Mississippi State Treasurer

State Treasurer of Mississippi is a post created in 1817 when the state was admitted to the Union. Before the state was formed by splitting the Alabama Territory from the Mississippi Territory, an equivalent post was the Territorial Treasurer General, established in 1802.

State Treasurer of Mississippi
Incumbent David McRae since 2020
Seat	Jackson, Mississippi
Term length	Four years
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Mississippi
Formation	1817; 206 years ago (1817)
Salary	US$90,000

History

The position of state treasurer was enumerated as part of the executive branch in Mississippi's first constitution in 1817. The office was filled by the choice of the Mississippi Legislature.^[1] The first treasurer, Samuel Brooks, was elected on December 19, 1817.^[2] The 1832 constitution stipulated that the treasurer was to be popularly elected to serve a two-year term.^[3] The 1869 constitution expanded the officer's term to four years.^[4]

Powers, responsibilities, and structure

Under Article 5, Section 134, of the Mississippi Constitution, the state treasurer is elected every four years. Candidates for the office must meet the same constitutional qualifications as candidates for the position of secretary of state; they must be at least 25 years old and have lived in the state for at least five years.^[5] The office holder is not subject to term limits.^[6] Most of the treasurer's duties are determined by state statute.^[5]

The treasurer is responsible for keeping certain financial records for the state, including receipts, deposits, and disbursement of money from the state treasury.^[6] The constitution requires the treasurer to review and approve all contracts for the provision of "stationary, printing, paper, and fuel" for state agencies and the legislature.^[7] They also oversee public bond issues.^[6] The treasurer is ex officio the treasurer of the Mississippi Employment Security Commission and chair of the College Savings Plan of Mississippi Board. They are also ex officio a member of several other state boards, including the State Bond Commission, Public Employees Retirement Board, Mississippi Business Finance Corporation, Mississippi Development Bank, License Tag Commission, Tort Claims Board, Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association Board, Mississippi Guaranty Pool Board, Economic Development Strategic Planning Task Force, State Prison Emergency and Management Board, and the Historic Properties Trust Fund Advisory Committee.^[8]

The treasurer's salary is $90,000 per year, but is set to increase to $120,000 annually in 2024.^[9]

List of treasurers

Territorial Treasurers General

Territorial Treasurers General

No.	Territorial Treasurers General		Term in office	Party	Source
1		Abner Green	1802 – 1807		^[10]
2		Samuel Brooks	1807 – 1817		^[10]

State Treasurers

State Treasurer

No.	State Treasurer		Term in office	Party	Source
1		Samuel Brooks	1817 – 1818		^[10]
2		Peter Schuyler	1818 – 1821		^[10]
3		Samuel C. Wooldridge	1821 – 1828		^[10]
4		James Phillips Jr.	1828 – 1836		^[10]
5		Charles C. Mayson	1836 – 1838		^[10]
6		James Phillips Jr.	1838		^[10]
7		J. A. Vanhoesen	1838 – 1839		^[10]
8		Silas Bowen	1839		^[10]
9		S. Craig	1839		^[10]
10		James G. Williams	1839 – 1840		^[10]
11		Joshua S. Curtis	1840 – 1841		^[10]
12		Richard S. Graves	1841 – 1843		^[10]
13		William Clark	1843 – 1847		^[10]
14		Richard Griffith	1847 – 1851		^[10]
15		William Clark	1851 – 1854		^[10]
16		Shields L. Hussey	1854 – 1860		^[10]
17		Malcolm Decater Haynes	1860 – 1865		^[10]
18		W. B. Weaver	1865		^[10]
19		John H. Echols	1865 – 1869		^[10]
20		William H. Vassar	1869 – 1874		^[10]
21		G. H. Holland	1874 – 1875	Republican	^[10]
22		M. L. Holland	1875		^[10]
23		William L. Hemingway	1875 – 1890		^[10]
24		J. J. Evans	1890 – 1896		^[10]
25		A. Q. May	1896 – 1900		^[10]
26		J. R. Stowers	1900 – 1901		^[10]
27		George W. Carlisle	1901 – 1902		^[10]
28		Thad B. Lampton	1902 – 1904		^[10]
29		William Jones Miller	1904 – January 20, 1908		^[10]
30		George Robert Edwards	January 20, 1908 – January 15, 1912	Democratic	^[10]
31		Peter Simpson Stovall	January 15, 1912 – January 17, 1916	Democratic	^[10]
32		John Peroutt Taylor	January 17, 1916 – January 19, 1920	Democratic	^[10]
33		Larkin Seymour Rodgers	January 20, 1920 – October 18, 1920	Democratic	^[10]
34		William Moseley Murry	October 18, 1920 – January 19, 1924	Democratic	^[10]
35		Ben Shem Lowry	January 21, 1924 – January 16, 1928	Democratic	^[10]
36		Webb Walley	January 16, 1928 – 1932	Democratic	^[10]
37		Lewis S. May	1932 – 1936		^[10]
38		Newton James	1936 – 1940		^[10]
39		Lewis S. May	1940 – 1944		^[10]
40		Newton James	1944 – 1948		^[10]
41		R. W. May	1948 – 1952		^[10]
42		Newton James	1952 – 1956		^[10]
43		Robert D. Morrow Sr.	1956 – 1960		^[10]
44		Evelyn Gandy	1960 – 1964	Democratic	^[10]
45		William Winter	1964 – 1968	Democratic	^[10]
46		Evelyn Gandy	1968 – 1972	Democratic	^[10]
47		Brad Dye	1972 – 1976	Democratic	^[10]
48		Ed Pittman	1976 – 1980	Democratic	^[10]
49		John L. Dale	1980 – 1980	Democratic	^[10]
50		Bill Cole	1980 – 1988	Democratic	^[10]
51		Marshall Bennett	1988 – 2003	Democratic	^[10]
52		Peyton Prospere	2003 – 2004	Democratic	^[10]
53		Tate Reeves	2004 – 2012	Republican	^[10]
54		Lynn Fitch	January 5, 2012 – January 14, 2020	Republican	^[10]
55		David McRae	January 14, 2020 – present	Republican	^[10]

References

1. Busbee 2014, pp. 73–74.
2. Rowland 1904, p. 124.
3. Busbee 2014, p. 87.
4. Rowland 1904, p. 31.
5. Winkle 2014, p. 95.
6. Clark, Eric (December 2007). "The Government of Mississippi: How it Functions". Mississippi History Now. Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
7. Winkle 2014, p. 83.
8. "Your Treasury". Office of the Mississippi State Treasurer. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
9. Pender, Geoff (April 7, 2022). "Amid vetoes, Gov. Reeves lets pay raises for elected officials pass". Mississippi Today. Nonprofit Mississippi News. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
10. Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 2021, p. 551.

Works cited

• Busbee, Westley F. Jr. (2014). Mississippi: A History (second ed.). John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118755921.
• History, Mississippi Dept of Archives and (1924). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History.
• Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 2020–2024. Jackson: Mississippi Secretary of State. 2021. OCLC 1353823876.
• Rowland, Dunbar, ed. (1904). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Jackson: Mississippi Department of Archives and History. OCLC 777030828.
• Winkle, John W. III (2014). The Mississippi State Constitution (second ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199300631.