Mass. officials prepping for payroll disruptions during possible government shutdown

As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., careen toward a government shutdown, officials in Massachusetts are preparing for the wide-ranging ramifications on payroll and other areas. 

Officials from the state Office of the Comptroller and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance sent a memo this week to fiscal officers, budget directors, and general counsels throughout the state government asking them to engage in contingency planning. 

The recipients of the memo need to respond by the end of the day next Tuesday summarizing how their agencies will “protect Commonwealth residents and resources” in the event of a shutdown. They should “not assume that additional state funding will be available,” but should outline any state funding that would be required for Massachusetts to “take on responsibility for critical federal programs.”

A shutdown would necessitate that federal agencies stop “all non-essential discretionary functions” until new funding legislation is signed into law. 

The state’s General Federal Grants Fund, which is “itemized on a grant-by-grant and account-by-account basis,” is most at-risk in a shutdown. Officials that work with grants and accounts in this fund are being asked to contact the federal government to get updates on how and when the federal grants could be disrupted. 

“If you conclude the continuation of your grant is unlikely, prepare actions to discontinue spending against such grant,” the authors of the memo wrote. 

Officials need to summarize concerns they have “with the continued availability of federal funding, particularly as it relates to their ability to make bi-weekly payroll for employees currently paid from federal sources,” according to the memo, which was first reported by State House News Service. 

A shutdown appears likely. Officials within the Trump administration have no current plans to negotiate with congressional Democratic leaders, Politico reported Friday. They are reportedly preparing to “extract maximum pain” from the Democrats and make them pay a “huge” electoral price for the shutdown by blaming them for it. 

The White House is preparing mass firings of federal employees in the event of a shutdown, Politico reported earlier this week. 

Democratic leaders, especially Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, received significant criticism from members of their own party in March for avoiding a shutdown by supporting a government-funding measure written by Republicans. With a base clamoring for leaders to oppose the Trump administration, Schumer and other leaders appear primed to engage in a shutdown to extract some policy concessions from Republicans.