Inside the Oklahoma State Treasurer's Office

The Oklahoma State Treasurer provides for the safe and efficient operation of state government through effective banking, investment, and cash management. The position of State Treasurer is held by Ken Miller, who assumed office on January 10, 2011.

The State Treasurer has the following specific statutory and constitutional responsibilities:

1. Receiving, depositing, and disbursing all state funds;
2. Investing temporary surplus funds;
3. Investing specific funds for other state agencies where authorized;
4. Requiring banks to furnish collateral sufficient to secure deposits of state and other public funds;
5. Paying of interest on the state's bonded debt and the redeeming of the debt at maturity;
6. Maintaining a safekeeping operation for securities owned by various state agencies, and those securities pledged as collateral to other state agencies;
7. Processing and distributing all State checks (known as warrants);
8. Administering the Business Link and Agricultural Link Programs; and
9. Administering the Unclaimed Property Program.
 

More then $10 billion dollars is deposited each year at the State Treasurer's office. 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 Treasurer has no power to impose taxes or set tax rates. Rather, the Treasurer's job is to make sure all the public's money is properly accounted for once it has been collected or distributed.

The Treasurer processes approximately 8.4 million state warrants each year. All warrants are reviewed by the State Treasurer when they are presented to the State of Oklahoma for payment to insure that only those warrants that are proper to pay are authorized for payment. In addition, the State Treasurer processes approximately 3.1 million electronic fund transfers.

To earn additional revenue for Oklahoma , the Treasurer 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.