Assembly Committee Passes State Treasurer Amendment

The Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations voted along party lines, 7-4*, this afternoon to amend the state constitution to delete the office of the state treasurer. This amendment would also replace the state treasurer with the lieutenant governor on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL), which administers the Common School Fund.

AJR 48 will be voted on by the full Assembly on Tuesday, February 11. 

The amendment had previously deleted both the state treasurer and secretary of state, but the Committee officially adopted a substitute amendment so that AJR 48 will now only apply to the state treasurer position. A separate proposal, AJR 85, would delete the secretary of state position and place the state superintendent of public instruction on the BCPL--however, no action has been taken on AJR 85 at this time. 

To be enacted, a constitutional amendment must be passed by both houses of the legislature in two consecutive sessions and then win the approval of voters in a statewide referendum. This is the first consideration of AJR 48. 

*Several committee members were absent from the vote this afternoon, so the official vote total is subject to change, though it will not change the outcome of the vote.