Jefferson City, MO – Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick has highlighted accomplishments from his four years as State Treasurer.
“As Treasurer, I have worked to protect Missouri’s tax dollars, help Missourians save for the future, and increase government transparency at the state and local level,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “My office found innovative ways to increase awareness and productivity and returned record-breaking amounts of Unclaimed Property to rightful owners. We also worked to make programs like MOST 529 and MO ABLE as cost effective for participants as possible, and gave over 1,300 Missouri children the opportunity to attend the school of their choice through the launch of the MOScholars scholarship program . It has been an honor to serve as Missouri’s State Treasurer and I am grateful for my time in this Office. I look forward to continuing to serve Missourians as State Auditor.”
PROTECTING TAXPAYER DOLLARS
As the state’s Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer Fitzpatrick has been responsible for the management and investment of state funds. The state’s investment portfolio surpassed $17 billion for the first time in Missouri history this year—up from $3.6 billion when the Treasurer took office. The investment decisions made under his leadership have placed the State in a position to earn record returns for taxpayers this fiscal year while rebranding and reforming the state’s loan program for Missouri farmers and small business owners – MOBUCK$. Missouri continues to maintain its AAA bond rating, the highest rating issued by Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings, one of the few states with the distinction of a triple-triple A credit rating.
Over the Treasurer’s four-year tenure, the Banking Division processed more than 20 million payments including more than five million checks and more than 15 million ACH transactions.
RETURNING YOUR MONEY
The Treasurer’s Office broke numerous records during Treasurer’s Fitzpatrick’s four years in Office. These include returning the first $1 million of his administration in less than 10 days, returning Unclaimed Property to more Missourians in one year than any prior treasurer, returning $100 million to Missourians faster than any prior treasurer, returning $50 million in one fiscal year (breaking his own record for most money returned in one year), earning more money for account owners at an auction than any prior Treasurer. His administration has also returned more unclaimed property in a four-year term than any other Treasurer and replaced more outlawed checks for taxpayers than any Treasurer in history.
Treasurer Fitzpatrick was also honored to return a Bronze Star to the family of the recipient who did not know their father had earned the medal. It was found in a safe deposit box and held in Unclaimed Property for nearly 10 years before being returned.
Treasurer Fitzpatrick remains committed to improving inter-agency relationships. In 2020, Treasurer Fitzpatrick partnered with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to return Unclaimed Property to those who have applied for unemployment benefits. This partnership has returned over $8.8 million to nearly 30,000 Missourians. In 2019, he announced a new partnership with the Department of Social Services that created an automated system to match past-due child support cases with the Unclaimed Property database. This partnership has returned nearly $4.5 million to Missouri families.
HELPING MISSOURI FAMILIES
Treasurer Fitzpatrick made helping Missouri families save for the future a priority. MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan remains one of the highest rated plans in the country, earning a silver rating from research firm Morningstar for the third straight year. MO ABLE, Missouri’s savings and investment plan for individuals with disabilities is one of the largest ABLE plans in the country with over 3,500 accounts and $26 million in assets under management. Under Treasurer Fitzpatrick’s leadership, the number of accounts nearly quadrupled, with assets under management growing by over 800%.
Thanks to Treasurer Fitzpatrick’s efforts, Missouri’s first K-12 scholarship program launched. Passed by the legislature in 2021, MOScholars provides state tax credits for contributions that provide scholarships to Missouri students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and students living in low-income households. As part of the launch, the Treasurer’s Office created an innovative tax credit reservation system which is the first of its kind, and can be expanded to other state tax credit programs to save taxpayer money and increase efficiency. In its first year, the program has provided scholarships to more than 1,300 students across the state to attend schools of their choice.
INCREASING GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY
A proponent of increasing government transparency, Treasurer Fitzpatrick has worked to expand access to expenditure data, growing the Show-Me Checkbook, one of the most comprehensive state financial data portals in the country, to include local governments. Currently, more than 30 local governments are participating representing over half of the population of Missouri.
REFORMING THE LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROGRAM
Treasurer Fitzpatrick worked with the Missouri Housing Development Commission to improve transparency and efficiency within the low-income housing tax credit program. Reforms include a scoring rubric which enables comparison of approved and unapproved projects, points awarded to projects for saving taxpayers money, and an accelerated redemption pilot program. His efforts have resulted in higher value for tax credits , which translates to more affordable housing for less taxpayer money.
INVESTING WITH COMMON SENSE
In his role as a Trustee for the Missouri State Employee Retirement System (MOSERS), Treasurer Fitzpatrick led the charge to divest from Russia, making MOSERS one of the first pension systems in the country to do so. He also pushed back against Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing strategies, changing MOSERS policy to put corporate voting power back in the hands of Missourians, and divesting approximately $500 million from woke ESG powerhouse Blackrock Inc.