Oklahoma State Treasurer: Difference between revisions

|image = Russ, Todd.jpg

|incumbent = [[KenTodd A. MillerRuss]]

|incumbentsince = January 109, 20112023

The '''State Treasurer of Oklahoma''' is the chief custodian of Oklahoma’sOklahoma's cash deposits, monies from bond sales, and other securities and collateral and directs the investments of those assets. The Treasurertreasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation of state government through effective banking, investment, and cash management. The state treasurer has the powers of a typical chief financial officer for a corporation.<ref>[[State treasurer]]</ref>

The 18th and current State Treasurer of Oklahoma is [[KenTodd Russ]], who was elected as State Treasurer in the [[2022 Oklahoma State Treasurer A.election|2022 Millerelection]].

===Constitutional Requirementsrequirements===

As with all offices established by the Oklahoma Constitution in Article VVI, any person running for the office of State Treasurer of Oklahoma must be citizen of the State of Oklahoma, at least thirty-one years of age and a resident of the United States for ten years.

Elections for the Statestate Treasurertreasurer are held on a four -year concurrent basis with the election of the Governorgovernor. After all votes are collected, the Legislature of Oklahoma shall convene in the hall of the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of Representatives announce the results of the elections in the presence of a majority of each branch of the Legislature. The persons having the highest number of votes for the office of the Statestate Treasurertreasurer shall be declared duly elected. However, in case two or more shall have an equal and the highest number of votes for the office of Statestate Treasurertreasurer, the Legislature shall, by joint ballot, choose one of the said persons having an equal and the highest number of votes for the office of Statestate Treasurertreasurer.

===Term(s) of Officeoffice===

The Statestate Treasurer’streasurer's four -year term begins on the first Monday in January falling the general election and runs concurrently with that term of the Governor of Oklahoma. The [[Constitution of Oklahoma]] places no limit to the number of terms a candidate may serve in succession or in total.

===Oath of Officeoffice===

===Powers and Dutiesduties===

The Statestate Treasurertreasurer has the following specific statutory and constitutional responsibilities:

Approximately $10 billion dollars is deposited each year at the Statestate Treasurertreasurer's office into the Oklahoma State Treasury. This includes state tax revenues, such as income tax and [[gross production tax]] receipts; federal funds, such as matching funds for highway construction; and other tax revenues, such as the motor fuel tax, which are collected by the state but then apportioned to the counties and cities.

The Statestate Treasurertreasurer has no power to impose taxes, set tax rates or collect taxes; only to make sure all public funds are properly accounted for once it has been collected or distributed by other executive branch entities. Also, the Statestate Treasurertreasurer doesn'tdoes not formulate the state's annual budget nor does the office have any authority to [[Impoundment (political)|impound]] funds allocated by the [[Oklahoma State Legislature]].

To earn additional revenue for Oklahoma, the Statestate Treasurertreasurer invests money which is not immediately needed to fund government operations. The office has an average of $5 billion of taxpayers’ money in its investment portfolio. The Treasurer's investments are strictly governed by Oklahoma statutes and the Treasurer's investment policy.

Many of the Treasurertreasurer's duties require the advice of both the [[Governor of Oklahoma]] and the [[Attorney General of Oklahoma]], such as the ability to determine the use of the State's surplus funds. Constitutionally the Statestate Treasurertreasurer presides over or is a member of four state boards and commissions.

|minister1_name = [[KenRandy A. MillerMcDaniel]]

|chief1_name = DeniseRegina NorthrupBurcham

The '''Office of the State Treasurer''' is the Statestate agency which supports the Statestate Treasurertreasurer. The Officeoffice providingprovides banking and investment services for Statestate agencies, reuniting individuals and businesses with their unclaimed property, and promoting economic development State-wideStatewide. The agency consists of the Treasurertreasurer's staff. Staffers work in the treasurer's offices in the [[Oklahoma State Capitol]] in [[Oklahoma City]].

As of 2013, the agency has an annual budget of approximately $8.4 million.<ref>[http://www.ok.gov/OSF/documents/bud13.pdf Executive Budget], Office of Management and Enterprise Services (accessed May 12, 2013)</ref> The budget provides funding for approximately 49 full -time employees.

*State Treasurertreasurer

**Chief Deputydeputy Treasurertreasurer

***Human Resourcesresources

***Investment Portfolioportfolio Accountingaccounting and Reportingreporting

***Banking Servicesservices

****Banking Operationsoperations

****Treasury Servicesservices

***Finance and Budgetbudget

***Unclaimed Propertyproperty

**Deputy Treasurertreasurer for Policypolicy/Chiefchief of Staffstaff

**Deputy Treasurertreasurer for Communicationscommunications and Programprogram Administrationadministration

**Chief Investmentinvestment Officerofficer

**Compliance Officerofficer/Internalinternal Auditorauditor

==Relationship with the Governorgovernor==

The Statestate Treasurertreasurer is an independently elected officer with both Constitutionalconstitutional and Statutorystatutory authority. As such, the Governorgovernor has no direct authority over the Statestate Treasurertreasurer. However, Oklahoma's history of electing Governorsgovernors and Treasurerstreasurers of the same party has often led to positive working relationships between the two offices. With Governor [[Mary Fallin]] and State Treasurer [[Ken A. Miller]], both Republicans, Oklahoma has had a Governor and State Treasurer of the same party since 2003.

The Statestate Treasurertreasurer is the state's elected chief fiscal officer and is directly accountable to the voters. In contrast, the Governorgovernor's Secretarysecretary of Financefinance reports directly to the Governorgovernor. Only once in recent history has a Statestate Treasurertreasurer also served as the Governorgovernor's budget advisor; Governor Brad Henry appointed Miller's predecessor [[Scott Meacham]] as his [[Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue|Secretarysecretary of Financefinance and Revenuerevenue]], giving Meacham supervision over all finance agencies of the State government.

When the Governorgovernor and Statestate Treasurertreasurer are of different parties, the Statestate Treasurertreasurer's role in Statestate government is often minimal.

The Governorgovernor, acting through the [[Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services]] (whose Directordirector serves at the pleasure of the Governorgovernor), is responsible for submitting an [[Oklahoma state budget|annual budget request]] to the Legislaturelegislature, which is charged with crafting the funding decisions. The Governorgovernor does have veto power to influence the end result of the budget process. Once the budget is enacted, the Statestate Treasurertreasurer has no power to alter the budget or to [[Impoundment of appropriated funds|impound]] funds, but the success of the Treasurertreasurer's investments influence the funds available for allocation.

==Office-Holdersholders==

! Image !! Name !! Party !! Term Start !! Term End

|[[Claudette Henry]] || Republican|| January 14, 1991 || January 9, 1995