About the Stabilization Fund and Long-Term Liability Financing Task Force

The Stabilization Fund and Long-Term Liability Financing Task Force reviewed Massachusetts’ reserve-building and long-term liability policies, including the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund and unfunded pension obligations. Its work supports ongoing efforts to strengthen fiscal stability, prepare for economic downturns, and address emerging long-term costs such as disaster relief and resiliency.

The Stabilization Fund and Long-Term Liability Financing Task Force was mandated by Section 5 of Chapter 214 of the Acts of 2024, signed into law in September 2024. The underlying legislation established a Commonwealth Federal Matching and Debt Reduction Fund, which was to be capitalized with interest earnings from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund.
The Task Force was charged with reviewing the Commonwealth’s financing policies around its long-term liabilities and reserves. The enabling section required that the Task Force make recommendations regarding the following:

1. The appropriate long-term level of funding for the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund established in section 2H of chapter 29 of the General Laws;
2. The appropriate level and means of funding for long-term financial liabilities of the commonwealth;
3. Amendments to the mechanisms that provide funding for the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund and other long-term financial liabilities, including the provisions of section 5G of said chapter 29.
    

In addition, the section required the Task Force to review the following topic areas:

1. The statutory threshold for excess capital gains collections established in said section 5G of said chapter 29 in consideration of historical and estimated future capital gains collections;
2. The disbursement percentages required under said section 5G of said chapter 29;
3. Best practices related to the funding of long-term financial liabilities among states;
4. Best practices related to the funding and size of stabilization funds among states;
5. Any other relevant fiscal factors to ensure the most prudent use of state revenues.

Task Force Process

The Task Force convened five times between September 2025 and January 2026. The Task Force partnered with the Pew Charitable Trusts to support its work around state best practices on the discussed topics. The full presentations from these meetings are linked in Appendix 3 of this report. The meetings were structured as follows:

• Meeting 1: Task Force background and charges; review of capital gains collections; overview of Section 5G of Chapter 29 of the General Laws and its impact
• Meeting 2: Stabilization Fund policies, including deposit, withdrawal and fund sizing policies, and stress-testing
• Meeting 3: Stabilization Fund stress-testing (continued) and recession planning; pension liability financing and stress-testing
• Meeting 4: Disaster relief and resiliency financing; credit rating agency consideration; initial recommendations
• Meeting 5: Recommendations and report review

This report represents the discussions of the Task Force and has general support from the members of the Task Force, though no vote was taken.

Task Force Members

• Matthew Gorzkowicz, Secretary of Administration and Finance, Chair
• Sue Perez, Deputy Treasurer for Debt Management – Office of the Treasurer (Treasurer Appointee)
• Thomas Smith-Vaughan, Chief Operating Officer – Office of the Comptroller (Comptroller Appointee)
• Timothy Rooney, Chief Financial Officer – Department of Revenue (Commissioner of Revenue Appointee)
• Henry Dormitzer, Managing Partner and Trustee – Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP (Governor Appointee)
• June Matte, Retired Managing Director – PFM Financial Advisors LLC (Treasurer Appointee)

The Task Force was staffed by Christopher Marino, Assistant Secretary for Budget, and Laura Taronas, Finance Director, from the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.