Fiscal Responsibility

The state treasurer is responsible for managing Missouri’s $22 billion revenues, its $4.5 billion investment portfolio, directing the state’s banking services, and protecting and returning over $400 million in unclaimed property. Missouri has a long history of responsibly managing its investments, and Clint will continue that tradition as your state treasurer.

Preserving Missouri's AAA Bond Rating:

A state’s bond rating determines the interest rates it is able to borrow money at, and is an indicator of its fiscal health. Having a good credit rating means the state, local governments, and school districts can save millions of taxpayer dollars in interest payments when they finance capital improvements and other long-term debt.

The State of Missouri is one of only seven states rated AAA, which is the highest possible bond rating. As your state treasurer, Clint will preserve Missouri’s credit rating by pursuing sound investment policies and advocating for the fiscal health of our state.

Transparent and Open Contracting:

The state treasurer is responsible for hiring and contracting with the best individuals and firms to manage the state’s investments and banking services. These are very profitable contracts that require a transparent and open bid process to ensure the state is selecting managers and vendors who provide safe and sound financial services. As state treasurer, Clint will ensure more individuals and firms have the opportunity to compete for contracts. The bid process for selecting managers for state investments will be transparent and each contractor will be held accountable for its results.

Creating Economic Opportunities

The state treasurer has a great opportunity to support economic development in Missouri communities with time deposits and linked deposits in Missouri banks. These deposits provide banks with capital to loan to businesses, organizations, and family farmers. Deposits have doubled the last four years, but many banks do not participate because of bureaucratic red tape. As treasurer, Clint will increase efforts to invest tax dollars in Missouri institutions.

Under the linked deposit program, the state treasurer deposit state funds at reduced rates in Missouri banks who agree to make reduced interest rate loans available to businesses and organizations who meet certain requirements. Eligible loans include help for small businesses and family farms and assistance to flood victims. Clint will expand the linked deposit program to create more opportunities for businesses and families.

Clint's Plan

• Streamline the application process and requirements to encourage more Missouri banks to participate.
• Encourage companies and local governments to upgrade the energy efficiency of their facilities.
• Encourage credit unions compete with payday lenders. We should be providing credit unions with linked deposits that would be willing to loan small amounts for short terms to low-income Missourians.
• Help families who have a member deployed in the National Guard or reserves. Eligible families could receive below market rate loans to help them through the deployment.
• Provide Missourians with disabilities low-interest loans to finance construction projects or purchase equipment that will help them achieve greater mobility and self-sufficiency.
• Encourage reinvestment in historical neighborhoods and buildings.

Protecting Missouri Investors

Most brokers and financial advisers are honest, responsible professionals, but dishonest or unethical conduct by a broker can cost Missourians their life savings. Clint sponsored HB 1817 to give Missouri’s Commissioner of Securities more power to stop unethical brokers and investment advisers. Due to a drafting error in the current statute, the state cannot sanction an individual for unethical behavior until another state or the Securities Exchange Commission has cited the individual for the same reasons. This creates a line of red tape that makes it impossible for Missouri to issue appropriate sanctions on unethical brokers. As state treasurer, Clint will also advocate for special penalties for those who prey on senior citizens.

Renewing the Promise of Homeownership

The Pew Center on the States predicts that 1 in 38 Missouri homeowners will face foreclosure as a result of subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, and 40 percent of homeowners will likely see their property values decrease as a result. This is a disturbing prospect that could have a devastating effect on families, neighborhoods and the economic well being of the entire state. Decisive action is needed to address this situation to keep families in their homes, keep neighborhoods strong and keep the tax base of our local communities healthy.

Clint has a real plan to protect homebuyers from unscrupulous lenders and to assist homeowners facing foreclosure. Clint’s plan will also hold local governments accountable for keeping property taxes in check and keeping officials honest. By following his plan we can put in motion a delivery system that is proactive and effective.

Clint’s Plan:

• Increasing efforts to educate borrowers about available assistance to prevent financial problems and foreclosure.
• Establish the Missouri Mortgage Assistance Program (MoMAP) to keep qualified homeowners out of foreclosure.
• Creating an agency relationship between mortgage brokers and borrowers that would require brokers to act in the borrower’s best interest, carry out all lawful instructions, and disclose all material facts and fees charged.
• Requiring each individual who engages in the business of brokering, funding, originating, servicing, or purchasing residential mortgage loans to be licensed by the Residential Mortgage Board.
• Enacting property tax relief for middle-class seniors.
• Requiring government officials to disclose their mortgage agreements on their personal financial disclosure reports to ensure they are not using their positions for personal gain.

Read Clint's Homeownership Plan (PDF)

College Affordability

Missouri higher education funding ranks last among our eight neighboring states. At the same time the state is underfunding higher education in Missouri, it is also eliminating opportunities for students and families to reasonably finance their education. The treasurer is positioned, as a statewide elected official, to contribute and add value to policy discussions that affect Missourians. Missouri needs a leader on higher education, and Clint Zweifel has the record and ideas we need to make college affordable for all Missourians.

Clint’s Plan:

• The state treasurer should be a member of the MOHELA board to provide openness and voice for voters.
  
• Return the MOHELA board to focusing on their original purpose of providing low-interest loans to Missouri students.
  
• Enact Missouri Promise and provide eligible community college graduates with two years of paid tuition, general fees and book costs at a Missouri public four-year college.
  
• Clint will work to make it easier for families to understand the costs of each MOST investment option. MOST plan materials should state clearly the administrative costs of each program and state the true earnings of each option after costs.
  
• Clint will ensure that MOST chooses plan administrators and investments that offer families a low-fee, competitive investment option when it is rebid in two years.

Read Clint’s College Affordability Plan (PDF)

Standing Up for Our Values

There is also a larger role for the Missouri State Treasurer. Serving as one of just six Missouri statewide elected officials provides a unique opportunity to stand up for Missourians. Clint sees statewide elected office as a place to communicate values we share: economic opportunity, high-quality education, retirement security and health care access. By communicating those values, Clint can change political dialogue in Missouri and improve fiscal policy, bringing it back to a focus on helping create opportunities for all Missourians. Clint proposed and will advocate for legislation that makes college more affordable, protects investors and renews the promise of homeownership by reducing the burden of property taxes and protecting consumers.

Not speaking out on fiscal issues facing the State is one area where Clint believes our current state treasurer fell short. Treasurer Steelman had at least two opportunities to interject fiscal responsibility into the debates in Jefferson City and failed to do so.

The Medicaid cuts in 2005 were not only morally wrong, but a fiscal mistake. The state rejected hundreds of millions in federal taxpayer dollars by cutting Medicaid. This is an area where the state treasurer should have stood up and made the case that it was fiscally irresponsible to cut Medicaid, gutting our State's budget of Federal dollars and damaging one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy.

Treasurer Steelman also failed to speak out on the plan to raid the assets of MOHELA for capital improvements. Clint would have argued as state treasurer, as he did as a state representative, that the asset sell was shortsighted, and would endanger the mission of MOHELA to provide low-cost student loans. The Treasurer's office should have advocated for an actuarial analysis of the Fund - telling us how such a sale might affect future student borrowers.