California Bond Task Force Staffs Up

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WASHINGTON - California Treasurer John Chiang on March 26 appointed 12 people to a task force he commissioned to develop best practice guidelines on the fiduciary care and use of state and local bond proceeds.

Chiang created the task force in conjunction with state Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Le-n in response to the January discovery of an alleged $1.3 million embezzlement from a Bay Area conduit bond issuer.

Former Santa Cruz County Treasurer and Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fred Keeley will chair the task force. Jay Goldstone, who served as chairman of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and was also the City of San Diego's first chief financial officer, will be vice chair.

The other appointees have expertise in public finance, either in public employment, or as financial or legal public finance advisors to California governments.

"More than 4,000 California municipalities rely on bond money to construct the roads, schools, and courthouses which are essential to our economy and way of life," said Chiang. "Like any public resource, the $700 billion that California and its localities have borrowed in the past 10 years alone must be safeguarded from waste and mismanagement. Importantly, it's also time to empower taxpayers - who pay for these borrowings through higher taxes and assessments - to hold their leaders accountable for project delivery."

The task force's first meeting will be held on April 8, Chiang announced.

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