State Treasurer or Comptroller
The Basics
Every state, along with all the U.S. territories, has a Treasurer. In most states it’s an elected position, voted on by all the state’s voters. In New York and Texas, the role is called the Comptroller instead.
The treasurer manages the state’s treasury, which is where all the government’s money is held – you can think of your state’s treasurer as the state’s head banker, or something similar to a Chief Financial Officer of a large company. They receive and deposit money for the state, keep track of the state’s budget surpluses and deficits, and distribute the money to different parts of the state government to fund all the services your state provides. They also have the power to invest the state’s money, in the hopes of getting a good return and providing the state with more financial stability.
Source: the National Association of State Treasurers
How can I make my voice heard?
Vote
If you live in one of the states that elects its treasurer/comptroller, be sure to register and vote! To research each candidate’s positions on issues you care about, your local newspaper is a great place to start. Many newspapers will interview candidates to learn more about their views, assess how qualified they are, and endorse a particular candidate for the job. Keep your eyes peeled for a candidate forum where members of the public can ask questions and hear from everyone who’s running.
Make your issue an election issue
Will the treasurer sit on a board that impacts your life? Will they be willing to audit agencies that spend money on something you care about? Will they be willing to withhold payments to contractors who violate state law, like wage or workplace safety rules? Campaigns are the time to shine a light on the issues you care about.
People may not realize that the treasurer matters when it comes to a particular issue – so let them know! Make your point during candidate debates, in an op-ed or letter to the editor, and to organizations that advocate for your position. They may not have thought about getting involved in the campaign for treasurer.
Make your issue an all-the-time issue
Write your treasurer and ask for a meeting to discuss the issue you care about and what they can do to influence it. For example, if your treasurer sits on a retired teachers’ pension fund board and you’d like that board to divest from fossil fuel companies, lobby your treasurer and publicize their position.
Volunteer
Get in on the campaign for the treasurer candidate who best reflects your position on the issues. Campaigns only come around once every four years, so in the meantime, volunteer with a nonprofit organization that advocates for your issue – and encourage it to get involved in recruiting and supporting candidates (within the limits of the law, of course) who will fight for your issue.
Run for office
Just sayin’.
Pressure
State treasurers are part of a state’s leadership, which means they have relationships with your governor, lieutenant governor, state auditor, and state legislators. Those are all people who can urge or direct the treasurer to act on your issue – so ask them to! You can also engage the media to pressure the treasurer by writing an op-ed for your local newspaper, calling in to a public affairs radio show, or even reaching out to journalists to see if they’d be interested in writing a story.
Speak to the manager
If your treasurer is appointed by the governor, get involved before that decision gets made. Ask your governor to consider the issue you care about when appointing a new treasurer.
What have Treasurers/Comptrollers done?
They may not be in the news a lot, but the money management choices made by these officials are crucial to keeping your state government running smoothly. Here are just a few examples of actions that have made a big impact:
- Joe Torsella
Pennsylvania
Urged the pharmaceutical company Gilead to lower the price of its COVID-19 treatment, which they charged over $2,000 despite costing $1 to produce; he noted that Pennsylvania holds shares in Gilead, and said shareholders needed to push companies more on their pricing decisions - Stacy Garrity
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s Treasury Department, led by Garrity, returned a record-breaking $273.7 million in unclaimed property in 2023 after Garrity made several improvements to the program, including using direct deposit for claims, improving outreach, and creating a partially-automated process for smaller amounts
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In 2022, Treasurer John Schroder made the decision to withdraw $794 million in Louisiana investments from BlackRock Inc. because of BlackRock’s decision to prioritize “ESG” (environmental, social, and governance) investment strategies. According to ESG.org, an organization that promotes the strategy, ESG is a way of measuring a company’s “environmental and social impacts” and how a company’s leadership chooses to manage those impacts, which might affect their bottom line. Explaining the decision, Schroder said that the ESG focus would hurt Louisiana’s energy industry, and ultimately harm the state’s overall finances because oil and gas are a substantial part of the economy. He also cited state law, which says that investment decisions need to be focused only on financial returns, and he believed an ESG focus went against that requirement.
The decision was part of a broader trend of conservative leaders criticizing ESG policies, and BlackRock in particular being accused of “boycotting” the energy industry (BlackRock has denied this). State treasurers from Utah, Missouri, and West Virginia have also pulled investments from BlackRock. These actions show that despite their typically-low profile role as money managers, treasurers have the power to influence policy and politics through their investment choices.
Sources: Louisiana Illuminator; U.S. Energy Information Administration; Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association; the Salt Lake Tribune; Missouri State Treasurer’s Office; West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office; BlackRock
How does it work in my state?
Scroll down and click on your state to learn more about the specifics of the treasurer or comptroller’s powers and responsibilities where you live. (If your state isn’t here yet, check back often – we’re adding more info all the time. If the treasurer or comptroller isn’t an elected position where you live, it won’t appear here.)
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Term limits: none; terms are four years
Eligibility: to run for Treasurer, you must be at least 25 years old and a registered Louisiana voter; and must have been a U.S. citizen and Louisiana resident for at least five years
The treasurer leads the state’s Treasury Department, which acts as Louisiana’s ‘central bank.’ Through this role, the treasurer is in charge of all of the state’s public funds and making sure the state’s finances are stable. Their most important responsibilities are:
- Managing cash flow
Paying the state’s bills, and making sure the various government agencies have enough funds to do their jobs - Investing state funds
Choosing where and how to invest state money is an area where the treasurer has significant decision-making power - Serving as chair of the State Bond Commission
This group of officials votes on whether the state government or local governments can borrow money, whether it’s to pay ongoing bills when budgets are tight or to finance specific projects - Acting as Director of the Louisiana Asset Management Pool (LAMP)
This program helps local governments and agencies invest their funds - Serving on the board of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System, which manages the pensions of many state government employees
- Managing the state’s unclaimed property program
This program returns money or other assets to Louisiana citizens, which have been held by the government because the owner could not be found
Sources: the Louisiana Constitution; Louisiana State Treasurer’s Office; the Louisiana Asset Management Pool; Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System
- Managing cash flow
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Term limits: none; terms are four years
Eligibility: to run for any office in North Carolina, you must be at least 21 years old and eligible to vote in the state
The State Treasurer is North Carolina’s head banker and investment manager. They run the Department of the State Treasurer, and their most important powers and duties are:
- Managing state funds
Paying the state’s bills, providing funding to various state agencies, investing state funds, and making sure all the money that is received and spent by the state government is being used and recorded properly - Supporting local governments
The treasurer’s office helps local governments manage debt, and makes sure local governments are using good accounting practices - Managing benefits for current and former state employees
The treasurer’s office runs the retirement (pension) system and health plan for state employees, and is in charge of investing pension funds to improve the long-term health of the retirement program – this is an area where the treasurer has a lot of decision-making power - Managing the state’s unclaimed property fund
This program returns money or other assets to North Carolina residents and businesses, which have been held by the government because the owner could not be found - Managing the state’s ABLE accounts savings program
ABLE accounts are special accounts for people with disabilities, that allow users to build up savings without risking their benefits - Sitting on state boards and commissions
The treasurer serves on the State Banking Commission, the State Board of Education, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Local Government Commission
Sources: the North Carolina Constitution, Article III and Article VI; the North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 147; North Carolina State Board of Elections; North Carolina Department of the State Treasurer
- Managing state funds
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Term limits: limited to two terms in a row, but can run again after sitting out at least one term; terms are four years
Eligibility: no specific qualifications are laid out in the Pennsylvania Constitution. To run for other statewide offices, you must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen and a Pennsylvania resident for at least seven years
The Treasurer runs Pennsylvania’s Treasury Department, which collects, distributes, and manages all of the state’s money. Their most important responsibilities are:
- Making sure the state government pays all its bills
- Investing the state’s money responsibly
Choosing where and how to invest state money is an area where the treasurer has significant decision-making power - Serving on the boards that make investment decisions for the state’s pension funds
Pension funds are the retirement plans for state government employees - Managing Pennsylvania’s unclaimed property program
This program returns money or other assets to Pennsylvanians, which have been held by the government because the owner could not be found - Managing the Treasury Department’s savings programs
The 529 College and Career program helps families save for their children’s education, and the PA ABLE program allows people with disabilities to build savings without losing their benefits - Managing Invest PA, an investment pool for local governments and nonprofits
- Serving as chair of the Board of Finance and Revenue
This board hears tax disputes before they go to court, and has the power to supervise mediation if all the parties involved agree (cases that are resolved through mediation don’t need to go to court)
Sources: the Pennsylvania Constitution; the Pennsylvania Treasury Department