Treasurer backs cleanup of dedicated funds list; committee declines to exec bill pending amendment review

Representative Olmi introduced House Bill 163 to update and clarify the state’s list of dedicated funds; State Treasurer Monica Mazzappelli told the committee the bill primarily performs a cleanup of accounts and aligns classifications with accounting and reporting standards.

“From my perspective, I think the importance of this bill, again, is to make things easier,” Treasurer Monica Mazzappelli said, adding the bill “adds accounts to the list, essentially, of dedicated accounts that were not included previously” and clarifies three buckets — dedicated funds, trust/endowment-type permanent funds, and custodial accounts.

Mazzappelli said the cleanup will help the treasurer’s office and controller “with doing proper accounting of some of the trust and accounts” and will facilitate use of a module in the state’s new financial system to maintain trust and custodial accounts currently tracked in spreadsheets.

Committee members raised questions about an amendment inserted by Senator Pearl on behalf of General Michaelaitis and asked the treasurer to review language that would authorize a fund “to be used to supplement general funds,” noting the amendment did not specify funding sources or the exact statutory section where the new language should be inserted. One lawmaker asked the treasurer to check that the amendment places the new language under the correct RSA section, referenced in the hearing as “1 1 10 dash 8.”

The chair said the committee would not executive session the bill that day to give the treasurer and staff time to vet the amendment; Mazzappelli agreed to review the changes and to follow up with recommendations before the committee could consider an exec recommendation.

The public hearing was closed with the committee leaving the bill available for further vetting rather than taking immediate action.