The treasurer and receiver-general of Massachusetts is an elected constitutional officer in the
executive branch of the
U.S. state of
Massachusetts. Originally appointed under authority of the
English Crown pursuant to the
Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the office of treasurer and receiver-general (commonly called the "
state treasurer") became an
elective one in 1780.[a] Sixty-one individuals have occupied the office of state treasurer over the ensuing centuries. The incumbent is
Deb Goldberg, a
Democrat who took office January 21, 2015.
Election
Term of office
The treasurer is
elected by the people on
Election Day 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.[2] Institutionally speaking, the treasurer is thus
independent of both the
governor and
General Court for the purpose of performing their official duties. These constitutional protections notwithstanding, the treasurer may still be
impeached for misconduct or maladministration by the
House of Representatives and, if found guilty, removed from office by the
Senate.[3]
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.[4]
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.[b] If, however, the vacancy occurs while the General Court is not in session, then responsibility for appointing a successor falls to the
governor. The appointment is not valid without the
advice and consent of the
Governor's Council.[7]
Powers and duties
The state treasurer is in effect the chief financial officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[8] As such, the state treasurer
manages the Commonwealth's
cash flows and
invests the
working capital of state agencies and local governments.[9] The state treasurer is also responsible for
issueing,
registering, and
servicing the Commonwealth's
public debt along with administering
escheats and
unclaimed property that accrue to the Commonwealth.[10][11] These are core functions shared with other state treasurers.[12]
Other programs have been assigned to the state treasurer by law. For example, the state treasurer
regulates the sale of
alcoholic beverages within intrastate commerce, provides tax-advantaged
ABLE and
college savings programs to Bay Stater residents, and manages the
state lottery.[13][14][15] Likewise, the state treasurer administers
deferred compensation plans to public and nonprofit employees along with
bonuses to veterans, servicemembers, and military families domiciled in Massachusetts.[16][17]
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.[18][19][20][21] 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:
^Massachusett's Office of the Treasurer and Receiver-General is therefore the oldest operating state treasurer's office in the United States.
^Citizens of the Commonwealth of the Massachusetts are officially designated as "Bay Staters". Being a Bay Stater implies concurrent U.S. citizenship, which is required in order to vote in Massachusetts and to run for any public office, including that of treasurer and receiver-general.[5][6]