The treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts is an elected constitutional officer in the

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Originally appointed under authority of the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself king of the Anglo-Sax ...

pursuant to the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the office of treasurer and receiver-general (commonly called the "

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

") became an elective one in 1780. Sixty-one individuals have occupied the office of state treasurer over the ensuing centuries. The incumbent is

Deb Goldberg Deborah Beth Goldberg (born May 11, 1954) is an American politician and lawyer. She is the Treasurer of Massachusetts, serving since January 2015. She was a member of the Board of Selectmen for the town of Brookline, Massachusetts from 1998 to 2 ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

who took office January 21, 2015.

Election

Term of office

The treasurer is elected by the people on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

in November to four-year terms, and takes office on the third Wednesday of the January following a general election. There is no limit to the number of terms a treasurer may hold. Institutionally speaking, the treasurer is thus

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

of both the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and General Court for the purpose of performing their official duties. These constitutional protections notwithstanding, the treasurer may still be

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

for misconduct or maladministration by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and, if found guilty, removed from office by the

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Qualifications

Any person seeking election to the office of treasurer must meet the following requirements: #Be at least eighteen years of age; #Be a registered voter in Massachusetts; #Be a Massachusetts resident for at least five years when elected; and #Receive 5,000 signatures from registered voters on nomination papers.

Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy in the office of treasurer, the General Court is charged, if in session, with electing from among the eligible citizens of the Commonwealth a successor to serve the balance of the prior treasurer's term in office. If, however, the vacancy occurs while the General Court is not in session, then responsibility for appointing a successor falls to the

. The appointment is not valid without the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in List of enacting formulae, enacting formulae of bill (proposed law), bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive ...

of the

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Powers and duties

The state treasurer is in effect the chief financial officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As such, the state treasurer manages the Commonwealth's

cash flows Cash flow, in general, refers to payments made into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It can also refer more specifically to a real or virtual movement of money. *Cash flow, in its narrow sense, is a payment (in a currency), es ...

and

invests Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

the

working capital Working capital (WC) is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organisation, or other entity, including governmental entities. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is consi ...

of state agencies and local governments. The state treasurer is also responsible for issueing, registering, and servicing the Commonwealth's

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...

along with administering escheats and

unclaimed property In property law, lost, mislaid, and abandoned property are categories of the common law of property which deals with personal property or chattel which has left the possession of its rightful owner without having directly entered the possessio ...

that accrue to the Commonwealth. These are core functions shared with other state treasurers. Other programs have been assigned to the state treasurer by law. For example, the state treasurer regulates the sale of

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s within intrastate commerce, provides tax-advantaged

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and college savings programs to Bay Stater residents, and manages the state lottery. Likewise, the state treasurer administers

deferred compensation Deferred compensation is an arrangement in which a portion of an employee's wage is paid out at a later date after which it was earned. Examples of deferred compensation include pensions, retirement plans, and employee stock options. The primary ...

plans to public and nonprofit employees along with bonuses to veterans, servicemembers, and military families domiciled in Massachusetts. Aside from these functional responsibilities, the state treasurer is ex officio chair of the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the Massachusetts State Retirement Board, and the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board. These independent agencies are governed by multimember boards attached to the Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General for administrative purposes.

Organization

The Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General is organized into the following departments: #the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission; #the Department of Cash Management; #the Department of Debt Management; #the Department of Defined Compensation Plans; #the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust; #the Massachusetts School Building Authority; #the Massachusetts State Lottery; #the Office of Economic Empowerment; #the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board; #the State Retirement Board; #the Unclaimed Property Division; and #the Veterans' Bonus Division.

List of treasurers and receivers-general (1780–present)

Notes

References

External links

Official site
via Mass.gov *

John Hull (merchant) John Hull (December 18, 1624October 1, 1683) was an English-born merchant, silversmith, slave trader and politician who spent the majority of his life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After arriving in North America, he worked as a silversmith in ...

{{U.S. State Treasurers

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...