Pennsylvania Treasurer

Pennsylvania Treasurer
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$177,237
2024 FY Budget:	$1,256,357,000
Term limits:	2 terms
Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Pennsylvania Constitution, Article IV, Section 1
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity Republican Party Assumed office: January 19, 2021
Elections
Next election:	November 7, 2028
Last election:	November 5, 2024
Other Pennsylvania Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Treasurer of the State of Pennsylvania is an elected, executive level position within the Pennsylvania state government. The treasurer is the chief financial officer of the government, responsible for managing the commonwealth's money and serving as Pennsylvania's banker.

Current officeholder

The current officeholder is Republican Stacy Garrity. She was elected to the position on November 3, 2020, and assumed office on January 19, 2021.

Authority

The state Constitution establishes the office of treasurer in Article IV, Section 1:

The Executive Department of this Commonwealth shall consist of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer, and Superintendent of Public Instruction and such other officers as the General Assembly may from time to time prescribe.

Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications for this office.

Vacancies

Article IV, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution grants the governor the power to appoint officers to fill vacancies. In the event of a vacancy in the office of treasurer, the governor nominates a successor. This nomination must be made to the commonwealth Senate within 90 days of the vacancy. The senate must then take action (confirming or not confirming the nomination) within 25 legislative days.

Duties

According to the treasury's website, "The Pennsylvania Office of the State Treasurer serves as the custodian of more than $100 billion in Commonwealth funds, and is responsible for the receipt and deposit of state monies, investment management and oversight of all withdrawals and deposits from state agencies."

The Treasury Department is also responsible for:

• reuniting unclaimed property with its rightful owner
• investigating loss, theft, and fraud involving commonwealth checks
• reviewing real estate leases and contracts entered into by commonwealth agencies
• maintaining the Pennsylvania contracts electronic library

The treasurer has specific duties in addition to the oversight of the department:

• serves as Chair of the Board of Finance and Revenue, which selects banks to serve as depositories for state money
• sets interest rates paid on commonwealth deposits
• hears and decides state tax appeals

Elections

Pennsylvania state government organizational chart

Pennsylvania elects the treasurer in presidential election years. The term for the office begins on the third Tuesday of January following the election.

Term limits

Treasurers in Pennsylvania are prevented by commonwealth law from serving more than two successive terms. Additionally, Article IV, Section 18 of the Pennsylvania Constitution prevents the treasurer from holding the office of Auditor General until four years after their term as treasurer has ended.

2024

See also: Pennsylvania Treasurer election, 2024

General election candidates

• Stacy Garrity  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔ 
• Erin McClelland  (Democratic Party)
• Troy Bowman  (Constitution Party)
• Chris Foster  (Forward Party)
• Nickolas Ciesielski  (Libertarian Party) 

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 Democratic primary candidates

• Ryan Bizzarro
• Erin McClelland ✔

Did not make the ballot:

• Alan Butkovitz

 Republican primary candidates

• Stacy Garrity (Incumbent) ✔ 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

2020

See also: Pennsylvania Treasurer election, 2020

General election

General election for Pennsylvania Treasurer

Stacy Garrity defeated incumbent Joseph Torsella, Joseph Soloski, and Timothy Runkle in the general election for Pennsylvania Treasurer on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stacy Garrity (R)	48.7	3,291,877
		Joseph Torsella (D)	47.9	3,239,331
		Joseph Soloski (L)	2.2	148,614
		Timothy Runkle (G)	1.2	81,984

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,761,806
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Treasurer

Incumbent Joseph Torsella advanced from the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania Treasurer on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Torsella	100.0	1,381,763

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,381,763
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Pennsylvania Treasurer

Stacy Garrity advanced from the Republican primary for Pennsylvania Treasurer on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Stacy Garrity	100.0	1,047,510

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,047,510
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Pennsylvania Treasurer election, 2016

The general election for State Treasurer was held on November 8, 2016.

Joseph Torsella defeated Otto Voit, Kristin Combs, and James Babb in the Pennsylvania treasurer election.

Pennsylvania Treasurer, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Joseph Torsella	50.66%	2,991,404
	Republican	Otto Voit	44.21%	2,610,811
	Green	Kristin Combs	2.88%	170,275
	Libertarian	James Babb	2.25%	132,654
Total Votes				5,905,144
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

Full history

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Pennsylvania Treasurer, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: Pennsylvania down ballot state executive elections, 2012 Incumbent Rob McCord (D) defeated Diana Irey Vaughan (R) and Patricia Fryman (L) in the general election on November 6, 2012. He was first elected in 2008. Pennsylvania Treasurer General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Rob McCord Incumbent 52.5% 2,872,344      Republican Diana Irey Vaughan 44% 2,405,654      Libertarian Patricia Fryman 3.5% 190,406 Total Votes 5,468,404 Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State 2008 On November 4, 2008, Robert McCord won election to the office of Pennsylvania Treasurer. He defeated Tom Ellis (R) and Berlie Etzel (L) in the general election. Pennsylvania Treasurer, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Robert McCord 55% 3,104,242      Republican Tom Ellis 42.9% 2,422,608      Libertarian Berlie Etzel 2.1% 119,748 Total Votes 5,646,598 Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Bob Casey won election to the office of Pennsylvania Treasurer. He defeated Jean Craige Pepper (R) and three minor-party candidates in the general election. Pennsylvania Treasurer, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Bob Casey 61.3% 3,353,489      Republican Jean Craige Pepper 36.5% 1,997,951      Libertarian Darryl W. Perry 1.1% 61,238      Green Paul Teese 0.7% 40,740      Constitution Max Lampenfeld 0.4% 20,406 Total Votes 5,473,824 Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Barbara Hafer won re-election to the office of Pennsylvania Treasurer. She defeated Catherine Baker Knoll (D) and four minor-party candidates in the general election. Pennsylvania Treasurer, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Barbara Hafer Incumbent 49.3% 2,307,422      Democratic Catherine Baker Knoll 47.2% 2,211,471      Green Barbara S. Knox 1.5% 68,805      Constitution John P. McDermott 0.9% 41,093      Libertarian John D. Famularo 0.7% 30,867      Reform Joseph F. Patterson 0.5% 21,276 Total Votes 4,680,934 Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State.

Divisions

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Pennsylvania Treasurer has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State budget

See also: Pennsylvania state budget and finances

The budget for the Treasury Department in Fiscal Year 2024 was $1,256,357,000.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The treasurer's salary is set by statute and subject to cost-of-living adjustments, also known as COLAs, pursuant to Section 3(e) of the Public Official Compensation Law (amended in 1995). This law mandates that Pennsylvania executives' salaries "shall be increased by applying the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland area for the most recent 12-month period for which figures have been officially reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) immediately prior to the date adjustment is due to take effect."

2022

In 2022, the officer's salary was $177,237, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, the treasurer received a salary of $167,838, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, the treasurer received a salary of $167,838 according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, the treasurer received a salary of $162,115 according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, the treasurer received a salary of $162,115 according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, the treasurer received a salary of $160,828 according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, the treasurer received a salary of $158,764, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, the treasurer received a salary of $158,764, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, the treasurer received a salary of $156,264, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, the treasurer received a salary of $155,797, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, the treasurer received a salary of $145,529, according to the Sunshine Review.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Pennsylvania Treasurer has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

State profile

Demographic data for Pennsylvania
	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Total population:	12,791,904	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	44,743	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	81.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11%	12.6%
Asian:	3.1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,599	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in Pennsylvania, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Pennsylvania had one Retained Pivot County and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 0.55 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Pennsylvania coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Pennsylvania
• United States congressional delegations from Pennsylvania
• Public policy in Pennsylvania
• Endorsers in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Pennsylvania State Treasurer. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Pennsylvania Treasurer - Google News

Contact information

Pennsylvania State Treasurer's Office
129 Finance Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Phone: (717) 787-2465

External links

Suggest a link

• The Office of the Pennsylvania State Treasurer