Treasurer of Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Treasurer of Pennsylvania
Flag of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Logo of the Pennsylvania State Treasury
Incumbent Stacy Garrity since January 19, 2021
Residence	129 Finance Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Term length	Four years, renewable once consecutively
Inaugural holder	David Rittenhouse
Formation	1777

The Treasurer of Pennsylvania is like the state's main money manager. This person leads the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, which is a special part of the state government. The Treasurer is chosen by voters every four years. They can serve for two terms in a row, but not more.

What Does the Pennsylvania Treasury Department Do?

The Pennsylvania Treasury Department is in charge of keeping the state's money safe and managing it wisely. Think of it as a big bank for the state! The state's laws give the Treasury Department many important jobs.

How Does the Treasury Manage State Money?

All the money the state collects from taxes and other sources goes to the Treasury. The department then uses this money to pay for things the state needs. This includes paying state employees and covering costs for government groups. Before any money is paid out, the Treasury checks all bills carefully. They make sure that every payment is legal and correct.

The Treasury also invests some of the state's money. They put funds into different types of investments. This helps the money grow and earn more for Pennsylvania taxpayers. They also manage money for other state groups, like those that handle pensions for retired workers. In 2014, the Treasury was responsible for about $100 billion. That's a lot of money!

Helping Families Save for College

The Treasury Department helps families save for college through the PA 529 College Savings Program. This program offers a special way to save money for college. It gives families tax benefits, making it easier to afford higher education for their children.

Finding Lost Property

Have you ever lost something valuable? The Treasury's Unclaimed Property Bureau tries to find owners for lost or forgotten property. This could be money, old bank accounts, or even contents from safe deposit boxes. They have helped return a lot of money to its rightful owners. Since 2009, they have collected over $1 billion in abandoned property. They have returned over $500 million to people who owned it!

Helping Local Communities Invest

The INVEST program helps local governments and non-profit groups. It lets them invest their money safely and easily. The Treasury uses its expert knowledge to help these groups invest. This program helps communities save money on fees. This means more money can be used for important projects in Pennsylvania towns and cities.

Other Important Jobs of the Treasury

The Treasury Department has other key duties:

• They investigate if state checks are lost, stolen, or used in a wrong way.
• They check and approve agreements for renting buildings or special contracts for state groups. These agreements must be approved before they can start.
• They keep a public online library of state contracts. This means people can easily look up information about government contracts. This helps make sure the government is open and honest.

Serving on State Boards

The Treasurer also serves on many important state boards. For example, the Treasurer leads the Board of Finance and Revenue. This board chooses which banks hold state money. It also decides how much interest those banks pay on the money. The Treasurer also helps manage state pension funds. These funds help retired state workers. The Treasurer's role on these boards helps schools get money for improvements. They also help communities in need and provide housing for residents.

Other Services for Pennsylvanians

The Treasury offers other services to people in Pennsylvania:

• They provide financial education programs for individuals and businesses.
• They offer a debit card for people receiving unemployment or workers' compensation benefits.
• They help people get low-interest loans for energy-saving home improvements through Keystone HELP.
• They invest in energy upgrades for college and university buildings through the Campus Energy Efficiency Fund.

Who Has Been the Treasurer of Pennsylvania?

Here is a list of people who have served as the Treasurer of Pennsylvania:

Portrait	Name	Term	Party
	Samuel Carpenter	1704–1710, 1711–1713
	David Rittenhouse	1777–1789
	Christian Febiger	1789–1797
	Peter Baynton	1797–1801
	Jacob Carpenter	1801–1802
	Isaac Weaver Jr.	1802–1807	Democratic-Republican
	William Findlay	1807–1817	Democratic-Republican
	R. M. Crain	1817–1820
	John B. Trevor	1820–1821
	William Clark	1821–1827
	Alexander Mahon	1827–1835
	Joseph Lawrence	1835–1836
	Daniel Sturgeon	1836–1840	Democratic
	Almon Heath Read	1840–1841	Democratic
	John Gilmore	1841–1842
	Job Mann	1842–1845
	James Ross Snowden	1845–1847	Democratic
	John Banks	1847–1848	Whig
	Arnold Plumer	1848–1849	Democratic
	Gideon J. Ball	1849–1850
	John M. Bickel	1850–1854	Democratic
	Joseph Bailey	1854–1855	Democratic
	Eli Slifer	1855–1856	Whig
	Henry S. Magraw	1856–1859
	Eli Slifer	1859–1861	Republican
	Henry Dunning Moore	1861–1863	Republican
	William V. McGrath	1863–1864
	Henry Dunning Moore	1864–1865	Republican
	William H. Kemble	1865–1868	Republican
	William Wilken Irwin	1868–1869
	Robert W. Mackey	1869–1870	Republican
	William Wilken Irwin	1870–1871
	Robert W. Mackey	1871–1876	Republican
	Henry Rawle	1876–1878	Republican
	Amos C. Noyes	1878–1880	Democratic
	Samuel Butler	1880–1882	Republican
	Silas M. Bailey	1882–1884	Republican
	William Livsey	1884–1886	Republican
	Matthew Quay	1886–1887	Republican
	William Livsey	1887–1888	Republican
	William B. Hart	1888–1889	Republican
	William Livsey	1889–1890	Republican
	Henry K. Boyer	1890–1892	Republican
	John W. Morrison	1892–1894	Republican
	Samuel M. Jackson	1894–1896	Republican
	Benjamin J. Haywood	1896–1898	Republican
	James S. Beacom	1898–1900	Republican
	James E. Barnett	1900–1902	Republican
	Frank G. Harris	1902–1904	Republican
	William L. Mathues	1904–1906	Republican
	William H. Berry	1907–1908	Democratic
	John O. Sheatz	1908–1911	Republican
	Charles Frederick Wright	1911–1913	Republican
	Robert K. Young	1913–1917	Republican
	Harmon M. Kephart	1917–1921	Republican
	Charles A. Snyder	1921–1925	Republican
	Samuel S. Lewis	1925–1929	Republican
	Edward Martin	1929–1933	Republican
	Charles A. Waters	1933–1937	Republican
	F. Clair Ross	1937–1941	Democratic
	G. Harold Wagner	1941–1945	Democratic
	Ramsey S. Black	1945–1949	Democratic
	Charles R. Barber	1949–1953	Republican
	Weldon Brinton Heyburn	1953–1957	Republican
	Robert F. Kent	1957–1961	Republican
	Grace M. Sloan	1961–1965	Democratic
	Thomas Z. Minehart	1965–1969	Democratic
	Grace M. Sloan	1969–1977	Democratic
	Robert E. Casey	1977–1981	Democratic
	R. Budd Dwyer	1981–1987	Republican
	G. Davis Greene Jr.	1987–1989	Democratic
	Catherine Baker Knoll	1989–1997	Democratic
	Barbara Hafer	1997–2005	Republican
	Bob Casey Jr.	2005–2007	Democratic
	Robin Wiessmann	2007–2009	Democratic
	Rob McCord	2009–2015	Democratic
	Tim Reese	2015–2017	Independent
	Joe Torsella	2017–2021	Democratic
	Stacy Garrity	2021–	Republican