New Chapter 29 Funds

SECTION 25.   Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2VVVV the following 3 sections:-

Section 2WWWW. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a Debt and Long-Term Liability Reduction Trust Fund. The fund shall be administered by the secretary of administration and finance, in consultation with the treasurer and receiver-general. There shall be credited to the fund all monies received under subclause (i) of clause (2) of section 59 of chapter 23K. Expenditures from the fund shall be made for the payment and prepayment of commonwealth debt and other long-term liabilities including but not limited to: (i) debt service payable by the commonwealth and the Massachusetts department of transportation; (ii) contract assistance payments secured by the full faith and credit of the commonwealth; (iii) payments pursuant to contracts established under section 38C; (iv) funding escrow accounts for the payments described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) hereof; (v) unfunded pension liabilities; (vi) other post-employment benefits; and (vii) other long-term liabilities. The comptroller may certify amounts for payment in anticipation of expected receipts; provided, however, that no expenditure shall be made from the fund which shall cause the fund to be deficient at the close of a fiscal year. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation. Money remaining in the fund at the close of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in subsequent fiscal years.

(b) An annual report to include expenditures made and income received by the fund shall be submitted to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, to the house and senate committees on ways and means, and to the house and senate committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets not later than December 1 of each year.

Section 2XXXX. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Product Cleanup Fund. There shall be credited to such fund: the fees imposed pursuant to subsection (A) of section 2 of chapter 21J in the manner set forth pursuant to clause (i) of subsection (C) of said section 2; any appropriation, grant, gift, or other contribution explicitly made to such fund; and any interest earned on monies within the fund.

Amounts credited to said fund shall be used, subject to appropriation, for the purposes set forth in chapter 21J. Before the calculation of the consolidated net surplus under said section 5C, the comptroller shall transfer any remaining fund balance to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund established in section 2ZZZ.

Section 2YYYY. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund, which shall be administered by the secretary of health and human services. Monies from the trust fund may be expended for payments to qualifying providers under an approved federal waiver. Amounts credited to the trust fund shall not be subject to further appropriation.
 
 

Summary:
This section proposes three new Commonwealth funds. The first part creates a new Debt and Long-Term Liability Reduction Trust Fund, where 10% of the Category 1 gaming revenue funds will be deposited in accordance with the debt defeasance instruction in the gaming law. The second part re-constitutes the Underground Storage Tank Petroleum Products Cleanup Fund, to ensure that the Commonwealth's underground storage tank program continues to provide the assurance of financial stability for tank owners that the federal government requires. The third part establishes a trust fund called the Safety Net Provider Trust Fund for the purpose of disbursing a new supplemental payment category authorized under the 1115 waiver.