The treasurer iselected by the people onElection Day in November to four-year terms, and takes office on the third Wednesday of the January following a general election. There is nolimit to the number of terms a treasurer may hold.[2] Institutionally speaking, the treasurer is thusindependent of both thegovernor andGeneral Court for the purpose of performing their official duties. These constitutional protections notwithstanding, the treasurer may still beimpeached for misconduct or maladministration by theHouse of Representatives and, if found guilty, removed from office by theSenate.[3]
In the event of a vacancy in the office of treasurer, theGeneral 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 thegovernor. The appointment is not valid without theadvice and consent of theGovernor's Council.[7]
The state treasurer is in effect the chief financial officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.[8] As such, the state treasurermanages the Commonwealth'scash flows andinvests theworking capital of state agencies and local governments.[9] The state treasurer is also responsible forissueing,registering, andservicing the Commonwealth'spublic debt along with administeringescheats andunclaimed 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 treasurerregulates the sale ofalcoholic beverages within intrastate commerce, provides tax-advantagedABLE andcollege savings programs to Bay Stater residents, and manages thestate lottery.[13][14][15] Likewise, the state treasurer administersdeferred compensation plans to public and nonprofit employees along withbonuses 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, theMassachusetts 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.
^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]
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