FY2011 - FY2015 Capital Investment Plan
Appendix A - Debt Affordability Analysis - Administrative Bond Cap

The statutory debt limit and debt service limits represent only an upper limit on the amount of direct debt the Commonwealth may incur, and they do not count many types of Commonwealth debt and debt-like obligations (e.g., contract assistance payment liabilities).  Since fiscal year 1991, A&F has established an “administrative bond cap” to limit annual bond issuance to affordable levels.  However, growth in the bond cap has not always been based on transparent, analytical measures of affordability.  Prior to the Patrick-Murray Administration, certain bonds issued outside of the stated cap do not appear to have been taken into account in determining debt affordability or in setting the annual bond cap (e.g., $1 billion of bonds issued during fiscal years 2005 and 2006 to support the Massachusetts School Building Authority).