Bill
HD 4434
The report shows $3,047,257.82 in prior-year deficiencies paid in FY2025 from current-year appropriations across 38 departments.
HD 4434 — Summary of Paid Prior Year Deficiency Report (FY2025, Q2)
Overview
- What it is: A House document (HD 4434) describing a communication from the Massachusetts Comptroller submitting the Paid Prior Year Deficiency Report for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2025, in accordance with statute.
- Status: Placed on file (no legislative action required at this time).
- Introduced: February 27, 2025.
- Context: The report fulfills a reporting requirement established by Item 1599-2040 of Section 2B of Chapter 140 of the Acts of 2024 (the FY2024 budget act). The document is directed to the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means.
Purpose and intent
- To provide the Legislature with detailed information on the payment of prior year deficiencies through chargebacks to FY2025 funds.
- To show how departments recovered or offset prior-year shortfalls using current-year appropriations, and to clarify whether sufficient or insufficient funds existed in the relevant accounts at the end of FY2024.
Key provisions and content
- Core finding: Through Q2 FY2025, a total of $3,047,257.82 was spent to address prior year deficiencies across 38 departments.
- Fund status breakdown:
- $2,419,639.36 of the total occurred in accounts that had sufficient funds (these departments had reverted funds to the General Fund at the end of FY2024).
- $627,618.46 occurred in accounts that had insufficient funds (these departments did not revert funds to the General Fund at the end of FY2024).
- Recoupment mechanism: Regardless of fund sufficiency, the funding for prior year deficiencies is recouped from each department’s current-year appropriation.
- Detail level: The report includes a department-by-department, line-item (object class) breakdown of payments. The excerpt provided shows multiple departments and object classes (e.g., ANF, APC, BSB, CHE, CME, CNB, CPC, CSW, DAC, DCP, etc.) with individual amounts and associated transaction identifiers.
- Representative data: Examples in the attachment include specific payments such as:
- ANF: $2,990.00 (two line items)
- APC: $3,669.30
- BSB: $803.58 total across several items
- CHE: $43,669.15 total
- CME: $3,280.32 total
- CNB: $4,112.66 total
- CPC, CSW, DAC, DCP: multiple line items with varying amounts
(The full document contains a page-by-page 92-page appendix with detailed entries.)
Who is affected
- Departments and accounts that carried prior-year deficiencies and had to utilize current-year funds to cover them.
- The funding impact is felt through adjustments to current-year appropriations to recoup the prior-year deficiencies.
Procedural and timeline notes
- This is a reporting submission under a statutory requirement, not a standalone appropriations or policy bill.
- The document is dated January 24, 2025 (cover page) and accompanies a formal letter from William McNamara, Massachusetts Comptroller.
- While introduced as HD 4434, the action noted here is “placed on file,” indicating no immediate legislative debate or amendments are anticipated in relation to this communication.
Impact outlook
- Provides transparency on how prior-year deficiencies were settled and how departments’ current-year budgets were affected.
- Useful for lawmakers in assessing year-to-year cash management, fund reversions, and the adequacy of current-year appropriations to cover prior-year obligations.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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