Responsibilities and Functions
The office of California State Treasurer has broad responsibilities and authority in the areas of investment and finance.
The Treasurer is elected statewide every four years. In addition to being the State's lead asset manager, banker and financier, the Treasurer serves as chairperson or a member of numerous State authorities, boards and commissions.
Below are some of the Treasurer's key responsibilities:
- The Treasurer's Office manages the State's Pooled Money Investment Account, which invests monies on behalf of state government and local jurisdictions to help them manage their fiscal affairs.
- The Treasurer serves on the boards of the Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS). CalPERS and CalSTRS are significant investors/stockholders in the American and global economies. The pension funds provide for the retirement of their members and also perform a variety of other services for them. As an example, CalPERS is the second largest purchaser of health care services in the country.
- The Treasurer's Office finances a variety of important public works needed for the State's future, including schools and higher education facilities, transportation projects, parks, and environmental projects.
- The Treasurer chairs authorities that finance a wide range of significant projects, including pollution clean-up, small businesses and health care facilities. The Treasurer chairs the State commission that awards low-cost, tax-exempt financing for various purposes such as housing, economic development, and student loans.
- The Treasurer plays a key role in statewide housing finance as Chair of the Tax Credit Allocation Committee that awards hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits for affordable housing and as a member of the Board of the California Housing Finance Agency, which finances affordable housing.
- The Treasurer oversees the ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB), which administers the State's tax-advantaged college tuition savings plan.