State Treasurer Could Stand To Lose One Of His Office’s Last Remaining Duties

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The legislature’s budget committee has voted to strip one of the last remaining duties from Wisconsin’s state treasurer.

Treasurer Kurt Schuller was sitting in the crowd as Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) began debate on a motion that would remove the state’s unclaimed property from the Treasurer’s Office and fold it into the Department of Revenue.

“I see the State Treasurer here, and I want him to know this is nothing against him personally, it’s an issue of where best can we handle this information and get it out most efficiently.”

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A couple minutes later Darling thanked Schuller for his service and a mix of Republicans and Democrats voted 13-3 to support her plan.

Asked about the action in the hallway by reporters, Treasurer Schuller was visibly shaken: “I cannot hide the fact that I think that this is an incredibly stupid move.”

Schuller ran on a platform of abolishing the Treasurer’s office, which would take a constitutional amendment. Given that the legislature never supported that idea, Schuller says it makes no sense for them to take the unclaimed property program out of his office. Right now that program pays the Treasurer’s salary. Under this move, it won’t.

“They’ve taken a very limited constitutional office that we still must elect and vote for and pay and now put that pay directly on the backs of Wisconsin taxpayers, a burden that for the last 40 years Wisconsin taxpayers have not had to have.”

Schuller says if this plan becomes law his official duties will be reduced to two 15 minute meetings each month that he can do by phone. Schuller does not plan to run for re-election.