Executive Branch » State Treasurer
The state treasurer was established as an elected official in Article I of the original Kansas Constitution adopted in 1859. In 1972 a constitutional amendment was approved by the voters of Kansas that amended Article I to change the position of state treasurer from a constitutional officer to a statutorial one.
The state treasurer is elected statewide and serves a four-year term, beginning on the second Monday of January following his or her election. There are no qualifications to run for state treasurer, and there are no term limits for the office.
Duties of the State Treasurer
The Person
The Kansas state treasurer acts as the chief financial officer for the state’s bank. The state treasurer is a member of the Pooled Money Investment Board and the Committee on Surety Bonds and Insurance, and is board trustee of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.
The Office
Kansas statutes define the duties of the state treasurer’s office. The office is entrusted with the possession of all public moneys paid to the state treasury. The state treasurer’s office oversees more than $20 billion through key divisions and programs, which include managing the state’s budget and payroll, offering financial services and education, managing a postsecondary education savings program, and maintaining a list of unclaimed property. The office is a fee-funded agency, which means its operating budget is financed through user fees for various services instead of tax dollars.
Organizational Structure
The mission of the state treasurer is to manage public funds to ensure sound financial practices. To accomplish this, the office is separated into five divisions – Administration, Bond Services, Cash Management, Unclaimed Property and Kansas Learning Quest – each headed by a director appointed by the state treasurer.
Administration Division – provides overall management and direction of all activities of the office and staff. The Administration Division establishes policy, assigns and directs the work of the other operating programs, determines priorities, allocates available resources on the basis of those priorities, and requires internal reviews of operations and procedures. Management functions performed or delegated by the division include personnel and payroll issues, budgeting, administrative correspondence, and the collating and distributing of management information to other state agencies and other interested parties. The division also offers general office support to the rest of the office, including reception, telephone and fax communication support, supplies, purchasing and accounts payable.
Municipal Bond Services Division – responsible for the registration and issuance of municipal bonds. As the designated fiscal agent for the state of Kansas, the state treasurer serves as registrar and transfer agent for Kansas registered municipal bonds that designate the state treasurer as paying agent. As paying agent, the office is responsible for setting up new bond issues, maintaining existing bond issues, notifying the bondholders of early redemption, and collecting and disbursing bond payments. The division also is responsible for the tracking of the total bond indebtedness for all entities in the state.
Cash Management Division – receives money collected by all state agencies, verifies the amounts received, deposits checks and cash daily in Kansas banks designated as state depositories, and estimates and finalizes amounts available for investment. The division also distributes various moneys to city and county governments, such as the County and City Revenue Sharing Fund and the Special City and County Highway Fund, and redistributes retail sales and transient guest taxes.
Unclaimed Property Division – administers disposition of unclaimed property in accordance with the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act enacted by the 1979 Legislature. The act designates the state treasurer as administrator and provides that the state treasurer take possession of specified types of unclaimed intangible property that have been abandoned from businesses – such as bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, wages, and stocks and dividends – and assist in returning the unclaimed financial assets to their owners or owners’ heirs. The office retains a portion of unclaimed property receipts that would otherwise go to the state general fund in order to finance agency operations, eliminating the fee previously imposed on agencies.
Kansas Learning Quest Division – administers the Kansas Postsecondary Education Savings Program created by the 1999 Kansas Legislature. The Learning Quest Program oversees three 529 college savings plans that offer education savings accounts to families to help pay qualified educational expenses at accredited higher education institutions in Kansas and other states. The program also provides tax advantages under both Kansas and federal law.