Treasurer of Pennsylvania explained

Post:Treasurer of Pennsylvania
Flag:Flag of Pennsylvania.svg
Flagcaption:Flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Insignia:Logo of the Pennsylvania State Treasury.png
Insigniacaption:Logo of the Pennsylvania State Treasury
Incumbent:Stacy Garrity
Incumbentsince:January 19, 2021
Termlength:Four years, renewable once consecutively
Residence:129 Finance Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Inaugural:David Rittenhouse
Formation:1777

The treasurer of Pennsylvania is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of the commonwealth's government. The treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms.

Pennsylvania Treasury Department

As the name "Treasury" suggests, the department's paramount responsibility is safeguarding and managing the state's financial assets, but Pennsylvania's constitution and statutes place additional specific responsibilities on the office.

Taxes and other sources of revenue collected by the state are deposited with the Treasury. The department uses that money to make payments on behalf of state government, including payroll for state employees and charges incurred by government agencies. Before issuing payments, Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Review must carefully examine invoices to make certain the charges are lawful and correct.

While managing cash flow to ensure that enough money is on hand to meet financial obligations, Treasury also places funds in widely diversified short-term and long-term investments to earn income for state taxpayers. It also holds and/or invests funds for other government agencies, such as the state pension boards. As of 2014, Treasury is custodian of approximately $100 billion in public assets.

PA 529 College Savings Program

The PA 529 College Savings Program gives families a tax-advantaged way to make college possible for their children.

Unclaimed property

Treasury's Unclaimed Property Bureau works to reunite more than $2 billion in lost, forgotten and abandoned property with its rightful owners. Since 2009, Treasury has collected $1.134 billion in abandoned property and returned $518 million back to the rightful owners, netting $616 million for the state General Fund budget.

INVEST

The INVEST program helps local governments and nonprofits invest their money with flexibility, security, and confidence. INVEST uses Treasury's professional investment expertise, minus the high costs of other investment programs. With less money spent on management fees, more money is spent on Pennsylvania's communities.

Responsibilities

  1. Conducting investigations of loss, theft, or fraud involving commonwealth checks.
  2. Reviewing and approving real estate leases and sole source contracts entered into by commonwealth agencies before such leases and contracts can become effective.
  3. Housing the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library. In response to the new Right-to-Know Law signed by Governor Ed Rendell on February 14, 2008, Treasury is required to make available certain government contract information for public inspection by posting it on a publicly accessible Web site.

State boards

The department's reach also extends to the many state boards on which the treasurer serves. For example, as the chairperson of the Board of Finance and Revenue, the treasurer directs the selection of the banks where state funds are deposited and sets the interest rates paid on them. The treasurer also serves on boards that oversee state pension funds and has a voice in how these funds are managed and invested. Other board-related activities allow the treasurer to help provide Pennsylvania schools with tax-exempt financing for modernization, make grants to distressed communities, and finance the purchase of rental housing for residents in need.

Other services

The Treasury provides several other services to state residents, such as financial education programs for individuals and businesses, and a debit card for recipients of unemployment compensation and workers compensation benefits. It makes low-interest loans available for energy efficiency improvements in residential homes through Keystone HELP, and invests in energy upgrades in college and university buildings through its Campus Energy Efficiency Fund.

List of Pennsylvania treasurers

PortraitNameTermParty
Samuel Carpenter1704–1710, 1711–1713
David Rittenhouse1777–1789
Christian Febiger1789–1797
Peter Baynton1797–1801
Jacob Carpenter1801–1802
Isaac Weaver Jr.1802–1807Democratic-Republican
William Findlay1807–1817Democratic-Republican
R. M. Crain1817–1820
John B. Trevor1820–1821
William Clark1821–1827
Alexander Mahon1827–1835
Joseph Lawrence1835–1836
Daniel Sturgeon1836–1840Democratic
Almon Heath Read1840–1841Democratic
John Gilmore1841–1842
Job Mann1842–1845
James Ross Snowden1845–1847Democratic
John Banks1847–1848Whig
Arnold Plumer1848–1849Democratic
Gideon J. Ball1849–1850
John M. Bickel1850–1854Democratic
Joseph Bailey1854–1855Democratic
Eli Slifer1855–1856Whig
Henry S. Magraw1856–1859
Eli Slifer1859–1861Republican
Henry Dunning Moore1861–1863Republican
William V. McGrath1863–1864
Henry Dunning Moore1864–1865Republican
William H. Kemble1865–1868Republican
William Wilken Irwin1868–1869
Robert W. Mackey1869–1870Republican
William Wilken Irwin1870–1871
Robert W. Mackey1871–1876Republican
Henry Rawle1876–1878Republican
Amos C. Noyes1878–1880Democratic
Samuel Butler1880–1882Republican
Silas M. Bailey1882–1884Republican
William Livsey1884–1886Republican
Matthew Quay1886–1887Republican
William Livsey1887–1888Republican
William B. Hart1888–1889Republican
William Livsey1889–1890Republican
Henry K. Boyer1890–1892Republican
John W. Morrison1892–1894Republican
Samuel M. Jackson1894–1896Republican
Benjamin J. Haywood1896–1898Republican
James S. Beacom1898–1900Republican
James E. Barnett1900–1902Republican
Frank G. Harris1902–1904Republican
William L. Mathues1904–1906Republican
William H. Berry1907–1908Democratic
John O. Sheatz1908–1911Republican
Charles Frederick Wright1911–1913Republican
Robert K. Young1913–1917Republican
Harmon M. Kephart1917–1921Republican
Charles A. Snyder1921–1925Republican
Samuel S. Lewis1925–1929Republican
Edward Martin1929–1933Republican
Charles A. Waters1933–1937Republican
F. Clair Ross1937–1941Democratic
G. Harold Wagner1941–1945Democratic
Ramsey S. Black1945–1949Democratic
Charles R. Barber1949–1953Republican
Weldon Brinton Heyburn1953–1957Republican
Robert F. Kent1957–1961Republican
Grace M. Sloan1961–1965Democratic
Thomas Z. Minehart1965–1969Democratic
Grace M. Sloan1969–1977Democratic
Robert E. Casey[1] 1977–1981Democratic
R. Budd Dwyer1981–1987Republican
G. Davis Greene Jr.1987–1989Democratic
Catherine Baker Knoll1989–1997Democratic
Barbara Hafer1997–2005Republican
Bob Casey Jr.2005–2007Democratic
Robin Wiessmann2007–2009Democratic
Rob McCord2009–2015Democratic
Tim Reese2015–2017Independent
Joe Torsella2017–2021Democratic
Stacy Garrity2021–Republican

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: In Pennsylvania politics, candidates with brand names win elections. Madonna. G. Terry. Michael. Young. The Morning Call. en-US. 2020-01-17. obscure Cambria County official . 2001-05-22.