Section 63A: Central Artery/Tunnel Project Repair and Maintenance Trust Fund; credits to fund from judgments and settlement payments; disbursements; reversion of fund balance upon abolishment or alteration of fund or section; unauthorized disbursements; public records
[Text of section added by 2007, 228, Sec. 5. See also, Section 63A added by 2008, 303, Sec. 4, below.]
Section 63A. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Central Artery/Tunnel Project Repair and Maintenance Trust Fund, in this section called the fund. The secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall administer the fund and shall be its trustee. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall disburse monies from the fund solely for the purpose of paying the costs of, or reimbursing the commonwealth or the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority for costs incurred in connection with, repairs and maintenance of the central artery and the Ted Williams tunnel, as those terms are defined in section 1 of chapter 6C, if such repairs and maintenance relate to conditions not caused by ordinary or routine wear and tear. For purposes of this section, the term ''repairs and maintenance'' shall include, without limitation, repairs, maintenance, inspection, monitoring and testing of the central artery, the Ted Williams tunnel and the systems and components thereof. Disbursements from the fund shall not be permitted for, and monies in the fund shall not be used for, the cost of repairs and maintenance relating to conditions caused by ordinary or routine wear and tear.
(b) There shall be credited to the fund all monies received in connection with judgments and settlement payments that are made subject to the condition that such judgments and settlements be used for non-routine, non-ordinary repairs and maintenance of the central artery and the Ted Williams tunnel. The state treasurer shall invest amounts credited to the fund in accordance with section 38 of chapter 29. Any income derived from these investments shall be credited to the fund.
(c) No monies shall be disbursed from the fund unless: (i) the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation certifies, in writing, that the requested disbursements conform with the purpose of the fund as set forth in subsection (a); and (ii) the Federal Highway Administrator, or his designee, approves the disbursement, in writing as conforming with the fund's purpose. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall keep written records specifying the amount of each approved disbursement and a description of the work for which the disbursement was approved. Annually, on or before April 1, the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall submit a report to the attorney general, the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts and the Federal Highway Administration, which shall include a list of each disbursement from the fund made during the preceding 12 months, the purpose of each disbursement, and the balance remaining in the fund.
(d) If the fund or this section is abolished or altered in any way to authorize disbursements for any purpose other than those specified in subsection (a), 60 per cent of the fund balance at that time shall revert to the United States and be paid in a form and manner to be determined by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Sixty per cent of any monies remaining in the fund as of January 1, 2083, shall revert to the United States and be paid in a form and manner to be determined by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the United States Department of Justice and the commonwealth may agree in writing to maintain the fund beyond January 1, 2083 and may agree, in writing, to modify the purpose of the fund on or after January 1, 2083 to include repairs and maintenance of other highway roads or structures in the commonwealth built with federal financial assistance.
(e) If material disbursements are made for any purpose other than those permitted purposes those as specified in subsection (a), the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, subject to Federal Highway Administration consultation and Department of Justice review and approval, may direct that up to 60 per cent of the fund balance at that time revert to the United States and be paid in a form and manner to be determined by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. The Department of Justice shall consult with the attorney general before approving any reversion under this subsection.
(f) All records of the fund, including the transactions of the fund, shall be public records unless otherwise exempted by law.
[Text of section added by 2008, 303, Sec. 4. See also, Section 63A added by 2007, 228, Sec. 5, above.]
Section 63A. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Regional Transit Authorities Forward Funding Trust Fund, administered by the secretary of transportation and public works. Revenues allocated to the fund shall be expended for capital or other eligible activities for regional transit authorities. The amounts in the fund shall not be subject to appropriation. Amounts in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent year.