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Capital Debt Affordability Committee
Board Information
Policy Area
Administration and FinancePurpose
The committee shall review on a continuing basis the size and condition of the commonwealth tax supported debt as well as other debt of any authority of the commonwealth that is determined to be a component unit of the commonwealth by the comptroller under subsection (c) of section 12 of chapter 7A. The estimate shall be made available electronically and prominently displayed on the official website of the commonwealth. (f) On or before September 10 of each year, the committee shall submit to the governor and the general court the committee?s estimate of the total amount of new commonwealth debt that prudently may be authorized for the next fiscal year. In making its estimate, the committee shall consider: (1) the amount of state bonds that, during the next fiscal year: (i) will be outstanding; and (ii) will be authorized but unissued; (2) the capital program prepared by the secretary of administration and finance; (3) capital improvement and school construction needs during the next 5 fiscal years, as projected by the Massachusetts School Building Assistance Authority; (4) projections of debt service requirements during the next 10 fiscal years; (5) the criteria that recognized bond rating agencies use to judge the quality of issues of state bonds; (6) any other factor that is relevant to: (i) the ability of the state to meet its projected debt service requirements for the next 5 fiscal years; or (ii) the marketability of state bonds; (7) the effect of authorizations of new state debt on each of the factors in this subsection; (8) identification of pertinent debt ratios, such as debt service to General Fund revenues, debt to personal income, debt to estimated full-value of property, and debt per capita; (9) A comparison of the debt ratios prepared for paragraph (8) with the comparable debt ratios for the 5 other states in New England, New York and 5 other states the committee determines to offer a fair comparison to the commonwealth; (10) A description of the percentage of the state's outstanding general obligation bonds constituting fixed rate bonds, variable rate bonds, bonds that have an effective fixed interest rate through a hedging contract, and bonds that have an effective variable interest rate through a hedging contract. The report shall also include, for each outstanding hedging contract, a description of the hedging contract, the outstanding notional amount, the effective date, the expiration date, the name and ratings of the counterparty, the rate or floating index paid by the state and the rate or floating index paid by the counterparty, and a summary of the performance of the state's hedging contracts in comparison to the objectives for which the hedging contracts were executed; and (11) the amount of issuances, debt outstanding, and debt service requirement of other classes of commonwealth tax supported debt as well as other debt of commonwealth units. (g) The estimate of the committee shall be advisory, and shall not bind the governor or the general court. (h) On or before October 15 of each year, after considering the current estimate of the committee, the governor shall determine: (1) the total authorizations of new commonwealth debt that the governor considers advisable for the next fiscal year; and (2) the preliminary allocation of new commonwealth debt for capital facility projects. 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.Legal Authority
Board Members
↓↓ Sort members table by selecting table header for Member, Seat Name, Appointing Authority, or Term End Date.
| Member↓↓ | Seat Name | Appointing Authority | Term End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Akash Deep | Treasurer Appointee 2 | Treasurer | April 16, 2015 |
| Mr. Colin MacNaught | Treasurer's Appointee | Treasurer | - |
| Secretary Stephanie Pollack | Secretary, MassDOT | Ex Officio | - |
| Thomas G. Shack III | Comptroller | Ex Officio | - |
| Mr. Philip Shapiro | Treasurer Appointee 1 | Treasurer | April 16, 2015 |
| Catherine Walsh | Expert in Public Finance and Who Shall Be a Resident of The Commonwealth and Employed by a Public or Private Institution of Higher Education | Governor | April 17, 2017 |
| - | Secretary, ANF (Chair) | Ex Officio | - |