or commission shall limit the bid proposals to be furnished to a prospective bidder to such bidders as are determined by its commissioner to have the classification and capacity rating to perform the work required.
Any such statement filed with either such commissioner by a prospective bidder shall be confidential, and shall be used only by the department of highways or the metropolitan district commission, as the case may be, in determining the qualifications of such prospective bidder to perform work for said department or commission, or for a municipality under the provisions of said section thirty-four. No information contained in such statement shall be imparted to any other person without the written consent of said bidder.
If any prospective bidder fails to file the statement required by this section, or if, in the judgment of the commissioner, the prospective bidder is not qualified to carry out the work required under a contract which is proposed to be awarded, the commissioner shall refuse to furnish such prospective bidder with bid proposals for such work and shall reject any bid by such prospective bidder for such work.
Only persons filing the statement required herein shall be authorized as prime contractors and then only as to the class and aggregate amount of work which their qualifications warrant.
Any bidder qualified as authorized herein shall be promptly notified by the commissioner.
Any prospective bidder who is aggrieved by any decision or determination of the prequalification committee or the commissioner which affects his right to bid may file a new application for qualification at any time, or within fifteen days after receiving notice of such decision the applicant may request in writing a hearing before an appeal board to reconsider his application or qualifications. The appeal board in the department of highways shall consist of the commissioner, the associate commissioners and the chief engineer of highways, or their designees, and the appeal board in the metropolitan district commission shall consist of the commissioner, the associate commissioners, and the director or chief engineer of the division involved, or their designees.
Any bidder or prospective bidder who so requests shall be granted a hearing by such appeal board at which he may submit any and all additional information or evidence bearing upon his finances, current bonding capacity, experience or other qualifications which may be relevant thereto. Such hearing shall be held without delay and the board shall promptly render its decision after taking into consideration all relevant information or evidence submitted relating to the bidder’s qualifications. The appeal board may modify, amend or reverse any previous decision of the prequalification committee or the commissioner with respect to the qualification of the applicant or may sustain such previous decision. Such hearing shall be deemed to be an adjudicatory proceeding, and any bidder or prospective bidder who is aggrieved by the decision of the appeal board shall have a right to judicial review under the applicable provisions of said chapter thirty A.
The commissioner of highways or the commissioner of the metropolitan district commission shall not consider any bid filed with him by any person for any contract to be awarded by said department or commission, respectively, who has not been qualified as required by the rules promulgated by said department or commission, and any such bid of any unqualified bidder may be rejected without being opened. No contract shall be awarded to any bidder not qualified to bid thereon at the time fixed for receiving bids.
Any person, firm or corporation who knowingly and willfully makes, or causes to be made, any false or fraudulent statement in any application for qualification filed with such department or commission as required herein shall, upon final conviction, be disqualified from submitting bids on contracts advertised by the department or commission for a period of one year following the date of said conviction.
This section shall not apply to any prospective bidder the aggregate amount of whose work with said department of highways or with said metropolitan district commission, including the amount of his proposal, is less than fifty thousand dollars.
routes; hours of nonemergency work restricted Section 8C. Any contract for the resurfacing, maintenance, minor reconstruction, or minor repair of any major state highway or numbered route within the city of Boston, between said city and state highway route 128, of state highway route 3 as far south as the junction of state highway route 139, on which the average daily traffic exceeds seventy thousand vehicles per day, and any contract for the maintenance, minor reconstruction, or minor repair of state highway route 128 between its junction with state highway route 3 in the town of Braintree and its junction with U.
S. route 1 in the town of Lynnfield, to be awarded by the department of highways, the metropolitan district commission, or by a municipality under section thirty-four of chapter ninety shall, unless such contract involves the performance of emergency work as hereinafter described, provide that no work shall be performed between the hours of six-thirty and nine o’clock ante meridian on lanes inbound to the city of Boston or between the hours of four and six post meridian on lanes outbound from the city of Boston, Monday through Friday, except holidays. No such work, except emergency work, shall be performed on such a highway or route by a public employee during such hours. As used in this section emergency work shall include only those projects immediately necessary to insure the safety of persons using such highways or routes.
etc.
; paying for estimates Section 9. To meet the expenses incurred under section seven in any case where the general court fails to make an appropriation to carry out the construction, alteration, repair or development asked for, reasonable amounts in compensation for such preliminary studies, specifications and estimates not exceeding one per cent of the estimated cost of the work may be expended; provided the general court makes an appropriation therefor.
allotments by governor; reports Section 9B. Any monies made available by appropriation or otherwise, to state agencies under the control of the governor or a secretary, but not including the courts, the office of the governor and the office of the lieutenant governor, shall be expended only in such amounts as may be allotted as provided in this section. The governor shall from time to time divide each fiscal year into allotment periods of not less than one month nor more than four months. The governor or the commissioner when designated in writing by the governor shall allot to each such state agency the amount which it may expend for each such period out of the sums made available to it by appropriation or otherwise. The amount so allotted initially by the governor or the commissioner shall be equal to an amount calculated in accordance with the following formula: the annual sum available for expenditure divided by twelve multiplied by the number of months in the allotment period, unless the full legislative objective of an appropriation would be accomplished, without amendment, by a lesser allocation than that required by the formula. The governor or commissioner may so allocate a greater amount than required by the formula provided, however, that no less than fifteen days prior to the initial allocation of such greater amount to any account for which a supplemental appropriation will become necessary if current rates of spending continue, the governor or commissioner shall file with the house and senate committees on ways and means a report containing the following information: (1) the amount of the appropriation which the commissioner proposes to allocate; and (2) a detailed corrective action plan to prevent a deficiency in the account or accounts involved; a request for a supplemental or deficiency appropriation, if such corrective action plan would violate the legislative objective of the appropriation; or a statement explaining why neither a corrective action plan nor a supplemental appropriation is necessary.
If so designated, the commissioner shall designate such member or members of his office as may be approved by the governor to exercise the foregoing powers in the absence of said commissioner.
Whenever the officer in charge of each such state agency requests a supplemental allotment, he shall submit to the budget director, in such form and at such times as he shall prescribe, such information as may be required by the governor or the commissioner; provided, that before any such information relating to such a state agency has been so submitted to the budget director, it shall first be submitted to the secretary having charge of such state agency who shall review the same and make such additions thereto, deletions therefrom and modifications therein as he deems appropriate.
The governor or the commissioner upon approval of a supplemental allotment shall forthwith file with the house and senate committees on ways and means a report containing the same information as is required for an initial allocation which is greater than the formula amount. The comptroller shall not permit disbursement or obligation against any initial or supplemental allotment until he is provided with a signed copy of a letter of transmittal for such report to said committees and certification by the budget director that said committees have been sent such report.
Section 9C. Whenever, in the opinion of the commissioner of administration, available revenues as determined by him from time to time during any fiscal year under section 5B will be insufficient to meet all of the expenditures authorized to be made from any fund, whether by appropriation or distribution, he shall within 5 days notify in writing the governor and the house and senate committees on ways and means of the amount of such probable deficiency of revenue and the governor shall, within 15 days after such notification, reduce allotments under section 9B, and submit in writing a report stating the reason for and effect of such reductions, or submit to the general court specific proposals to raise additional revenues by a total amount equal to such deficiency. Any action challenging the legality of an allotment reduction pursuant to this section shall be commenced in the supreme judicial court for Suffolk county.
Whenever the governor reduces allotments under the preceding paragraph, the governor shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means in writing 15 days before any alterations to the original allotment reduction plan. Any alterations to the original allotment reduction plan that would seek to increase an allotment must provide an equal reduction in other allotments or propose to raise additional revenues to total the amount of the allotment increase.
As an alternative to the submission of such proposals to raise additional revenues and to the extent funds are available, the governor may recommend an appropriation equal to such deficiency from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund in the manner provided in section 2H.
Section 9D. Whenever it appears probable to any officer having charge of any office, department or undertaking, that amounts to be received from the federal government or any other sources for the purposes of such office, department or undertaking will be less than the amounts previously estimated to be received from such sources, such officer shall immediately notify the commissioner of administration and the house and senate committees on ways and means of such anticipated decrease in estimated revenue, and the commissioner shall include such decrease in the deficiency, if any, reported under the previous section.
expenditures Section 9E. Whenever it appears to any officer having charge of any office, department or undertaking that any appropriation therefor will be insufficient to meet all of the expenditures required in the current fiscal year by any provisions of law, rule, regulation or order not subject to his control, he shall immediately notify the commissioner and the house and senate committees on ways and means of the estimated amount of such additional requirements, and such amount shall be added by the commissioner to any deficiency reported under section nine C unless, prior to such report, such provisions are changed to make the estimated additional expenditures unnecessary.
expenditures Section 9F. On or before the fifth day of each month, the comptroller shall notify the commissioner of administration and each officer having charge of an office, department or undertaking which receives a periodic appropriation, of the amount and per cent of each such appropriation which had been expended at the close of the preceding month and of the amount and per cent of each appropriation, if any, for the same purpose expended during the corresponding period in the preceding fiscal year.
Section 9G. Sums made available by appropriation or otherwise to offices, departments or undertakings for studies, plans, designs, construction, acquisition, purchase or repair of capital facilities, of highway improvement facilities, such as a highway, bridge or tunnel, and of transportation improvement facilities, such as a mass transportation or other public transit facility, shall be expended only in such amount as may be authorized for obligation or expenditure from time to time by the governor, the commissioner of administration when designated for such purpose by the governor or said commissioner’s approved designee. The officer in charge of each office, department or undertaking shall submit to the said commissioner, in such form and at such times as he shall prescribe, such information as may be required by the governor or him for making such authorizations; provided that before any such information relating to an office, department or undertaking within any of the executive offices established by chapter six A of the General Laws has been so submitted, it shall first be submitted to the secretary having charge of such executive office, who shall review the same and make such additions thereto, deletions therefrom and modifications therein as he deems appropriate.
The commissioner of administration is hereby authorized and directed to issue directives governing expenditure from bond authorizations; such directives shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) such measures as determined by said commissioner to be necessary to regulate the rate of expenditure from any or all bond authorizations, and (2) such measures as determined by said secretary to be necessary to ensure compliance with such directives, including requiring prior written approval of said commissioner before the award of contract or grants.
commonwealth Section 1. All costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch shall be paid by the commonwealth. The operation of a registry of deeds and office of an assistant recorder of the land court in connection therewith shall not constitute a court operation. As used in this chapter and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, “costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch” shall include all costs and expenses related to the operation of the supreme judicial court, the appeals court, the trial court and its departments and divisions, district attorneys’ offices, law libraries, registries of probate, clerks’ offices and expenses incurred for assignment by the court of counsel as the court determines, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing shall also include all salaries of probation and court officers and other persons employed in such courts, offices and places, but in no event shall costs include any costs or expenses related to registries of deeds, sheriffs’ offices, county jails or county houses of correction, except as otherwise provided by law.
Section 6. There is hereby established a court facilities council. The membership of the council shall consist of the following persons: the chief administrative justice for the trial court or his designee, who shall serve as chairman of the council; the administrative justices of the superior, district, juvenile court, Boston municipal court and probate departments of the trial court or their designees; appointed by the chief administrative justice, or the designee of such appointed justice; two sitting justices of the trial court, appointed by the chief administrative justice; a justice of the supreme judicial court or the appeals court, appointed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, or the designee of such appointed justice; the librarian of the social law library, or his designee; five representative county commissioners of counties which retain ownership of court facilities occupied by the judicial branch of the commonwealth and a designee of Local 254 Service Employees International Union, Massachusetts State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, appointed by the governor. All appointed members of said council shall serve three-year terms; provided, however, that of the first such county commissioners appointed to said council, two shall be appointed to serve one-year terms, two shall be appointed to serve two-year terms, and one shall be appointed to serve a three-year term; provided, further, that if any such appointed member shall cease to qualify for membership, the appointing authority shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term of such disqualified member.
The council shall meet periodically and shall advise the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance and the chief administrative justice of the trial court regarding the exercise of their powers and duties with respect to court facilities. The council shall study and periodically review the possibility of consolidating or sharing facilities across jurisdictional lines in order to avoid duplication and increase efficiency. The council shall monitor compliance by the counties, cities and towns with accounting and expenditure requirements and lease conditions established pursuant to section four, and shall report any noncompliance so significant as to jeopardize the safe or effective use by the judicial branch of a rented court facility to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint committee on the judiciary, with a recommendation that the commonwealth assume control of such court facility; provided, however, that the chief administrative justice shall adopt criteria, with the advice of the council but without compliance with chapter thirty, specifying the type or degree of noncompliance necessary to justify such a recommendation.
Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following meanings:“Board”, the board of trustees of the water pollution abatement trust.
“Bond act”, any general or special law authorizing a local governmental unit to incur indebtedness for all or any part of the cost of a water pollution abatement project.
“Bonds”, bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness of the trust.
“Cost”, as applied to any water pollution abatement project, any or all costs, whenever incurred, approved by the department in accordance with section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one, of carrying out a project including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, costs for planning, preparation of studies and surveys, design, construction, expansion, facilities, improvement and rehabilitation, acquisition of real property, personal property, materials, machinery or equipment, start-up costs, demolitions and relocations, reasonable reserves and working capital, interest on loans, local governmental obligations and notes in anticipation thereof prior to and during construction of such project or prior to the date of such loan, if later, administrative, legal and financing expenses, and other expenses necessary or incidental to the aforesaid.
“Clean Water Act”, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, Public Law 92–500, 33 USC, Secs. 1251 et seq.
“Department”, the department of environmental protection.
“Drinking water project”, a project of a type or category which the department has determined, consistent with guidance issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, shall facilitate compliance with national primary drinking water regulations under section 1412 of the Safe Drinking Water Act or otherwise significantly further the health protection objectives of the Safe Drinking Water Act or the department’s drinking water regulations including, without limitation, the rehabilitation or development of water sources to replace contaminated sources, the installation or upgrade of drinking water treatment or storage facilities, the installation or replacement of transmission and distribution pipes to prevent contamination and the planning and design of eligible projects.
“Eligible borrower”, with respect to a water pollution abatement project, a local governmental unit authorized to own, operate, finance or otherwise implement such water pollution abatement projects and, with respect to a drinking water project, a local governmental unit or any other person, public or private, authorized to own, operate, finance or otherwise implement such drinking water project.
“Financial assistance or other forms of financial assistance”, a type of assistance provided to or on behalf of an eligible borrower as authorized by Title VI of the Clean Water Act, as defined herein, or Title XIV of the Safe Drinking Water Act, as defined herein, approved by the department under section 27A of chapter 21 or section 18 of this chapter.
“Fund”, the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund, established pursuant to the provisions of section two L of chapter twenty-nine.
“General revenues”, when used with reference to a local governmental unit, revenues, receipts, assessments and other monies of a local governmental unit, and all rights to receive the same including without limitation (i) revenue as defined in section one of chapter forty-four, (ii) local system revenues, (iii) assessments upon or payments received from any other local governmental unit which is a member or service recipient of the local governmental unit, (iv) proceeds of loans made in accordance with this chapter and of grants made in accordance with section thirty-three E of chapter twenty-one, (v) investment earnings, (vi) reserves for debt service or other capital or current expenses, (vii) receipts from any tax, excise or fee all or a part of the receipts of which are payable or distributable to or for the account of the local governmental unit, (viii) local aid distributions and (ix) receipts, distributions, reimbursements and other assistance from the United States; provided, however, that local general revenues shall not include any monies restricted by law to specific statutorily defined purposes inconsistent with their treatment as general revenues for purposes of this chapter.
“Loan”, a form of financial assistance subject to repayment in whole or in part which is provided by the trust to a local governmental unit or other eligible borrower for all or any part of the cost of a water pollution abatement project or a drinking water project, as applicable. A loan may (i) provide for planning, construction, bridge or permanent financing; (ii) be disbursed in anticipation of reimbursement of or direct payment of costs of a project or take the form of a guarantee, line of credit, bond purchase agreement, or other form of financial assistance; and (iii) may be issued at such rates of interest including, without limitation, variable rates and zero interest, may mature at such times and be redeemable at the option of the board or the local governmental unit or other eligible borrower, all as may be determined in accordance with this chapter; provided, however, that for all purposes of this chapter, notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary and unless otherwise determined by the board, a loan made at one-half of market interest rate shall be deemed the financial equivalent of a grant of 25 per cent of the eligible costs of the project financed by the loan and a loan made at a zero rate of interest shall be deemed the financial equivalent of a grant of 50 per cent of the eligible costs of the project financed by the loan.
“Loan agreement”, an agreement entered into between the trust and a local governmental unit or other eligible borrower pertaining to a loan or the purchase and delivery of local governmental obligations or other instruments evidencing or securing a loan. A loan agreement may contain, in addition to financial terms, provisions relating to the regulation and supervision of a water pollution abatement project or the wastewater system of which it is a part, to which provisions the department may join as a party to the agreement as authorized in section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one. The term “loan agreement” shall include, without limitation, a loan agreement, trust agreement, trust indenture, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, guarantee agreement, bond or note resolution, loan order or similar instrument whether secured or unsecured.
“Local aid distributions”, any receipts, distributions, reimbursements or other assistance payable by the commonwealth to or for the account of a local governmental unit including, without limitation, payments under sections eighteen A, eighteen B, eighteen C, eighteen D and eighteen E of chapter fifty-eight and under any other local reimbursement or assistance program described in section twenty-five A of said chapter fifty-eight.
“Local government obligations or local governmental obligations”, bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued by a local government unit to evidence a loan.
“Local government unit or local governmental unit”, a town, city, district, commission, agency, authority, board or other instrumentality of the commonwealth or of any of its political subdivisions, including any regional local governmental unit.
“Local system revenues”, all rates, rents, fees, assessments, charges and other receipts derived or to be derived by a local governmental unit from any water pollution abatement projects, any system of which such projects are a part and any other revenue producing facilities under its ownership or control, or from the services provided thereby, including without limitation proceeds of grants, gifts, appropriations and loans, including the proceeds of loans or grants made by the trust or the department, investment earnings, reserves for capital and current expenses, proceeds of insurance or condemnation and the sale or other disposition of property; provided, however, that local system revenues shall not include any ad valorem taxes levied directly by the local governmental unit on any real and personal property.
“Regional local governmental unit”, a local government unit which provides wastewater collection or treatment services either on a wholesale or retail basis to service recipients in two or more cities or towns, or designated parts thereof, and which derives all or part of its general revenues or local system revenues by assessment or other charge on such cities or towns.
“Revenues”, when used with reference to the trust, any receipts, fees, revenues or other payments received or to be received by the trust, including without limitation receipts and other payments received by or deposited in the fund, payments of principal, interest or other charges on loans, grants, appropriations or other assistance from the commonwealth or the United States or any political subdivision or instrumentality of either, investment earnings on its funds and accounts including without limitation the fund, and any other fees, charges or other income received or receivable by the trust or the fund.
“Safe Drinking Water Act”, Title XIV of the Federal Public Health Service Act, commonly known as the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq.
, as amended.
“Trust”, the water pollution abatement trust established by this chapter.
“Trust agreement”, any agreement entered into by the board providing for the issuance, security and payment of bonds. The term “trust agreement” shall include a trust agreement, trust indenture, security agreement, reimbursement agreement, currency or interest rate exchange agreement, bond or note resolution or other similar instrument.
“Water pollution abatement project”, any abatement facilities, including without limitation rehabilitation of abatement facilities to remove, curtail or otherwise mitigate infiltration and inflow, collection system, treatment works and treatment facilities as defined in section twenty-six A of chapter twenty-one, and any eligible facilities for implementation of a nonpoint source pollution control management program or estuary conservation and management plan pursuant to the Clean Water Act.
Section 10. (a) Any local governmental unit may apply to the trust for a loan to assist in financing the cost of a water pollution abatement project. At the option of the trust, loans may be unsecured or may be secured by local governmental obligations for delivery to the trust to evidence the loan. Each loan shall be made pursuant to a loan agreement between the trust and the local governmental unit acting by and through the officer or officers, board, committee or other body authorized by law, or otherwise its chief executive officer. The department may join in any loan agreement to effectuate its powers and responsibilities provided in sections twenty-seven A and thirty-three E of chapter twenty-one.
(b) A local government unit may receive, apply, pledge, assign and grant security interests in, its general revenues and local system revenues to secure its obligations under loans and local governmental obligations as provided in this chapter and may fix, revise, charge and collect fees, rates, rents, assessments and other charges of general or special application for the operation or services of any water pollution abatement project, the system of which it is a part and any other revenue producing facilities from which the local governmental unit derives local system revenues, to meet its obligations under any loan agreement or local governmental obligation or otherwise to provide for the construction, maintenance and operation of the project and the system and facilities.
(c) For entering into a loan and establishing the authorized terms and conditions thereof, and for issuing any local government obligations a local governmental unit shall be deemed to have the powers expressly granted to local governmental units in this chapter and the powers granted to that local governmental unit in any bond act applicable to it specifically or as a member of a class of governmental instrumentalities. Liberal construction shall be given in support of the broadest interpretation of local government unit powers derived from either this chapter or any bond act, provided that nothing in this chapter shall be construed as affecting the manner of voting and other procedures relating to, or otherwise required by any bond act for, the authorization of indebtedness of any local governmental unit by the governing body thereof or any limitations on indebtedness of local governmental units.
(d) If any city or town, or any board, commission, or other public instrumentality thereof or of the commonwealth, which is a service recipient of a regional local governmental unit shall fail to pay when due and after demand any certified charges of the regional local governmental unit required to meet its obligations under this chapter, the regional local governmental unit may certify to the state treasurer the amount owing to the regional local governmental unit by such city, town or other instrumentality and the state treasurer shall promptly pay over to the regional local governmental unit without further appropriation any local aid distributions otherwise certified to the state treasurer as payable to the city or town, or in the case of any other instrumentality, as payable to all cities and towns in the service area of such instrumentality, until such time as any deficiency in the amounts due the regional local governmental unit shall have been offset by such payments from the state treasurer. In the event of a dispute between any city or town and the regional local governmental unit concerning the amount to be repaid to the regional local governmental unit by any city or town said dispute shall be arbitrated by an appeal board consisting of the commissioner of the department of revenue or his designee, the commissioner of the department of environmental protection or his designee, and a third member to be nominated by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. The state treasurer shall not offset any deficiency amount from the local aid distribution due to any city or town unless or until the appeal board has rendered its decision. Any amount paid to such local governmental unit by the treasurer under this section which is later determined, upon audit, to be in excess of the actual amount due the regional local governmental unit, shall upon demand of the local governmental unit or city or town, be repaid by the regional local governmental unit to the local governmental unit, city or town.
(e) In addition to authority otherwise provided by law, if all or any part of a project shall fail to be approved for financial assistance pursuant to this act, the local governmental unit may apply to the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Agency for a loan to finance all or any part of such project. For such purposes, any local governmental unit as defined in this chapter shall qualify as a public body under section thirty of chapter twenty-three A. The second sentence of paragraph (c) of section thirty-five of said chapter twenty-three A shall not apply to bonds issued by the agency.
Section 11. (a) In addition to other remedies of the trust under any loan agreement, if any local government unit other than a regional local governmental unit shall fail to pay to the trust when due and after demand any principal, interest or other charges payable under a loan or loan agreement, the board after applying to such payment amounts held in the fund pursuant to section six for the account of such local governmental unit, may certify to the state treasurer the amount owing to the trust by said local governmental unit. The state treasurer shall promptly pay over to the trust for deposit in the fund without further appropriation any local aid distributions otherwise certified to the state treasurer as payable to the local governmental unit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the local government unit is a regional local governmental unit, and if the board shall have determined (i) that the failure of the regional local government unit to pay to the trust the amount then payable is due to a failure by a city or town or other service recipient of the regional local governmental unit to pay to the regional local governmental unit any assessment or other charge attributable to said loan and (ii) that the regional local governmental unit has failed or refused after demand to exercise the remedies provided in paragraph (d) of section ten of this chapter or any similar provision of law, the board, after applying to such payment amounts held in the fund pursuant to section six for the account of such city, town or other service recipient, may certify to the state treasurer the amount owing the regional governmental unit by that city, town or other service recipient and the same payment procedures shall apply. If the board shall determine that no city, town or other service recipient is in default to the regional local governmental unit, after application by the board to such payment of amounts held in the fund pursuant to section six for the account of the regional local governmental unit pro rata in proportion to the service provided each city, town or other service recipient therein, the state treasurer, under the same procedures, shall pay to the trust any local aid distribution payable to each city and town which is, or the agency, commission or other appointed body of which is, a member or other service recipient of the regional local governmental unit, pro rata in proportion to the service provided such cities and towns. If a local governmental unit shall fail to pay to the trust any amount payable under a loan or loan agreement and shall also fail to pay any amount due to a regional local governmental unit of which it is a member or service recipient on account of any assessment thereon, local aid distributions available to remedy such failures under this paragraph and under paragraph (d) of section ten of this chapter or any similar provision of law shall be paid to the trust and the regional local governmental unit pro rata in proportion to the amounts due and unpaid. If a governmental unit or a member or other service recipient of a regional local governmental unit is an agency, commission or instrumentality of a city or town or its governing body is appointed by the governing body or chief executive officer of a city or town, payments under this section shall be made from any local aid distributions payable to such city or town. Payment by the state treasurer under this section shall continue to be made until any deficiency in the local governmental unit’s payment to the trust shall have been offset by the payments from the state treasurer. In the event of a dispute between any city or town and the regional local governmental unit concerning the amount to be paid to the regional local government unit by any city or town said dispute shall be arbitrated by an appeals board consisting of the commissioner of the department of revenue or his designee, the commissioner of the department of environmental protection or his designee, and a representative nominated by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Any amount paid to the trust by the state treasurer under this section which is later determined, upon audit, to be in excess of the actual amount due the trust shall, upon demand of the local governmental unit or city or town, be repaid from the fund to the state treasurer.
(b) The trust may also recover from a local governmental unit in an action in superior court any amount due the trust together with any other actual damages the board shall have sustained from the failure or refusal of the local governmental unit to make payments owing to the trust.
governments Section 12. (a) In order to provide for the collection and enforcement of fees, rates, rents, assessments and other charges for the operation of any water pollution abatement project, the system of which it is a part and any other revenue producing facilities from which the local governmental unit derives local system revenues, in addition to any other authority provided by law or any applicable bond act, local governmental units are hereby granted all the powers and privileges granted to them by the General Laws with respect to any similar fee, rate, rent, assessment or other charge. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, local governmental units shall have the powers and be subject to the limitations to the extent applicable and consistent with this chapter provided in sections forty-two A to forty-two F, inclusive, of chapter forty, whether or not said sections have been accepted by the local governmental unit, and chapters sixty, eighty and eighty A.
(b) Any local governmental unit may enter into agreements with the trust or the department regarding the operation of a pricing system for the services provided by any water pollution abatement project, the system of which it is a part and any other revenue producing facilities from which the local governmental unit derives local system revenues. Such agreements may include without limitation provisions defining the costs of such services, the water pollution abatement project and such local system and other facilities, and covenants or agreements regarding the fixing and collection of fees, rates, rents, assessments and other charges for such costs and the maintenance of such pricing system at levels sufficient to pay or provide for all such costs and any payments due the trust under any loan agreement or local governmental obligations.
(c) Any local governmental unit may enter into agreements with the trust and the department regarding the operation of an enterprise fund established for any water pollution abatement project, the system of which it is a part and any other revenue producing facilities from which the local governmental unit derives local system revenues. Such agreements may include without limitation fiscal and accounting controls and procedures, provisions regarding the custody, safeguarding and investment of local system revenues and other amounts credited thereto, the establishment of reserves and other accounts and funds and the application of any surplus funds.
(d) Any local governmental unit may or, in the case of a regional local governmental unit, any city, town, board, commission or other instrumentality which is a member or other service recipient thereof may (i) for furnishing wastewater services, establish rates, rents, fees, assessments and other charges on the basis of a flat rate per volume of wastewater processed or on the basis of ascending unit rates based on the quantity or strength of wastewater processed and (ii) provide for furnishing wastewater services in its charges or through abatement proceedings conducted in accordance with its regulations for assurance of service to persons who by reason of age, infirmity or poverty are unable to pay the charges otherwise applicable, provided that the aggregate liability of the local governmental unit or such member or other service recipient for amounts attributable to any loan or local governmental obligations shall be in no way diminished thereby. Any local governmental unit and any such member or other service recipient which raises all or any part of the cost of wastewater services or any assessment therefor through real and personal property taxes assessed by the local governmental body shall indicate on the tax bills furnished to each taxpayer the portion of the tax assessed for such services.
interest; payment; taxation Section 13. (a) Local governmental obligations issued by a local governmental unit shall be dated, may bear interest at such rate or rates, including rates variable from time to time subject to such minimum or maximum rate, if any, as may be determined by such index or other method of determination provided in the applicable loan agreement, shall mature in such amount or amounts and at such time or times, not later than the maximum dates, if any, provided herein, and may be made redeemable in whole or in part before maturity at the option of the local governmental unit or at the option of the trust at such price or prices and under such terms and conditions as may be fixed in the loan agreement prior to the issue of the local governmental obligations. The local governmental obligations may be issued as serial bonds or term bonds or any combination thereof with such provisions, if any, for sinking funds for the payment of bonds as the local governmental unit and the trust may agree. Local governmental obligations may be in such form, payable to the bearer thereof or the registered owner, be certificated or uncertificated, be in such denominations, payable at such place or places, within or without the commonwealth, and otherwise bear such terms and conditions, not inconsistent with this chapter and the applicable bond act, as provided in the applicable loan agreement or as the board and the local governmental unit shall otherwise agree. Local governmental obligations may be issued in principal amount equal to the loan evidenced thereby or at such discount as the board and the local governmental unit shall agree.
(b) Subject to the requirements of Title VI of the Clean Water Act, local governmental obligations shall be payable within a period not exceeding the greater of the period, if any, specified in the applicable bond act or the useful life of the water pollution abatement project financed by such obligations, as determined by the department, or, if incurred to finance more than one project, the average useful life of such projects. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, local governmental obligations shall be payable by such installment or installments of principal, annual or otherwise, as will extinguish the same at maturity, the first installment to be payable no later than one year after the date of issuance of such obligations or one year after the date of completion of the project financed by such obligations, as determined by the department, whichever date is later, and the remaining installments of principal, if any, to be in such amounts and payable on such dates as the board and the local governmental unit shall agree.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections seventeen and seventeen A of chapter forty-four to the contrary, if a local governmental unit has authorized a loan in accordance with this chapter and the issuance of local governmental obligations under any bond act, the local governmental unit may, subject to the loan agreement and with the approval of the board, issue notes to the trust or any other person in anticipation of the receipt of the proceeds of the loan. The issue of such notes shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter relating to the issue of local governmental obligations other than notes, to the extent applicable, provided the maturity date of such notes shall not exceed three years from the date of issue of such notes or the expected date of completion of the project financed thereby, as determined by the department, if later. Notes issued for less than the maximum maturity date may be renewed by the issue of other notes maturing no later than the maximum maturity date. The second sentence of section seventeen A of chapter forty-four shall not apply to the issue of such notes.
(d) A local governmental unit may issue local governmental obligations to refund or pay at maturity or earlier redemption any local governmental obligations outstanding under any loan agreement or to refund or pay any other debt of the local governmental unit issued to finance the water pollution abatement project to which such loan agreement pertains. Local governmental obligations for refunding may be issued in sufficient amounts to pay or provide for the principal of the obligations refunded, any redemption premium thereon, any interest accrued and to accrue to the date of payment of such obligations, the costs of issuance of such refunding obligations and any reserves required by the applicable loan agreement. An issue of refunding local governmental obligations, the amount and dates of maturity or maturities and other details thereof, the security therefor and the rights, duties and obligations of the local governmental unit in respect to the same shall be governed by the provisions of this chapter relating to the issue of local governmental obligations other than refunding obligations as the same may be applicable.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in section fourteen, the applicable bond act, or by agreement between the trust and a local governmental unit, all local governmental obligations shall be general obligations of the local governmental unit issuing the same for which its full faith and credit are pledged and for the payment of which all taxable property in the local governmental unit shall be subject to ad valorem taxation without limit as to rate or amount except as otherwise provided by law.
revenues Section 14. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four or by such other vote as is authorized by the applicable bond act, local governmental obligations may be issued as limited obligations payable solely from local system revenues pledged to their payment in accordance with section fifteen. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable loan agreement, local governmental obligations issued in accordance with this section shall not be general obligations of the local governmental unit or a pledge of its full faith and credit and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the amount of principal and premium, if any, of and interest on such obligations shall not be included in the computation of any limit on the indebtedness of the local governmental unit or on the total taxes assessable by the local governmental unit in any year or on any assessment, levy or other charge made by the local governmental unit on any other political subdivision or instrumentality of the commonwealth. Any local governmental obligation issued in accordance with this section shall recite on its face that it is a limited obligation payable solely from local system revenues pledged to its payment.
obligations Section 15. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four or by such other vote as is authorized by the applicable bond act, any local governmental obligations may be secured by one or more security agreements between the local governmental unit and a corporate trustee, which may be a trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the commonwealth, or directly between the trust and the local governmental unit. Any such security agreement shall be in such form and shall be executed as provided in the applicable loan agreement or as otherwise agreed to between the board and the local governmental unit.
(b) Any security agreement directly or indirectly securing local governmental obligations, other than local governmental obligations issued in accordance with section fourteen, may pledge or assign, and create security interests in, all or any part of the general revenues of the local governmental unit. Any trust agreement securing local governmental obligations issued in accordance with said section fourteen may pledge or assign, and create security interests in, all or any part of the local system revenues of the local governmental unit, but shall not otherwise pledge or assign any other general revenues of the local governmental unit unless otherwise authorized by the applicable bond act. Any security agreement may contain such provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights, security and remedies of the trust, or other holders of the local governmental obligations, as may be determined by the board and the local governmental unit, including without limitation provisions defining defaults and providing for remedies, including without limitation, the acceleration of maturities and, in the case of local governmental obligations issued under said section fourteen, the appointment of a receiver of the project financed thereby and the system of which it is a part, the covenants setting forth the duties of, and limitations on, the local governmental unit in relation to the custody, safeguarding, investment and application of monies, including general revenues and local system revenues, the issue of additional and refunding local governmental obligations and other bonds, notes or obligations on a parity or superior thereto, the establishment of reserves, the establishment of sinking funds for the payment of local governmental obligations, and the use of surplus proceeds. A security agreement securing local governmental obligations issued in accordance with said section fourteen may also include covenants and provisions not in violation of law regarding the acquisition, construction, operation and carrying out of the water pollution abatement project financed by such obligations, the system of which it is a part and any other revenue producing facilities from which the local governmental unit derives local system revenues, the fixing and collection of local system revenues and the making and amending of contracts relating thereto. Any local governmental obligations may also be secured by insurance or by letters or lines of credit or other credit facilities and a local governmental unit may pledge or assign any of its general revenues or local system revenues, as appropriate, as security for payments made thereon.
(c) Any pledge of general revenues or local system revenues made by a local governmental unit shall be valid and binding and shall be deemed continuously perfected for the purpose of chapter one hundred and six and any other law from the time made. The general revenues, local system revenues, monies, rights and proceeds so pledged and then held or thereafter acquired or received by the local governmental unit shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery or segregation thereof or further act, and the lien of such pledge shall be valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise, regardless of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the security agreement or any other agreement by which a pledge is created need be filed or recorded except in the records of the local governmental unit and no filing need be made under the provisions of said chapter one hundred and six.
(d) A pledge of general revenues or local system revenues in accordance with this chapter shall constitute a sufficient appropriation thereof for the purposes of any provision for appropriation for so long as such pledge shall be in effect and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, such revenues shall be applied as required by the pledge and the security agreement evidencing the same without further appropriation.
Section 16. The trust and its existence shall continue until terminated by law; provided, however, that no such law shall take effect so long as the trust shall have bonds outstanding unless adequate provision has been made for the payment or satisfaction thereof. Upon termination of the trust, the title to the fund and all other properties of the trust which remain after provision for the payment or satisfaction of all bonds of the trust shall vest in the commonwealth. The obligations, debts and liabilities of the trust shall be assumed by and imposed upon the commonwealth, and shall be transferred to the state treasurer or to such other successor as the general court may designate.
Section 17. The board, in cooperation with the state treasurer, shall, at all times keep full and accurate accounts of all receipts, expenditures and disbursements from the fund and all assets and liabilities of the trust which shall be open to inspection by any officer or duly appointed agent of the commonwealth. The trust shall submit an annual report, in writing, to the governor, the department and the clerk of the house of representatives who shall forward the same to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chairman of the senate committee on ways and means and the chairman of the house committee on ways and means. Said report shall include financial statements relating to the operations, properties, and expenditures of the trust maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles so far as applicable and audited by an independent certified public accountant firm.
and administration; subsidies and financial assistance Section 18. (a) In addition to the powers and duties of the board otherwise provided in this chapter, the trust is hereby designated as the instrumentality of the commonwealth to establish and administer within the Drinking Water Revolving Fund, the state revolving fund pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act. The board shall apply monies in the Drinking Water Revolving Fund for the purpose of providing financial assistance, in the manner contemplated by section 1452 of the Safe Drinking Water Act, section 160 of chapter 111 and the department’s drinking water regulations, to local governmental units and other eligible borrowers as provided herein, as beneficiaries of the fund, to finance or refinance costs of eligible drinking water projects approved by the department of environmental protection.
(b) The board shall receive in trust, hold, administer and disburse without further appropriation or allotment by the commonwealth in and from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund exclusively for the benefit of the beneficiaries thereof the following monies: (i) notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2B and 2C of chapter 29, all federal capitalization grants received under the Safe Drinking Water Act for purposes of the fund; (ii) amounts appropriated by the commonwealth to the trust for purposes of the fund; (iii) proceeds of bonds of the trust to the extent required by the board’s resolution for issuance of such bonds or any applicable trust agreement; (iv) investment earnings on monies in the fund; and (v) any other amounts required to be credited to the fund by any law or by any resolution, loan agreement or trust agreement of the board or which the board shall otherwise determine to deposit therein.
(c) In the implementation of this section and the administration of the Drinking Water Revolving Fund, all provisions of this chapter and subsections (a), (c), (e) and (f) of section 27A of chapter 21 applicable to the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund and the provision of financial assistance by the trust to local governmental units and other eligible borrowers for costs of water pollution abatement projects shall be equally applicable, to the extent consistent with this section, to the Drinking Water Revolving Fund and to the provision of financial assistance for costs of drinking water projects and the board and the department shall have the powers and shall be subject to the applicable limitations provided in this chapter and said subsections (a), (c), (e) and (f) to carry out the provisions of this section. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the board may apply and disburse monies and revenues of the Drinking Water Revolving Fund: (i) to make, and enter into binding commitments to make, loans and other forms of financial assistance authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act to local governmental units and other eligible borrowers for the purpose of financing or refinancing costs of drinking water projects or portions thereof which have been approved by the department, including approval of the costs of such projects or portion thereof eligible to receive financial assistance as provided in this section, and completed, as determined by the department, after the promulgation date of the department’s regulations implementing its powers under this section and to provide for all or any part of the debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust during the construction of such projects and for such period thereafter as the board shall determine; (ii) to provide reserves for or otherwise secure bonds of the trust and to provide insurance and letters or lines of credit or other credit enhancement which it deems reasonable and appropriate for bonds; (iii) to provide, and enter into binding commitments to provide, a subsidy for, or to otherwise assist local governmental units and other eligible borrowers in the payment of, debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust pursuant to this section and to provide any other subsidization authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act in addition to the subsidy or other assistance authorized by this section; (iv) to provide reserves for, or to otherwise secure, amounts payable by local governmental units and other eligible borrowers on, loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust pursuant to this section; (v) to transfer to the Water Pollution Abatement and Drinking Water Projects Administration Fund established under section 2W of chapter 29 amounts derived from the proceeds of each federal capitalization grant award received by the trust to the extent determined by the board; and (vi) to provide payment from any available source for reasonable and necessary professional and financial services incident to the conduct of the programs of the trust, including costs of issuance of its bonds.
(d) The powers and duties otherwise conferred upon the department by law with respect to the regulation and supervision of public water supplies shall in no respect be diminished by this section including, but not limited to, the authority of the department to ensure that public water systems demonstrate technical, managerial and financial capacity with respect to the department’s drinking water regulations. The department and the board shall establish standards, guidelines, criteria and other rules and regulations for the administration and implementation of their powers under this section including, without limitation, a priority system and priority list for the approval of projects, the determination of eligible borrowers and eligible costs of projects and the terms and conditions of loans by the trust.
(e) In addition to the authority provided in section 9, the board may provide by resolution for the issuance from time to time of bonds of the trust to carry out the purposes of this section. The holders of such bonds shall also be beneficiaries of the Drinking Water Revolving Fund to the extent provided in any trust agreement entered into by the trust with such holders. Except to the extent limited by the requirements of Title VI of the Clean Water Act or by the Safe Drinking Water Act or other applicable federal law, the board may secure bonds of the trust by pledging monies held in or otherwise allocable to either or both the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund or the Drinking Water Revolving Fund, where the board determines that doing so will reasonably promote the purposes of either or both funds.
(f) Any local governmental unit and any other eligible borrowers may apply to the trust for a loan or other financial assistance authorized by the Safe Drinking Water Act to assist in financing or refinancing the cost of a drinking water project approved by the department. For entering into a loan or other financial assistance for financing or refinancing a drinking water project and establishing the authorized terms and conditions thereof and for issuing any local governmental obligations to secure the same, a local governmental unit shall be deemed to have all of the same powers expressly granted to local governmental units by this chapter with respect to loans or other financial assistance for financing or refinancing water pollution abatement projects and the powers granted to any such local governmental unit in any bond act applicable to it specifically or as a member of a class of governmental instrumentalities. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, all local governmental units shall have the powers and shall be subject to the limitations with respect to such loans and local government obligations and the public water system of which the drinking water project financed by such loan is a part and the local system revenues therefrom set forth in sections 10 to 15, inclusive.
(g) In addition to the purposes set forth in subsection (c), the board shall apply and disburse monies in the Drinking Water Revolving Fund, including contract assistance as provided in this subsection, or shall otherwise structure the debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust, to provide a subsidy or other assistance to local governmental units and other eligible borrowers in the payment of debt service costs on all permanent loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust pursuant to this section equivalent to a grant of 50 per cent of the eligible costs of the drinking water project financed thereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing but subject to the limit on contract assistance provided in this section, all permanent loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust to finance the costs of drinking water projects on the department’s intended use plan for calendar year 2002 and any subsequent calendar year shall provide for a subsidy or other assistance in the payment of debt service there on such that such loans and other forms of financial assistance shall be the financial equivalent of a loan made at an interest rate equal to 2 per cent. To provide for a portion of such subsidy or assistance, in addition to the contract assistance provided in sections 6 and 6A, the state treasurer acting on behalf of the commonwealth shall enter into an agreement with the trust that the commonwealth shall provide contract assistance for debt service obligations on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust pursuant to this section up to a maximum amount of $17,000,000 per fiscal year of the commonwealth. Such contract assistance agreement shall provide for payments by the commonwealth to the trust at such times during each fiscal year and upon such terms and under such conditions as the trust may stipulate. The trust may pledge such agreements and the rights of the trust to receive amounts thereunder as security for payment of debt obligations issued to the trust. Such agreement shall constitute a general obligation of the commonwealth for which the faith and credit of the commonwealth shall be pledged for the benefit of the trust and of the holders of any debt obligations of the trust which may be secured by the pledge of such agreement or of amounts to be received by the trust under such agreement.
trustees; members; officers Section 2. (a) An unpaid board of trustees consisting of the state treasurer, ex officio, the secretary of the executive office for administration and finance, ex officio, and the commissioner of the department of environmental protection, ex officio, is hereby constituted as a public instrumentality of the commonwealth to be known as the water pollution abatement trust to administer the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund established pursuant to section two L of chapter twenty-nine. The trust is hereby designated as the instrumentality of the commonwealth to establish and administer within the fund the state revolving fund pursuant to Title VI of the Clean Water Act. The exercise by the trust, and by the board of trustees thereof, of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential public function.
(b) The state treasurer shall serve as chairman of the board of trustees of the trust. The board shall annually elect one of its members as vice-chairman. Each member of the board may appoint a designee pursuant to section six A of chapter thirty. Two members of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of two trustees shall be necessary and shall suffice for any action taken by the board. Any action of the board may take effect immediately and need not be published or posted unless otherwise provided by law. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise the powers of the board. Meetings of the board of trustees shall be subject to section eleven A1/2 of chapter thirty A; provided, however, that the provisions of said section eleven A1/2 shall not apply to any meeting of trustees in the exercise of their duties as officers of the commonwealth so long as no matters relating to the official business of the trust are discussed and decided at such meeting. The trust shall be subject to all other provisions of said chapter thirty A; provided, however, that the provisions of said chapter thirty A shall not apply to rules, regulations, procedures and guidelines adopted by the board pursuant to section seven, and records pertaining to the administration of the trust shall be subject to the provisions of section forty-two of chapter thirty and section ten of chapter sixty-six. The fund and all other monies of the trust shall be deemed to be public funds for purposes of chapter twelve A. The operations of the trust shall also be subject to the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A and chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B to the same extent as the office of the state treasurer.
Section 3. (a) The purposes for which the trust is created and for which the fund shall be received, held, administered and disbursed by the board of trustees shall be the provision of financial assistance, in the manner contemplated by Title VI of the Clean Water Act, to local governmental units as beneficiaries of the trust to finance the costs of water pollution abatement projects as provided in, and as necessary to implement the provisions of, this chapter. In accordance with the terms of any trust agreement entered into by the trust with respect to bonds secured by monies or revenues of the fund, the holders of such bonds also shall be beneficiaries of such trust. The board shall apply and disburse monies and revenues of the fund without appropriation or allotment by the commonwealth.
(b) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing and other powers of the trust, the board of trustees shall have the power:(i) to adopt and amend by-laws and such rules, regulations and procedures for the conduct of the business of the trust as the board shall deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter;(ii) to apply for, receive, administer and comply with the conditions and requirements respecting any grant, gift or appropriation of property, services or monies;(iii) to borrow and repay money by issuing bonds of the trust, to apply the proceeds thereof as provided in this chapter and to pledge or assign or create security interests in the fund and the receipts thereto to secure bonds;(iv) to make loans and other forms of financial assistance authorized by Title VI of the Clean Water Act to local governmental units to finance or refinance costs of water pollution abatement projects, to acquire, hold and sell local governmental obligations and other instruments evidencing the loans and other forms of financial assistance at such prices and in such manner as the board shall deem advisable and to secure bonds of the trust with loans, local governmental obligations and other instruments.
(v) to enter into contracts, arrangements and agreements with other persons and execute and deliver all trust agreements, loan agreements and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the trust;(vi) to obtain insurance and enter into agreements of indemnification necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers of the trust;(vii) to sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend actions relating to the affairs of the trust and the fund; provided, however, that the trust is not authorized to become a debtor under the United States Bankruptcy Code;(viii) to engage accounting, management, legal, financial, consulting and other professional services necessary to the conduct of the programs of the trust.
(c) In its administration of the federal state revolving loan program as provided in this chapter, the board of trustees shall comply with applicable federal legal requirements under Title VI of the Clean Water Act. The programs of the trust also shall be subject to powers and responsibilities expressly reserved to the department under section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one. In addition, the trust shall not be authorized or empowered (1) to be or to constitute a bank or trust company within the jurisdiction or under the control of the department of banking and insurance of the commonwealth or the comptroller of the currency or the treasury department of the United States, or (2) to be or constitute a bank, banker or dealer in securities within the meaning of, or subject to the provisions of, any securities, securities exchange or securities dealers’ law of the United States or the commonwealth.
Section 4. (a) The board of trustees shall receive in trust, hold, administer and disburse in and from the fund exclusively for the benefit of the beneficiaries thereof the following monies:(i) notwithstanding the provisions of sections two B and two C of chapter twenty-nine, all federal capitalization grants received under Title VI of the Clean Water Act; provided, however, that the reserve required by section six hundred and four (b) of the Clean Water Act to carry out planning under sections two hundred and five (j) and three hundred and three (e) of said Clean Water Act shall not be so received by the board of trustees, but shall be received and administered by the department subject to section two B of chapter twenty-nine;(ii) amounts appropriated by the commonwealth to the trust for purposes of the fund;(iii) proceeds of bonds of the trust to the extent required by the board’s resolution for issuance of such bonds or any applicable trust agreement;(iv) loan repayments and other payments received by the trust in respect of loans to local governmental units;(v) investment earnings on monies in the fund; and(vi) any other amounts required to be credited to the fund by any law or by any resolution, loan agreement or trust agreement of the board or which the board shall otherwise determine to deposit therein.
(b) Actions by the board with respect to the fund shall be subject to the requirements of this chapter and applicable provisions of any loan agreement or trust agreement of the trust and, with respect to amounts held therein derived from capitalization grants made under Title VI of the Clean Water Act, to the applicable requirements of federal law. Whenever the board takes discretionary action, it shall be guided by the purpose of best effecting the purposes of this chapter to implement financial assistance in support of water pollution abatement practices consistent with the responsibilities of the trust to its bondholders, local governmental units and other beneficiaries of the trust. The provisions of section six B and sections seven A to seven G, inclusive, of chapter twenty-nine shall not apply to grants received by the trust for purposes of the fund from the United States. The state treasurer shall be the treasurer-custodian of the fund as provided in section two L of said chapter twenty-nine, and, subject to any applicable trust agreement, the state treasurer is authorized to invest monies held in the fund in such investments as may be legal investments for funds of the commonwealth.
(c) For necessary and convenient administration of the fund, the board shall direct the state treasurer to establish one or more accounts and sub-accounts within the fund as shall be necessary to meet any applicable federal law requirement for segregation of Title VI funds for specified purposes established by federal law or as the board shall otherwise deem necessary or desirable to segregate any monies received or derived from federal capitalization grants under Title VI of the Clean Water Act or any other source from other monies in the fund in order to implement the provisions of this chapter or to comply with any trust agreement. The trust may also establish in any trust agreement or otherwise as the board shall determine one or more other funds and accounts for revenues and other monies of the trust not required to be held in the fund and to apply and disburse such monies and revenues to the purposes of the trust.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-seven of chapter twenty-one, the board, the state treasurer and the comptroller, with the approval of the governor, shall take all action necessary to transfer to the fund the sum of money constituting the commonwealth’s allotment for federal fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-nine and each federal fiscal year thereafter for authorizations under Title II of the Clean Water Act; provided, however, that any portion of any allotment which, under the provisions of the Clean Water Act, may not be transferred to or used for the purposes of the fund shall continue to be received and administered by the department in accordance with said chapter twenty-one.
purposes Section 5. Subject to limitations in other law respecting the use of particular monies in the fund and the provisions of any trust agreement for bonds of the trust, the board may apply and disburse monies and revenues of the fund or any segregated account therein:(i) to make, and enter into binding commitments to make, loans and other forms of financial assistance authorized by Title VI of the Clean Water Act approved by the department under section 27A of chapter 21 to local governmental units for the purpose of financing or refinancing costs of water pollution abatement projects and to provide for all or any part of the debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust during the implementation of such projects and for such period thereafter as the board shall determine.
(ii) to provide reserves for or otherwise secure bonds of the trust and to provide insurance and letters or lines of credit or other credit enhancement which it deems reasonable and appropriate for bonds;(iii) to transfer to the Water Pollution Abatement and Drinking Water Projects Administration Fund amounts derived from proceeds of each federal capitalization grant award received by the trust to the extent determined by the board and subject to the approval of the executive office for administration and finance.
(iv) to provide payment from any available source for reasonable and necessary professional and financial services incident to the conduct of the programs of the trust, including costs of issuance of its bonds.
disbursements of fund monies and revenues; contract assistance agreements Section 6. Subject to limitations in other laws respecting the use of particular monies in the fund and the provisions of any trust agreement for bonds of the trust, the board may also apply and disburse monies and revenues in the fund or segregated accounts therein:(i) after taking account of any grant made by the department pursuant to section 33E of chapter 21, to provide, and enter into binding commitments to provide, a subsidy for, or to otherwise assist local governmental units in the payment of, debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust; and(ii) to provide reserves for, or to otherwise secure, amounts payable by local governmental units on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust pursuant to this chapter.
The board shall apply and disburse monies in the fund, including contract assistance provided in this section and in section 6A, or shall otherwise structure the debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust, to provide a subsidy or other assistance to local governmental units in the payment of debt service costs on such loans and other forms of financial assistance equivalent to a grant of 25 per cent of the eligible costs on the water pollution abatement project financed by the loan or other financial assistance. Notwithstanding the foregoing but subject to the limit on contract assistance provided in this section, all permanent loans and other forms of financial assistance to finance costs of water pollution abatement projects for which the trust shall execute and deliver loan agreements on and after October 1, 1995 shall provide a subsidy or other assistance equivalent to a grant of 50 per cent of the eligible costs of the project financed thereby. Notwithstanding the foregoing but subject to the limit on contract assistance provided in this section, all permanent loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust to finance the costs of water pollution abatement projects on the department’s intended use plan for calendar year 2002 and any subsequent calendar year shall provide for a subsidy or other assistance in the payment of debt service thereon such that such loans and other forms of financial assistance shall be the financial equivalent of a loan made at an interest rate equal to 2 per cent. To provide for such subsidy or assistance, in addition to the contract assistance provided in section 6A, the state treasurer acting on behalf of the commonwealth shall enter into an agreement with the trust that the commonwealth shall provide contract assistance for debt service obligations on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust up to a maximum amount of $45,000,000 per fiscal year of the commonwealth. Such contract assistance agreement shall provide for payments by the commonwealth to the trust at such times during each fiscal year and upon such terms and under such conditions as the trust may stipulate. The trust may pledge such agreement and the rights of the trust to receive amounts there under as security for payment of debt obligations issued to the trust. Such agreement shall constitute a general obligation of the commonwealth for which the faith and credit of the commonwealth shall be pledged for the benefit of the trust and of the holders of any debt obligations of the trust which may be secured by the pledge of such agree mentor of amounts to be received by the trust under such agreement.
Section 6A. In addition to the purposes set forth in sections five and six, the board may apply and disburse monies of the fund to provide for the subsidy or assistance to local governmental units in the payment of debt service costs on loans made by the trust authorized and directed by section twenty-six and twenty-seven of chapter two hundred and three of the acts of nineteen hundred and ninety-two and by section one hundred ninety of chapter sixty of the acts of nineteen hundred and ninety-four.
To provide for such subsidy or assistance, the state treasurer acting on behalf of the commonwealth shall enter into an agreement with the trust that the commonwealth shall provide contract assistance for debt service obligations on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust up to a maximum amount of $26,000,000 per fiscal year of the commonwealth. Such contract assistance agreement shall provide for payments by the commonwealth to the trust at such times during each fiscal year and upon such terms and under such conditions as the trust may stipulate. The trust may pledge such agreement and the rights of the trust to receive amounts thereunder as security for payment of debt obligations issued to the trust. Such agreement shall constitute a general obligation of the commonwealth for which the faith and credit of the commonwealth shall be pledged for the benefit of the trust and of the holders of any debt obligations of the trust which may be secured by the pledge of such agreement or of amounts to be received by the trust under such agreement.
The trust may pledge such agreement and the rights of the trust to receive amounts thereunder as security for the payment of debt obligations issued by the trust.
Section 7. The board is authorized and directed to take all necessary or incidental actions to secure for the commonwealth the benefits of Title VI of the Clean Water Act, including exercise of the powers:(i) to cooperate with appropriate federal agencies in all matters related to the administration of the state revolving loan fund as contemplated by Title VI of the Clean Water Act;(ii) to prepare in cooperation with the department and submit to the appropriate federal agencies applications for capitalization grants under Title VI of the Clean Water Act and to enter into capitalization grant agreements, operating agreements and other agreements with the United States and the department relating to the purposes of the fund;(iii) to cooperate with the department in preparing and submitting to the appropriate federal agencies intended use plans identifying the use of capitalization grant awards and other monies in the fund;(iv) to prepare in cooperation with the department and submit to the appropriate federal agencies, the governor, the department and the clerks of the senate and the house, annual and other reports and audits, in form and content satisfying legal requirements under Title VI of the Clean Water Act, of activities of the board pertaining to the fund;(v) to establish and collect such fees, charges and interest rates as the board shall determine to be reasonable and to hold, apply and disburse such monies within or without the fund to the implementation of the purposes of this chapter;(vi) to establish, jointly with the state treasurer, fiscal controls and accounting procedures for the fund and the trust; and(vii) to adopt after consultation with the department regulations, procedures and guidelines for administration of its loan programs and for maintenance of suitable accounting procedures by local government units for loan proceeds and projects. Such regulations, procedures and guidelines shall be consistent with requirements of Title VI of the Clean Water Act and all applicable rules, regulations, procedures and guidelines of the department, and may determine, without limitation, the form and content of loan applications, loan agreements and local government obligations.
trust; agreements Section 8. Upon the board’s request, the state treasurer shall pay to the trust for deposit in the fund monies appropriated by the commonwealth to the trust for any purposes of the fund or any account therein. The state treasurer, the secretary of the executive office for administration and finance, the department and the trust shall enter into agreements establishing procedures for payment of amounts appropriated by the commonwealth to the trust. An agreement may include such covenants and undertakings of the commonwealth and the trust as the state treasurer, the secretary of the executive office for administration and finance, the department and the board may deem necessary or desirable, including without limitation provision for payments by the commonwealth in anticipation of receipt of federal capitalization grants or the execution and delivery of loan agreements by the trust. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, unless otherwise specifically provided therein provisions contained in any act enacted by a vote, taken by the yeas and nays of two-thirds of each house of the general court present and voting thereon, and approved by the governor, authorizing the state treasurer to issue bonds or notes of the commonwealth or otherwise authorizing the commonwealth to borrow money for purposes of providing monies to meet any appropriation to the trust for purposes of the fund shall be deemed to authorize the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, to enter into agreement or agreements with the trust pledging the full faith and credit of the commonwealth to a schedule of payments to the fund of the amounts therein appropriated including without limitation the amount, time and manner of such payments. The agreements of the commonwealth and the rights of the trust thereunder may be assigned and pledged as security for bonds of the trust. No agreement authorized by this section shall supersede or interfere with the exercise of the powers specifically reserved to the department under section twenty-seven A of chapter twenty-one. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in the discretion of the state treasurer, with the approval of the governor, payments to the trust of amounts authorized pursuant to the issuance of bonds by the commonwealth, as provided in this section may be met by the deposit in the fund of bonds of the commonwealth which are so authorized to meet such appropriation. Bonds so deposited may be assigned and pledged as security for bonds of the trust and may mature or be redeemable on such dates and in such amounts, may bear interest at such rate or rates or be deposited in the fund at such discount or premium, may bear such limitations on negotiation or resale by the trust, and may bear such other terms and conditions, as the state treasurer shall determine to be in the best interests of the commonwealth; provided, however, that the effective yield on such bonds shall not exceed the greater of the effective yield on the bonds of the trust which they secure and the effective yield on comparable bonds not so deposited in the fund, as determined by the state treasurer after consultation with the secretary of the executive office for administration and finance. For purposes of section forty-nine of chapter twenty-nine, the net proceeds of bonds deposited in the fund as instrument the principal amount of which increases during the life of the instrument shall be deemed to be the present value of the amount payable thereon at maturity discounted to the date of deposit at the yield on such bonds.
Section 9. (a) The board may provide by resolution for the issuance from time to time of bonds for any purpose of the trust, which bonds may be issued as general obligations of the trust or as special obligations payable solely from particular revenues or monies of the trust. The bonds of each issue may be dated, may bear interest at such rate or rates, including rates variable from time to time, and may mature or otherwise be payable or redeemable at such times as the board may determine. The board shall determine the denominations of bonds, the details of their execution and authentication and their places of payment within or without the commonwealth. Prior to initial issuance of each series of bonds the board shall advise the finance advisory board of the terms of the bonds and the timing of their issuance. In case any trustee or officer whose signature appears on any bonds shall cease to be such officer before their delivery, the signature shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient as if the officer had remained in office until delivery. Bonds may be issued in certificated or uncertificated form, payable to bearer or registered owners, and, if notes, may be made payable to bearer or to order. The board may sell the bonds of the trust at public or private sale at par or for such premium or discount price as it may determine. The board may by resolution delegate to any trustee or officer of the trust the power to determine any of the matters set forth in this section.
(b) Bonds of the trust may be secured by a trust agreement between the trust and the bond owners or a corporate trustee which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the commonwealth. A trust agreement may pledge or assign, in whole or in part, any loan agreements and local governmental obligations, and the revenues, funds and other assets or property held or to be received by the trust, including without limitation all monies and investments on deposit from time to time in the fund or any account thereof and any contract or other rights to receive the same, whether then existing or thereafter coming into existence and whether then held or thereafter acquired by the trust, and the proceeds thereof. A trust agreement may contain, without limitation, provisions for protecting and enforcing the rights, security and remedies of the bondholders, provisions defining defaults and establishing remedies, which may include acceleration and may also contain restrictions on the remedies by individual bondholders. A trust agreement may also contain covenants of the trust concerning the custody, investment and application of monies, the enforcement of loan agreements and local governmental obligations, the issue of additional or refunding bonds, the use of any surplus bond proceeds, the establishment of reserves and the regulation of other matters customarily treated in trust agreements. At the request of the board, the state treasurer shall and is hereby authorized to join in any trust agreement or to otherwise agree with the trust, any lender or any trustee for bondholders to hold the fund in compliance with any covenants and provisions relating to the fund contained in any trust agreement.
(c) Bonds may be issued by the trust in the form of lines of credit or other banking arrangements under terms and conditions determined by the board. In addition to other lawful security, bonds may be secured, in whole or in part, by financial guarantees, by insurance, by letters or lines of credit or by other credit enhancement issued to the trust or to a trustee or other person, by any bank, trust company, insurance or surety company or other financial institution, within or without the commonwealth; the trust may pledge or assign, in whole or in part, any loan agreements and local governmental obligations and the revenues, funds and other assets and property held or to be received by the trust, and any contract or other rights to receive the same, whether then existing or thereafter coming into existence and whether then held or thereafter acquired by the trust, and the proceeds thereof, as security for such guarantees or insurance or for the reimbursement to any issuer of a line or letter of credit.
(d) The board may by resolution provide for the issue by the trust of interim receipts or temporary bonds, exchangeable for definitive bonds when the bonds are executed and are available for delivery. The board may also provide for replacement of mutilated, destroyed or lost bonds. The trust may purchase and invite offers to tender for purchase any outstanding bonds; provided, however, that no purchase by the trust shall be made at a price, exclusive of accrued interest, if any, exceeding the bond’s principal amount or, if greater, its redemption price when next redeemable at the option of the trust. The trust may resell any bonds it purchases in such manner and for such price as it may determine.
(e) The board may also provide for issue by the trust of temporary notes in anticipation of grants, revenues or appropriations to the fund. The issue of such notes shall be governed by the applicable provisions of this chapter relating to the issue of bonds; provided, however, that notes issued in anticipation of revenues shall mature no later than one year from their respective dates, or the date of expected receipt of such revenues, if later, and notes issued in anticipation of grants shall mature no later than six months after the expected date of receipt of such grant. The board may also issue refunding bonds of the trust for the purpose of paying any bonds at or prior to maturity. Refunding bonds may be issued at any time at or prior to the maturity or redemption or purchase of the refunded bonds. Refunding bonds may be issued in sufficient amounts to pay or provide for payment of the principal of the bonds being refunded, together with any redemption premium thereon, any interest or discount accrued or to accrue to the date of payment, costs of issuance and other expenses and reserves reasonably necessary to achieve the refunding.
(f) Bonds of the trust are (i) securities in which public officers and agencies, insurance companies, financial institutions, investment companies, executors, administrators, trustees and others may properly invest funds including capital within their control, and (ii) securities which may be deposited with any public officer or any agency for any purpose for which the deposit of bonds is authorized by law.
(g) Bonds issued by the trust shall not be deemed to be a debt or a pledge of the faith and credit of the commonwealth or of any of its political subdivisions, but shall be payable solely from the revenues and monies of the fund and other monies and rights pledged to their payment. Bonds shall recite that neither the commonwealth nor any political subdivision thereof shall be obligated to pay the same and neither the faith and credit nor the taxing power of the commonwealth or any political subdivision is pledged to their payment. Every bond shall recite whether it is a general obligation of the trust or a special obligation payable solely from particular revenues, funds, assets or other property.
(h) Bonds of the trust shall be deemed to be investment securities under chapter one hundred and six. Bonds, their transfer and the income therefrom, including any profit made on the sale thereof, shall at all times be exempt from taxation by and within the commonwealth. The trust shall not be required to pay any taxes, assessments or excises upon its income, existence, operation, or assets, monies or revenues.
(i) It shall be lawful for any bank or trust company to act as a depository of the fund or trustee under a trust agreement, provided it furnishes indemnification and reasonable security as the board may require. Any assignment or pledge of revenues, funds and other assets and property made by the trust shall be valid and binding and shall be deemed continuously perfected for the purposes of chapter one hundred and six and other laws when made. The revenues, funds and other assets and property, rights therein and thereto and proceeds so pledged and then held or thereafter acquired or received by the trust shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery or segregation or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the trust, whether or not such parties have notice thereof. The trust agreement by which a pledge is created need not be filed or recorded to perfect the pledge except in the records of the board and no filing need be made pursuant to said chapter one hundred and six. Any pledge or assignment made by the trust is an exercise of its political and governmental powers, and loan agreements, local governmental obligations, revenues, funds, assets, property and contract or other rights to receive the same and the proceeds thereof which are subject to the lien of a pledge or assignment created under this chapter shall not be applied to any purposes not permitted by the pledge or assignment. Any holder of a bond and any trustee under a trust agreement, except to the extent its rights may be restricted by the trust agreement, may bring suit upon the bonds and may pursue any other legal action to protect and enforce its rights and compel performance of all duties required to be performed by the trust and the board.
cigarette manufacturers Section 1. There is hereby established upon the books of the commonwealth a trust to be known as the Health Care Security Trust upon which shall be impressed the purpose of financing improved health status for all citizens of the commonwealth. Said trust is hereby charged with managing and investing all monies generated by any claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes to recover the amount of medical assistance provided pursuant to chapter 118E or any other claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes including, but not limited to, the action known as Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Philip Morris, Inc.
, et al.
, Middlesex Superior Court, No. 95–7378, hereinafter known as the the tobacco action and funds generated from the assessment established pursuant to section 25 and 26 of chapter 118G, including all federal financial participation resulting from MassHealth expenditures funded by said assessment and interest thereon. The monies so managed and invested are hereby covenanted to generate earnings, and to be used as provided herein, for the exclusive purpose of funding health related services and programs, including, but not limited to, services and programs intended to control or reduce the use of tobacco in the commonwealth. For purposes of this chapter, the Tobacco Settlement Fund shall mean the fund established pursuant to section 2XX of chapter 29.
reporting system Section 2. (a) The trust fund shall be managed by the board of trustees established in section 4. All transactions affecting said trust fund including, but not limited to, all amounts credited to and all expenditures, transfers or allocations made from the trust fund, shall be recorded by subsidiary on the Massachusetts management accounting and reporting system.
(b) Said trust fund shall be classified by the comptroller as a nonbudgeted fund of the commonwealth. Amounts credited to said trust fund, including both principal and earnings, shall not be subject to the calculation of the consolidated net surplus pursuant to sections 2H and 5C of chapter 29.
fund Section 3. (a) The trust shall have the fiduciary responsibility to manage the trust fund into which shall be credited (i) any monies received by the commonwealth pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action, other than payments for attorneys fees; (ii) for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004, 50 per cent of any monies generated by any other claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes to recover the amount of medical assistance provided pursuant to chapter 118E or any other claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes for fiscal year 2005 and thereafter, 70 per cent of any monies generated by any other claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes to recover the amount of medical assistance provided pursuant to chapter 118E or any other claim or action undertaken by the attorney general against a manufacturer of cigarettes; (iii) any appropriation, grant, gift or other contribution explicitly made to said trust fund; (iv) any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to said trust fund; (v) any monies collected pursuant to sections 25 and 26 of chapter 118G; and (vi) any federal reimbursements received pursuant to Title XIX of the Social Security Act and 42 U.
S.
C. Section 1396b(w), or any successor statutes resulting from MassHealth service expenditures funded by the assessment established pursuant to said sections 25 and 26 of said chapter 118G.
(b) Of the annual sums transferred by the comptroller from the Health Care Security Trust Fund to the General Fund pursuant to paragraph (c), 25 per cent shall be dedicated to the purposes of tobacco control.
(c) The comptroller shall promptly certify to the fiscal affairs division, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care and the advisory committee on health care and tobacco control established pursuant to section 5, the amount and date when any payments are made pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action and any other payments are made or credited to said fund.
In fiscal years 2000 and 2001, inclusive, the comptroller shall transfer sums from the Health Care Security Trust Fund to the General Fund in accordance with the following schedule: in fiscal year 2000, the sum of $ 91.
2 million, in fiscal year 2001, the sum of $94 million.
In fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004, the comptroller shall transfer 50 per cent of the total of all annual payments made pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action and received in that fiscal year from the Health Care Security Trust Fund to the Tobacco Settlement Fund; provided that amounts received in any fiscal year as strategic contribution fund payments, pursuant to the master settlement agreement, shall not be transferred to the Tobacco Settlement Fund.
In fiscal years 2005 and thereafter, the comptroller shall transfer 30 per cent of the total of all annual payments made pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action and received in that fiscal year from the Health Care Security Trust Fund to the General Fund; provided that amounts received in any fiscal year as strategic contribution fund payments, pursuant to the master settlement agreement, shall not be transferred to the General Fund.
(d) The comptroller shall make all such transfers authorized in this section periodically over the course of the applicable fiscal year as he deems necessary to meet expenditures from said General Fund, but the total of all such transfers shall not be less than the amounts authorized for transfer herein.
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing, upon receipt of the first payment to the commonwealth pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action, the comptroller shall transfer the entire fiscal year 2000 scheduled amount of $91.
2 million, as adjusted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (c), from the Health Care Security Trust Fund to the Tobacco Settlement Fund, which shall be immediately available for expenditure. All further payments made pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action received in fiscal year 2000 shall remain in the Health Care Security Trust Fund.
(f) Not later than October 31 of each year, the comptroller shall certify to the trustees, the fiscal affairs division, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care and the advisory committee on health care and tobacco control the balance in the Health Care Security Trust Fund and the total return generated by the principal of said trust fund during the prior 12 month period ending on June 30. On or before July 1 of each year, for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004 the comptroller shall transfer 50 per cent of said return, as so certified by the comptroller in the previous October, from the Health Care Security Trust to the Tobacco Settlement Fund, which shall be available for expenditure. For fiscal years 2005 and thereafter, the comptroller shall transfer 30 per cent of said return, as so certified by the comptroller in the previous October, from the Health Care Security Trust to the General Fund, which shall be available for expenditure.
(g) Appropriations made by the general court for the purpose of this chapter, and pursuant to the Tobacco Settlement Fund, that remain unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall be credited to the health related fund from which any such appropriation was made and shall not revert to the general fund.
(h) Nothing in this chapter shall obligate the commonwealth to disburse any funds from said trust in excess of any monies received by the trust pursuant to section 1.
(i) The attorney general shall file a quarterly report with the state comptroller, the state budget director and the house and senate committees on ways and means which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) an updated schedule of payments due the commonwealth pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action; (b) an analysis of any imminent factors that may affect the industry’s ability to generate such payments to the commonwealth; (c) a detailed account of the analysis and methodology used to determine the variations associated with said schedule of payments; (d) an explanation of the financial impact that such variations in said schedule of payments shall have upon the amount due to the commonwealth and the industry’s obligation to the commonwealth; and, (e) an itemized account of any and all amendments that have been made to the master settlement agreement.
(j) The comptroller shall transfer, on the first business day of each quarter, the amount determined to be necessary pursuant to sections 25 and 26 of said chapter 118G and any other special law to the Health Care Quality Improvement Trust Fund established by section 2EEE of chapter 29.
Section 4. (a) The trust shall be managed by a board to be known as the Health Care Security Trust board of trustees, which shall have general supervision of the investment and reinvestment of said trust. The duties and obligations of said board shall be set forth in a declaration of trust to be adopted by the board. Said declaration of trust and any amendments thereto shall be filed with the general court but if the general court takes no final action relative thereto within 60 days of the date of the filing thereof with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, the declaration or amendments thereto shall be deemed to be approved.
(b) The trustees shall discharge their duties for the primary purpose of enhancing the value of the trust and shall act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims and by diversifying the investments of the trust so as to minimize the risk of large losses unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so. When investing the monies comprising said trust fund, the trustees shall not be bound by the provisions of section 38 of chapter 29.
(c) Any appropriation by the general court of monies transferred by the comptroller from the trust to the General Fund pursuant to section 3 shall be used for health related purposes, including tobacco control, and shall not be used to supplant or replace other health related or nonhealth related expenditures or obligations of the commonwealth.
(d) Said board of trustees shall consist of seven trustees, five of whom shall be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be appointed by the state treasurer and one of whom shall be appointed by the attorney general. The trustees shall be experienced in the field of investment, financial management, law and public management. The initial terms of three of the trustees appointed by the governor, and the trustees appointed by the state treasurer and the attorney general shall be for five years and the initial terms of the remaining appointees of the governor shall be for seven years. All subsequent appointments, including reappointments, shall be for terms of five years. Any vacancy that may occur before the expiration of the term of a trustee, shall be filled by an appointment made jointly by the governor, the state treasurer and the attorney general. Trustees shall be eligible for reappointment.
(e) A trustee shall disclose in advance to the board any interest or involvement in any matter that is before the board. The disclosure shall be contemporaneously recorded in the minutes of the board. A trustee having such an interest or involvement shall not participate in any such matter.
(f) The board shall select an executive director who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The provisions of sections 9A, 45, 46 and 46C of chapter 30, chapter 31 and chapter 150E shall not apply to the executive director or any other employees of the board. The executive director shall, with the approval of the board: (i) plan, direct, coordinate and execute administrative and investment functions in conformity with the policies and directives of the board; (ii) employ professional and clerical staff as necessary; (iii) report to the board on all operations under his control and supervision; (iv) prepare an annual budget and manage the administrative expenses of the trust; and (v) undertake any other activities necessary to implement the powers and duties set forth herein.
(g) In addition to the other powers and duties defined in this chapter, the board shall approve or ratify decisions of the executive director, formulate policies and procedures deemed necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of the trust, maintain a record of its proceedings and undertake any other activities necessary to implement the duties and powers set forth herein.
(h) The board shall adopt an annual budget and supplemental budgets as the board deems necessary subject to the approval of the general court. If the general court take no final action to disapprove any such budget within 60 days of its filing with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, such budget shall be deemed to be approved. If the general court disapproves any such budget within such 60 days, the board shall operate under the annualized budgetary level most recently approved pending the filing and subsequent approval of any other such annual or supplemental request.
(i) The board shall invest and reinvest amounts received by the trust in the Health Care Security Fund. The executive director may invest and reinvest such funds held by the trust, subject to the approval or ratification of the board by a vote of 5 of the 7 trustees, and the board may, subject to such a vote of 5 of 7 trustees, (1) employ any qualified bank, trust company, corporation, firm or person, including the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund, to make any or all of such investments, to manage the funds or to advise it on investments, and (2) if appropriate under the circumstances, utilize existing resources and staff of the state treasurer or the Pension Reserves Investment Management board to carry out its mission.
The expenses of any such qualified bank, trust company or other party compensated to manage the trust fund shall not exceed the fee paid by the pension reserves investment management board for advice and management relative to the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund established pursuant to subsection (8) of section 22 of chapter 32.
(j) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, no monies comprising the Health Care Security Trust Fund shall be invested in stocks, securities, or other obligations of any company which manufactures or distributes tobacco products.
(k) The board shall prepare quarterly statements on or before March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1 of each year, to be filed with the fiscal affairs division, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care and the advisory committee on health care and tobacco control established by section 5. The statements shall: (i) summarize the performance results of the trust’s investments for the quarter and year-to-date; (ii) provide a summary investment portfolio analysis describing the holdings of the trust fund; (iii) identify fees and other costs incurred in employing investment consultants, fund managers and other parties compensated for managing or advising the board; (iv) provide a budget status report detailing expenses by month; and (v) provide any information relating to the status and estimated amount of the next payment made pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the tobacco action, or any other such payment.
(l) All records of the trust, including the transactions of the trust fund, shall be a public record as defined in clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4.
(m) In any civil action brought against a trustee or employee of the Health Care Security Trust, acting within the scope of his official duties, the defense or settlement of which is made by the attorney general or by an attorney employed by said board, such trustee or employee shall be indemnified for all expenses incurred in the defense thereof and shall be indemnified for damages to the same extent as provided for public employees in chapter 258. No trustee or employee shall be indemnified for expenses in an action or damages awarded in such action in which there is shown to be a breach of fiduciary duty, an act of willful dishonesty or an intentional violation of law by such trustee or employee.
control Section 5. (a) There is hereby established the advisory committee on health care and tobacco control which shall recommend to the governor and the general court the most effective and prudent uses of the funds available in said trust for financing the present and future health related and tobacco control needs of the commonwealth.
(b) Said committee shall consist of 29 members, one of whom shall be the secretary of administration and finance, or his designee, who shall be a nonvoting member, one of whom shall be the secretary of health and human services, or his designee, who shall be a nonvoting member, and 13 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, one of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Association of Health Maintenance Organizations, one of whom shall be a member of the American Cancer Society, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, one of whom shall be a private citizen who shall be a member of a chamber of commerce located within the commonwealth, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Hospital Association, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation, one of whom shall be a private citizen who shall be a health care economist, one of whom shall be a children’s advocate, one of whom shall be a member from an organization concerned with health care needs specific to the minority community and one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Dental Society, and 14 members appointed by the attorney general, one of whom shall be a member of the tobacco control resource center, one of whom shall be a member of the American Lung Association, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, one of whom shall be a member of Health Care for All, one of whom shall be a private citizen who is a survivor of a tobacco-related illness or has a family member that has suffered from a tobacco-related illness, one of whom shall be a member of the American Association of Retired Persons, one of whom shall be a private citizen with expertise in health care finance, one of whom shall be a dean from a school of public health located within the commonwealth, one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Nurses’ Association; one of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; one of whom shall be a member of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England chapter; one of whom shall be a member of the American Heart Association; and one of whom shall be a representative of a public or private institution with expertise in tobacco cessation and control. In the event that an organization, association or other entity or successor organization, association or other entity named herein ceases to exist, the governor and the attorney general shall agree on a comparable replacement appointee. All appointments shall be for terms of three years except that the initial appointment of six members, including three members appointed by the governor and three members appointed by the attorney general, shall be for terms of two years and the initial appointments of six members, including three members appointed by the governor and three members appointed by the attorney general, shall be for terms of one year.
(c) Said commission shall adopt by-laws governing its proceedings and the procedures for developing its spending plan recommendations. Any such recommendations submitted to the governor and the general court shall be adopted by a two-thirds vote. The secretaries of administration and finance and health and human services shall assign employees of the line agencies under their jurisdiction to assist said commission with its duties. Said commission may request additional staff, consultants or other expenditures in fulfillment of its duties, including third party consultants, actuaries or health care specialists, which shall be made available subject to appropriation.
(d) Said commission shall meet not less than quarterly between the months of January and September, inclusive. Upon receiving in October the comptroller’s certification of the amount available for appropriation in the following fiscal year, the commission may meet as often as necessary to develop and submit its spending recommendations not later than the second Wednesday in December. Said spending recommendation shall be filed with the office of the governor, the fiscal affairs division, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care and with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate.
(e) Said commission shall not make spending recommendations for the subsequent fiscal year in excess of the amount available for expenditure pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) of section 3. Said recommendations shall include a projection of any future costs, annualization and savings resulting from said spending recommendations. Said recommendations shall not be predicated upon unexpended amounts from the current fiscal year being automatically made available for re-appropriation for the same purpose in the subsequent fiscal year, but nothing contained herein shall preclude the commission from making a recommendation to re-appropriate said unexpended amounts for the same or any other purpose authorized by this chapter.
(f) Said commission shall give priority to the funding of annualization for programs and services obligated in prior fiscal years before recommending funding for the expansion of services or the provision of new services. No programs or services recommended by said commission shall establish any entitlement to benefits or services without identifying funding sources sufficient to meet the costs of such entitlements in future years. Said spending recommendations shall be based, to the extent feasible and appropriate, upon an evaluation of scientific data and research that establishes the basis for a cost-benefit analysis of funding needs and identifies the extent to which said recommendation meet the universe of unmet or underserved health-related needs.
(g) Said commission shall monitor the performance and effectiveness of all programs funded by earnings of the trust and shall undertake a sunset review, so-called, of any such program or service not achieving performance expectations. Said commission shall monitor the extent to which funding from the trust complements or expands upon previously implemented health related programs and services and whether such funding has been used to supplant or replace previously obligated health related and tobacco control appropriations.
(h) Beginning on the first Wednesday of October, 2003, and every 3 years thereafter, said commission shall conduct a review to evaluate: (1) the present and future health needs of the citizens of the commonwealth; (2) the financial stability of the trust in light of the return on investment and any adjustment factors or other factors affecting the future stream of payments from the tobacco settlement, based upon recommendations by the board of trustees of said trust; (3) whether, and to what extent, the present health needs of the commonwealth, when balanced against future needs, warrant recommending a change in the allocation of monies between the trust and the General Fund; and (4) the merits of all existing programs funded by transfers from the Health Care Security Trust. After such review, the commission shall prepare a report with its recommendations and shall file said report with the office of the governor, the fiscal affairs division, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care and with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate.
Chapter 30: Section 1. “Departments” defined Section 1. The word “departments” as used in this chapter, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, mean all the departments of the commonwealth, except the department of banking and insurance, but including the divisions of banks and loan agencies, of insurance, and also including the several boards serving in the division of registration, the board of registration in medicine and each of the executive offices created by chapters six A and seven.
Chapter 30: Section 10. Officers requiring gubernatorial appointments; filling vacancies Section 10. Any vacancy in any office, the original appointment to which is required by law to be made by the governor, with or without the advice and consent of the council, and for which no other method of filling vacancies is expressly provided by law, shall be filled for the unexpired term in the manner provided for an original appointment; and the appointment of a successor of any incumbent of any such office who is holding over after the expiration of his term of office shall be made in like manner for the remainder of the term which would have begun at such expiration if his successor had then been appointed.
Chapter 30: Section 11. Oaths of office Section 11. A person chosen or appointed to an office may, unless otherwise provided by law, take and subscribe the oaths required to qualify him before the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, two councillors or two commissioners appointed under section three of chapter two hundred and twenty-two.
Chapter 30: Section 12. Oaths of office; failure to take and subscribe Section 12. A person appointed to an office by the governor with or without the advice and consent of the council shall be notified of his appointment by the state secretary and his commission delivered to him upon qualification, and if he does not, within three months after the date of such appointment, take and subscribe the oaths of office, his appointment shall be void, and the secretary shall forthwith notify him thereof, and shall also certify said facts to the governor. This section shall be printed on every such commission.
Chapter 30: Section 13. Fees for certain commissions, etc. Section 13. Before the delivery of a commission to a person appointed commissioner under section three or four of chapter two hundred and twenty-two, master in chancery or justice of the peace, he shall pay to the state secretary a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven. Before the delivery of a commission to a person appointed a notary public he shall pay to the state secretary a fee as determined annually under the aforementioned provision. Upon the change of name of any woman who has been appointed and qualified as a notary public, she shall re-register under her new name and shall pay to the state secretary a fee as determined annually under the aforementioned provision.
Chapter 30: Section 14. Approval of bond; withholding commission Section 14. If a bond is required of any person appointed to office by the governor with or without the advice and consent of the council, the commission shall not issue until the bond has been approved.
Chapter 30: Section 15. Bonds; determining amount Section 15. When state officials or employees are required to give bond in which the amount is not fixed by law, the comptroller shall fix the amount and shall require that such bonds be made uniform so far as possible.
Chapter 30: Section 16. Schedule bonds Section 16. State officers and heads of state departments may arrange for such schedule bonds as they deem advisable, which shall take the place of bonds required by law of them or any of their officers and employees. Every such schedule bond shall be a surety company bond with a surety company authorized to do business in the commonwealth as surety, conditioned that the officers and employees named in the bond shall faithfully perform the duties of their offices and employments, with other conditions or provisions required by law.
Chapter 30: Section 17. Bond premiums; reimbursement Section 17. If an official having custody of property of the commonwealth, or charged with the duty of receiving or disbursing money, is required to give bond to the commonwealth for the faithful discharge of his duty, the commonwealth shall reimburse him for the amount paid by him to a surety company for becoming surety on his official bond. Premiums on all surety bonds paid by the commonwealth shall be paid out of the appropriations for expenses of the several officers and departments.
Chapter 30: Section 18. Examination of bonds Section 18. Every public official having custody of any bond for the faithful performance of the duties of any office, occupation, agency or trust, requiring the approval of any court, public officer, department or board other than the governor and council, shall, except in those cases where the duty is imposed upon the director of accounts, annually in March examine into the sufficiency of every such bond, and shall, whenever at any other time there is reason to believe that any such bond has become insufficient, examine into its sufficiency. The governor shall appoint a committee of the council which shall annually in March make such examination of bonds required to be approved by the governor or by the governor and council. If a bond is found upon examination to be insufficient, the person who has examined it shall forthwith notify the principal thereof and shall require him, within thirty days after the date of such notice, to file a new bond in conformity with law. All bonds requiring the approval of the state treasurer and all bonds requiring his examination as to their sufficiency shall, when he deems it necessary, be secured by a surety company approved by the commissioner of insurance.
Chapter 30: Section 19. Failure to file sufficient bonds; removal of principal Section 19. If a new bond is not filed, as required by the preceding section, the governor with the advice and consent of the council, shall remove the principal from such office or trust or terminate his authority to exercise such occupation or agency.
Chapter 30: Section 2. Executive and administrative offices, etc.
; placement under control of some state department Section 2. All executive and administrative offices, boards, commissions and other governmental organizations and agencies, except those serving directly under the governor or the governor and council, not by law placed under the direction and control of some state department, shall be placed thereunder by order of the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, until such time as the general court shall make provision therefor.
Chapter 30: Section 20. Bonds deposited with county treasurers; examination Section 20. Bonds of public officers, except officers in Suffolk county, required to be deposited with county treasurers shall, at least once a year, be examined by the director of accounts or his representative. If such bond is insufficient, he shall report to the superior court, which shall require a new bond, satisfactory to it, within such time as it shall order.
Chapter 30: Section 21. Multiple salaries from treasury Section 21. A person shall not at the same time receive more than one salary from the treasury of the commonwealth.
Chapter 30: Section 22. Plurality of offices; penalties Section 22. Whoever wilfully violates the preceding section or wilfully accepts or holds office in violation of article two of chapter six of the second part of the constitution, as amended by article twenty-seven of the amendments thereof, shall forfeit to the commonwealth the compensation from all offices held in violation of said provisions during the time they are so held, to be recovered by the attorney general, upon written complaint made within one year by any citizen.
Chapter 30: Section 22A. Repealed, 1978, 210, Sec. 2 Chapter 30: Section 23. Full time devotion to duties; certain state officers Section 23. Any person in any executive or administrative department who is appointed to office by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, and who is paid a salary, may be required by the governor, with like advice and consent, to give his whole time to the duties of his office.
Chapter 30: Section 23A. Certain trustees of state institutions; plurality of positions Section 23A. Any trustee of a state institution who is appointed to such office by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall, during the term for which he was appointed, be ineligible to hold any other office or position in said institution.
Chapter 30: Section 24. Office hours Section 24. All offices under the jurisdiction of any department of the state government shall be open to the public for the transaction of business daily on days other than Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays for such hours, beginning not later than nine o’clock in the forenoon and ending not earlier than five o’clock in the afternoon, as may be set by the department head subject to the approval of the commissioner of administration, except that, if the convenience of the public so requires, any department head, subject to like approval, may keep any office under his jurisdiction open on any Saturday, not a legal holiday, from nine o’clock in the forenoon to twelve o’clock noon, and give any employee required to work on Saturday equivalent time off without loss of compensation. When the day or the last day for the performance of any act, including the making of any payment or tender of payment, authorized or required to be performed at such an office falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the act may be performed on the next succeeding business day.
Chapter 30: Section 24A. Working on legal holidays; compensation; exceptions Section 24A. If any person employed by the commonwealth is required to work on any legal holiday, as listed in the first sentence of clause Eighteenth of section seven of chapter four, he shall be given an additional day off or, if such additional day off cannot be given by reason of a personnel shortage or other cause, he shall be entitled to an additional day’s pay; provided, that any person whose regular day off, other than a Saturday, falls on any such legal holiday shall be given an additional day off or, if such additional day off cannot be given by reason of a personnel shortage or other cause, an additional day’s pay; and provided, further, that if the regular day off of any such person is Saturday and any such legal holiday falls on a Saturday, such person shall, where possible, be given the preceding Friday off without loss of pay, or if said day off cannot be given by reason of a personnel shortage or other cause, he shall be given an additional day off, as hereinbefore provided for other persons whose regular day off falls on a legal holiday, or, in lieu thereof, an additional day’s pay.
This section shall not apply to elected officers, appointees of the governor, heads of departments and divisions, superintendents of institutions in the departments of mental health, mental retardation, public health, public welfare, Soldiers’ Home in Massachusetts, Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke and agencies under the jurisdiction of the department of youth services, to presidents of educational institutions or to principal officers in the correctional institutions.
Chapter 30: Section 24B. Assignments of employee from lower to higher grade Section 24B. Whenever an employee in a lower grade is assigned the duties of a position in a higher grade for a period of thirty days or longer, the appointing officer shall, if a vacancy exists or is to exist for the position in the higher grade, forthwith submit to the personnel administrator a requisition for approval of the appointment of such employee to such position. The approval of said administrator of such an appointment shall, if given, take effect as of the earliest date, as determined by the administrator, that he could have approved the appointment if acted upon by him on the date the appointment was made, but in no case shall he approve an appointment to take effect earlier than sixty days next preceding the date of the receipt of said requisition by him.
This section shall not apply to assignment of a person to cover a higher position when the holder of the higher grade position is absent on vacation leave, but shall apply when the holder of such higher graded position is on sick leave.
Chapter 30: Section 24C. Overtime pay; prior written approval Section 24C. No compensation shall be paid to any employee of the commonwealth for overtime services except upon the prior written approval of such overtime by the appointing authority, and, in the case of a department, office, commission, board or institution within any of the executive offices established by chapters six A and seven, upon the prior written approval of the secretary having charge of such executive office, in accordance with regulations established under section twenty-eight of chapter seven.
Chapter 30: Section 25. Expenses of state officers, etc. Section 25. State officers, and members of departments receiving a salary or its equivalent, who are provided with offices by the commonwealth and whose duties require regular attendance at such offices, shall not be allowed or paid by the commonwealth any expenses in the nature of traveling or living expenses. Such officers or members of departments whose duties require them to travel elsewhere than to and from the offices provided for them by the commonwealth, and unpaid state officers or members of departments, and those whose duties do not require daily attendance and who receive compensation by the day, shall be allowed their actual reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of such duties, if such expenses are authorized by law to be paid by the commonwealth. Bills for such expenses shall be itemized and the dates when, and the purposes for which, such expenses were incurred shall be stated before their allowance by the comptroller.
In the case of allowable expenses incurred in the operation of private motor vehicles used in the performance of official duties, the maximum reimbursement shall not exceed a maximum established by the commissioner of administration. Said maximum shall be equivalent to the maximum reimbursement payable to state employees who are covered under a collective bargaining agreement for which an appropriation has been made by the general court. Said commissioner shall adjust said maximum, if such adjustment is required, on July first of each year and shall file a notice of such adjustment with the house and senate committees on ways and means at least ninety days prior to said date.
Chapter 30: Section 25A. Death away from home; return of body; expenses Section 25A. If any state officer or member o | |
