Transparency is the foundation of our democracy. Taxpayers have a right to know how state government functions and how it spends their tax dollars. There is no excuse for anything less than 100 percent transparency. Prior to Stacy’s tenure, the treasurer’s office received a C rating from the non-profit U.S. division of the Public Interest Research Groups. Since taking office in January 2021, Stacy has prioritized increasing government transparency. She revamped the Treasury’s transparency portal, a website where any Pennsylvanian can go online and see how their taxpayer dollars are being spent.
Unclaimed property – more than $4.5 billion in everything from undelivered paychecks to military decorations – sat in a massive vault in the Pennsylvania Treasury. Stacy Garrity set out to return that property to its rightful owners. Traveling the state, Stacy talked to groups, offered directions on how to retrieve their property, and set a new record returning nearly $274 million to more than 174,000 Pennsylvania citizens in the fiscal year ending June of 2023. That included 87 military decorations that belonged on the chests of our veterans, not in a box inside a vault. She has advocated for legislation to make it easier for Treasury to return property and intends to aim for another record year returning to Pennsylvanians the wealth they earned.
After learning that Pennsylvania's two largest taxpayer-funded pension systems paid $6 billion in hidden fees to private money managers over the last decade, Stacy became an advocate for taxpayers and pensioners alike. She took on the waste and lack of accountability at the two largest state pension funds and worked to make certain that fees were reduced and investments earned more interest.
Stacy has been an advocate of the state’s PA 529 College and Career Savings Program. The tax-deductible program has been a cornerstone in college planning for more than 30,000 families. In her first term, Stacy helped families save a total of $11 million by reducing fees and costs, while increasing participation. Her efforts earned Pennsylvania’s 529 Plan its first-ever Gold Rating from Morningstar, one of the world’s premier financial ratings firms.
Throughout her term in office, Stacy Garrity has advocated for sensible fiscal policies, including a new investment pool dedicated to the state’s Rainy Day Fund. Treasury’s Transparency Portal has surpassed 500,000 entries, allowing taxpayers to see for themselves how government is spending their hard-earned dollars. She participated in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that ended Delaware’s seizure of $19 million in unclaimed property due to Pennsylvania citizens. Working with the Department of Labor and Industry, Stacy implemented a seamless transition to a new unemployment benefits debit card provider, making life a bit easier for 47,000 Pennsylvania unemployment compensation claimants. Throughout her tenure, Stacy Garrity has been goal-oriented and people-focused when it comes to handling the tax dollars of Pennsylvanians.
In a second term, Stacy plans to continue her fight for a tax-deductible 401k-style retirement savings program for Pennsylvanians not currently covered by pensions or other retirement savings vehicles. Likewise, she will continue to advocate for PA Money Match, legislation designed to allow Treasury to automatically return unclaimed property to its rightful owners. And she will continue her work to expand PA Able, a savings program that allows persons with disabilities to save money without risking the loss of benefits.
Integrity, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to Pennsylvania and its people are Stacy Garrity’s daily motivations. She doesn’t talk the talk, she walks the walk - literally. Following through on a day one pledge, Stacy has visited all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties every year. As your Treasurer, Stacy knows how important it is to meet people where they are and offer real solutions, not just empty rhetoric. With a second term ahead, she will keep that promise one county at a time.
