Oversight Board and NASBO hold symposium on government budget practices

San Juan, PR – April 6, 2016 – The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (Oversight Board) and the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) announce that they will hold a symposium in San Juan to discuss budget practices from around the U.S. to support the ongoing transformation of Puerto Rico’s budget process on its path to sustained fiscal responsibility and growth.

“A Better Plan: Symposium on Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Future – Budget Tools, Principles, and State Practices”, will take place on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. AST/EDT at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, PR.

“Puerto Rico emerged from the largest public sector bankruptcy in American history, but restructuring its debt is not fiscal recovery,” said the Oversight Board’s Executive Director Robert F. Mujica, Jr. “It is the precondition for fiscal recovery. Oversight by the Board alone cannot sustain that recovery — that requires permanent reforms that institutionalize how Puerto Rico plans, spends, and accounts for public funds. That is what this symposium is about.”

Budget leaders from six U.S. states will share how they approach budgeting, how they have handled big changes, and what they consider best practices to support fiscal stability:

• Sophia DiCaro, Executive Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, Utah
• Christina Frass, Assistant Director, Office of Budget and Management, Ohio
• Michael Maul, Director, Department of Planning and Budget, Virginia
• Andrew Miner, Director, State Budget Division, Department of Finance and Administration, New Mexico
• Joe Morrissette, Director, Office of Management and Budget, North Dakota 
• Alexis Sturm, Director, Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, Illinois

The symposium will also feature remarks from senior government officials, including Governor Jenniffer González Colón, Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Orlando Rivera Berríos, and Secretary of the Department of Treasury Ángel Pantoja Rodríguez, and from the Oversight Board.

Mujica said, “The states represented at the symposium have focused on the same fundamentals: how to forecast revenues honestly, build reserves against uncertainty, plan capital investments strategically, and make reforms stick across administrations. Puerto Rico is doing that work now, including something even more foundational: establishing a statutory budget framework that most governments take for granted. The symposium brings together people who have done it to share what works — because when the Oversight Board is gone, Puerto Rico will need its fiscal institutions standing on their own.”

NASBO Executive Director Shelby Kerns said, “We are pleased to bring together such a strong group of state budget leaders to share real-world experience, practical insights, and proven strategies to support long-term fiscal stability. NASBO is committed to fostering collaboration among states and territories and is proud to support Puerto Rico’s efforts to build a more transparent, resilient, and sustainable budget framework.” 

Solid government budgets are critical to turn stability into growth. The symposium brings real-world experience to support the Government of Puerto Rico and the Oversight Board in advancing structural budget reforms that promote transparency, accountability and responsible fiscal management. The speakers will highlight lessons learned from U.S. states and discuss how to effectively manage fiscal risks, improve coordination across government entities and ensure that reforms are sustained over time across party lines and government transitions.

Through open dialogue and shared experiences, the symposium will help build consensus around the tools and practices needed to institutionalize fiscal discipline and prevent a return to pre-crisis financial practices.

The symposium is open to the public and will also be livestreamed on the Oversight Board’s website.