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Treasurer's request to discuss shifting from long-term GO bonds removed from SFAA agenda after members express unease
Summary
The constitutional subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony that members of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority removed an agenda item the state treasurer sought to place on a February meeting because a majority of members expressed discomfort with the request.
The constitutional subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony that members of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority (SFAA) removed an agenda item the state treasurer sought to place on a February meeting because a majority of members expressed discomfort with the request.
Grant Gillespie, director of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority, told the panel that the treasurer's office requested an agenda item in January to receive an update from disclosure counsel and to discuss the treasurer’s intent not to issue long‑term general obligation (GO) bonds and instead issue bond‑anticipation notes. Gillespie said the placeholder on the February agenda read only “update by disclosure counsel.”
"It seems that the majority of the board doesn't want this on the agenda. We'll plan to take it off," Gillespie said, describing the liaison review process that preceded the decision to remove the item.
Members on the committee pressed witnesses about why the item was not pursued. Finance committee staff and other committee members said the request was unusual and lacked the level of written description typically provided with agenda items. Quentin, a member of finance staff, told the subcommittee that "the standard for going to executive session is very high," and staff had limited information to advise whether executive session was appropriate.
The subcommittee also discussed whether the subject matter—briefings by disclosure counsel about an SEC investigation and questions related to bond‑issuance strategy—should be handled in executive session. Legal counsel and staff witnesses said legal briefings can be appropriate in executive session but that members had expressed concerns about the vagueness of the request and whether it met the high threshold the Authority and staff apply before recommending executive session.
Gillespie said the treasurer notified the SFAA in January and requested an executive‑session, information‑only briefing timed after the release of a separate consultant report, but that after liaison review and follow‑up conversations, the majority of members signaled they did not want the item on a public agenda. "As a result, the agenda item was taken off," he said. When asked whether the treasurer currently can issue GO bonds, Gillespie answered, "I do not know the answer to that question."
No formal action was taken by the subcommittee on bond policy during this hearing; the matter was described as removed from the SFAA draft agenda prior to the Authority's February meeting.
The committee left open questions for follow‑up, including requests from members for clearer written descriptions of any future agenda requests and for staff to advise whether executive session would be warranted in similar future cases.
