Overview
The Executive Office for Administration and Finance (A&F) was established under Section 2 of Chapter 7 of the Massachusetts General Laws. It is responsible for planning and executing fiscal and administrative policies for the Commonwealth, and it is headed by the Secretary of Administration and Finance, who is a member of the Governor’s cabinet. Section 3 of Chapter 7 of the General Laws establishes the following responsibilities of A&F:
(1) Developing, co-ordinating, administering and controlling the financial policies and programs of the commonwealth;
(2) Supervising the organization and conduct of the business affairs of the departments, commissions, offices, boards, divisions, institutions and other agencies within the executive department of the government of the commonwealth;
(3) Developing new policies and programs which will improve the organization, structure, functions, economy, efficiency, procedures, services and administrative practices of all such departments, commissions, offices, boards, divisions, institutions and other agencies.
A&F provides oversight and sets policy for the following state agencies: the Operational Services Division, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, the Department of Revenue, the Human Resources Division, the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, the Civil Service Commission, the Appellate Tax Board, the Designer Selection Board, and the Supplier Diversity Office.
In addition, A&F provides limited oversight and technical support to the following state agencies: the Bureau of the State House, the Group Insurance Commission, the Massachusetts Office on Disability, the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, and the State Library of Massachusetts.
Coronavirus Relief Fund
According to A&F’s website, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted by Congress on March 27, 2020, provided Massachusetts with approximately $2.7 billion from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CvRF) to cover expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Section 601(d) of Title VI of the Social Security Act required that payments from the CvRF could only cover expenses that met the following criteria:
(1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19);
(2) were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of the date of enactment of this section [March 27, 2020 (the enactment date of the CARES Act)] for the State or government; and
(3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 31, 2021.
The US Department of the Treasury administered the CvRF. The Office of Inspector General (which is under the US Department of the Treasury) had oversight of CvRF payments. As such, the Office of Inspector General provided guidance to CvRF recipients on how to report their use of the funds they received through the CvRF to ensure compliance with the CARES Act.
The Commonwealth used part of the CvRF to make approximately $502 million available to municipalities through the CvRF Municipal Program (CvRF-MP). According to A&F’s website, the Commonwealth distributed these funds to the municipal subrecipients in the following three rounds:
- In Round 1, which occurred in May and June of 2020, 258 municipalities received approximately $95 million [total] in payments.
- In Round 2, which occurred in October 2020, 276 municipalities received approximately $230 million [total].
- In the Reconciliation Period, which was structured as a reimbursement round, 295 municipalities received approximately $117 million [total].
Federal Funds Office
According to A&F’s website, it “is responsible for maximizing federal revenue and minimizing compliance risks associated with federal grants in the Commonwealth.”
A&F established the Federal Funds Office (FFO) when Congress provided Massachusetts COVID-19 funding in spring 2020. FFO is responsible for managing CvRF money, including distributing it to municipalities through the CvRF-MP. Since December 2020, FFO has been conducting desk reviews of CvRF-MP expenditures to ensure that municipalities spend the funds appropriately and are compliant with applicable policy guidance.
Vendor Contracts
Massachusetts state agencies and departments award contracts to vendors for various items and services. The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth and the Operational Services Division jointly issued a policy on July 1, 2004 (last revised on May 20, 2011), “State Finance Law and General Contract Requirements,” which identifies the minimum contracting requirements that all state agencies must follow. One of these requirements dictates that each state agency must check federal and state debarred vendor lists to ensure that it does not award a contract to a debarred vendor.
Debarred Vendor Lists
The federal government and/or the state government can debar or suspend vendors from receiving public contracts for several reasons. According to the Operational Services Division’s website, these reasons include, but are not limited to, “fraud, collusion, attempts to improperly influence a bid process or indictment by the bidder/contractor.” As such, there are various federal and state debarred vendor lists. A&F publishes its debarred vendor list on the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance’s website. This website also contains links to other debarred vendor lists published by the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Industrial Accidents, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. (See Finding 3, which highlights an issue that we identified during the audit; A&F did not maintain a consolidated debarred vendor list that contained all required information.)
| Date published: | May 29, 2024 |
|---|