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Ann Richards ... State Treasurer The State Treasurer is responsible for seeing that state monies are safe and well managed. In addition, the Treasurer is responsible for setting policy and managing an agency with 140 employees and a biennial budget of $11 million. The State Treasury administers the state's unclaimed property (escheat) laws, invests state funds, safekeeps $21.5 billion in state-owned securities and acts as paying agent for hundreds of local and state bonding authorities. The Treasury also distributes cigarette and alcoholic beverage tax stamps and maintains the funds of the state's general accounting system. / When Ann Richards took office, there were 1,406 state bank accounts worth $7 million which were not drawing a penny of interest. These accounts were switched to interest bearing accounts. / Ann Richards also sought and received additional investment authority from the Legislature. The Treasury now invests short-term idle funds in high-interest repurchase agreements and U.S. Treasury Bills. The interest earned on those funds was about $200 million in 1984. / Ann Richards brought in automated check handling equipment to move money quickly into bank accounts - and save check handling fees. The equipment paid for itself within months and earned the state an additional $5 million in its first year of operation. / Ann Richards stepped up efforts to collect unclaimed property for the State of Texas. In the 23 years since the state unclaimed property laws were enacted, a third of all money collected has been collected in the past two years. Fifty-two percent of all money returned to rightful owners during that time has been returned during her administration. The Unclaimed Property Division also has increased its auditing staff and begun a statewide advertising campaign to find 50,000 holders of "lost" property. As a result of these efforts, the state received $10.1 million in 1984 in unclaimed property - 36.5 percent more than in 1983, which was itself a record-setting year. / Ann Richards initiated a Rapid Deposit Program with other state agencies to make sure that state receipts are deposited in interest- bearing accounts as quickly as possible. The program is tailored to meet each agency's needs. / When Ann Richards took office, she discovered that checks often remained in the Treasury for several days before being deposited in banks to earn interest. Now, no check remains in the Treasury more than 90 minutes before it is deposited in a bank to begin earning interest. Checks of $1 million or more are "fast tracked" through the Treasury in less than 30 minutes.
/ Ann Richards was responsible for initiating emergency legislation to head off a costly and disruptive cash flow crisis in 1984. The Treasury's quick action earned an additional $16 million in interest for the state. The Treasury is seeking long term answers to the state's cash flow problem and is developing the ability to forecast cash flow needs and estimate the impact of pending legislation on the state's cash flow. / Ann Richards committed the Treasury to a policy of equal employment opportunity. The Treasury now has ethnic /male/female ratios at least equal to the Texas population. She also established a Minority Financial Institutions Program at the Treasury to make sure that minority controlled financial institutions know of opportunities to hold state deposits. / The Treasury also established the Treasury Asset Management Advisory Committee, which involves people from the private sector in developing state financial policies. Ann Richards ... Professional Ann Richards served as a Travis County Commissioner for six years before resigning to run for State Treasurer. She has also: / Addressed the Conference on Controversies and Commonalities in Reproductive Health Care, Rockefeller Foundation Study and Confer- ence Center, Bellagio, Italy, December 1984. / Addressed the Conference on the Impact on Social and Political Structures by Women in the Work Force, the Ditchley Foundation, Estone, Oxfordshire, England, January 1985. ~ Served on President Carter's Advisory Committee on Women in 1979. / Served as a member of the Austin Transportation Study from 1974 to 1981. The ATS is responsible for directing transportation funding and planning for the Austin area. / Served on the Special Commission on the Delivery of Human Services in Texas, 1979-1980. She was instrumental in the passage of legislation to improve the state's juvenile justice system while a member of the commission.
