The state treasurer would like to see his office abolished, but not through the governor’s newly proposed budget that hollows the agency by transferring its responsibilities to another department.

State Treasurer Kurt Schuller said he campaigned for the position in 2010 because he wanted to gradually dissolve the Wisconsin State Treasury through a constitutional amendment. The process would require two sessions of Legislature to approve the amendment, and then the people of Wisconsin would vote in a referendum.

However, the governor has proposed changes to the treasury in his budget that would make the people vote inevitably against the treasury. Although Schuller said he wants to see the treasury eliminated, he wants the citizens of Wisconsin to have a chance to vote for or against the department as it was structured when he began his term on Jan. 3.

“I think [the amendment abolishing the treasury] is inevitable right now. I’m not changing my position on eliminating it,” Schuller said. “But I want to do it the right way.”

Gov. Scott Walker’s budget cuts funding to the treasury by more than $2.5 million – roughly 35 percent. Of the treasury’s three main responsibilities, duties relating to the local government pooled-investment fund and the College Savings Program called EdVest would be transferred to the Department of Administration, according to language in the budget bill.

Schuller said he was concerned the DOA may not be the appropriate agency to take over the responsibilities under the authority of the treasurer. EdVest, he said, would be better off controlled by the Department of Public Instruction.

By going through the process of amending the constitution, Schuller said he hopes the time could be used to figure out the most effective way to break up the treasury’s duties instead of delegating responsibilities by “throwing a dart.”

Since the treasury is not one of the prominent budget items, Schuller said he thinks the governor never looked at it specifically but probably had a staff member decide to make the cuts. Schuller is a very vocal supporter of the governor and has used his office to try to advance Walker’s agenda, he said, and hoped to speak with the governor about the matter in private.