Does your state lean blue or lean red? Check out our new report, highlighting partisan control of state government from 1992-2013.
Arkansas Treasurer
Contents |
Current officeholder
The current treasurer is Martha Ann Shoffner, a Democrat, who was first elected in November 2006 and won re-election in 2010. Shoffner's second term will end in 2015, after which she will be constitutionally term-limited out of office.
Before becoming treasurer, Shoffner served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002, after which she unsuccessfully ran for state auditor.[1] Earlier in her career, she was a real estate agent and an assistant to the state auditor. She also worked in sales and marketing for Storer Cable. Shoffner attended Memphis State University and Arkansas State University and graduated from the National Institute for Public Finance at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business.[2]
Authority
The office of treasurer is established by Amendment 63 to Article 6 of the Arkansas Constitution.[3]
Constitution of Arkansas, Amendment 63
|
The Executive Department of this State shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, Attorney General and Commissioner of State Lands, all of whom shall keep their offices at the seat of government, and hold their offices for the term of four (4) years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. |
Qualifications
The Arkansas Constitution requires all elected or appointed officeholders to be an elector. That is, they must fulfill the state's voter registration requirements -- being a U.S. citizen, a resident of Arkansas, at least 18 years old. Felons and citizens judged to be mentally incompetent by a court are also ineligible to vote and, by extension, to hold office.
Other requirements to complete a voter registration form -- essentially, qualifications to be an elector -- are given by Amendment 59, Section 6 of the constitution.
Incumbents may not hold any other state, federal, or civil office, and may not have ever been convicted of "embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime."
Constitution of Arkansas, Article 19, Section 3
|
No persons shall be elected to, or appointed to fill a vacancy in, any office who does not possess the qualifications of an elector. |
Constitution of Arkansas, Article 5, Section 9
|
No person hereafter convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery or other infamous crime, shall be eligible to the General Assembly or capable of holding any office of trust or profit in this State. |
Constitution of Arkansas, Amendment 51, Section 6
|
(6) The mail voter registration application form shall include the following questions along with
boxes for the applicant to check "yes" or "no" in response: |
Elections
Arkansans elect their treasurer for four year terms during federal midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.). Treasurers, like all Arkansas executives, served two year terms until 1982, when Amendment 63 to the Constitution of Arkansas increased the term length to its current level. The first elections held under the new system occurred in 1986, and every four years since.[4]
Term limits
Treasurers, like all Arkansas executives, face an absolute limit of two terms in office.[5]
Vacancies
Per Article 6, Section 22 of the Arkansas Constitution, when the office of treasurer becomes vacant "by death, resignation, or otherwise," the governor appoints a replacement to complete the unexpired term.
Duties
The office of treasurer acts as the state's "bank"; it accepts and processes all receipts in the form of taxes, fees and other payments to the state, and disburses that money from over 400 fund accounts to over 200 state agencies. In fiscal year 2010, the treasurer's office processed $16.2 billion in receipts and $16.4 billion in state warrants (outlays). The treasurer is also responsible for providing state aid to local governments, which amounted to $1.3 billion in FY 2010. It also supervises the $894 million Arkansas state investment fund, which earned $43.6 million in interest in 2010. The treasurer makes a report "to the governor every biennium on the condition of the treasury and its operations."[6]
Divisions
- Local Government Services
- Cash Management
- CD Trust Investment
- Receipts Processing
- Warrants Processing
- Collateral
Compensation
In 2010, the treasurer received compensation in the amount of $54,549.[7] The salaries of members of the state's executive department, including the treasurer, are determined by the state constitution. A majority vote of all legislators and a voter referendum is required to change the compensation executive officials receive. However, salaries are automatically increased every year in line with increases in inflation as represented by the Consumer Price Index.[8]
Contact Information
Physical address:
Arkansas State Treasurer's Office
220 State Capitol
Little Rock, AR 72201
Phone: (501) 682-5888
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "Treasurer Martha Shoffner is holding onto the state’s purse strings while bringing Arkansas art into her office. She still cherishes her family ties around Newport," February 18, 2007.
- ↑ Arkansas State Treasury, "Meet Treasurer Shoffner," accessed June 17, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 63," accessed June 17, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 63, Section 1," accessed June 16, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 73, Section 1b," accessed June 16, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas State Treasury, "About," accessed June 17, 2011.
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2010, Table 4.11," accessed May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Arkansas Constitution, "Amendment 70, Sections 1-3," accessed June 16, 2011.
| |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
