The comptroller of Maryland is a constitutional officer of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Thirty-four individuals have held the office of comptroller since 1851, when the office was created. The incumbent is Brooke Lierman, a Democrat.

Election and term of office

The comptroller is elected by the citizens of Maryland to a four-year term on Election Day in November, and takes office on the third Monday of the January next succeeding. There is no limit to the number of terms a comptroller may hold. Likewise, neither the Maryland Constitution nor the Annotated Code of Maryland prescribe any qualifications for the office, such as residency, age, or even citizenship requirements. In the event of a vacancy in the office of comptroller, the governor may appoint a successor to serve the balance of the term. The comptroller may be removed from office by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

through

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

. However, the comptroller cannot be recalled under Maryland law.

Powers and duties

The comptroller's office was established by the second Maryland Constitution of 1851 due to concern for potential fraud and corruption in the administration of the public treasury. Pursuant to this mandate, the comptroller effectively functions as Maryland's

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

. The constitutional duties of the office begin with the broad mandate to exercise "general superintendence of the fiscal affairs of the State", which includes maintaining the

general ledger In bookkeeping, a general ledger is a bookkeeping ledger in which accounting data are posted from General journal, journals and aggregated from subledgers, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, fixed assets, purchasing ...

. To this end, the comptroller prescribes and operates the statewide accounting system, administers

payroll A payroll is a list of employment, employees of a company who are entitled to receive compensation as well as other work benefits, as well as the amounts that each should obtain. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time ...

to state employees, and prepares the state of Maryland's annual comprehensive financial report. As it concerns revenue administration, the comptroller collects taxes due the state, conducts

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

and sales tax audits of taxpayers for compliance with state and local laws, processes

tax returns A tax return is a form on which a person or organization presents an account of income and circumstances, used by the tax authorities to determine liability for tax. Tax returns are usually processed by each country's tax authority, known as a ...

, settles

delinquent Delinquent may refer to: * Delinquent (royalist) In 1643, near the start of the English Civil War, Parliament set up two committees: the Sequestration Committee, which confiscated the estates of the Royalists who fought against Parliament, and ...

tax receipts, and enforces

business licensing Business licenses are permits issued by government agencies that allow individuals or companies to conduct business within the government's geographical jurisdiction. It is the authorization to start a business issued by the local government. A s ...

and unclaimed property laws. It is by virtue of the Disposition of Abandoned Property Act that the comptroller's office publicizes taxpayers' forgotten bank accounts, insurance benefits and other unclaimed assets. Likewise, the comptroller (or a deputy) draws all warrants for payment of money on the state treasury and countersigns all checks drawn by the

state treasurer In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...

on state deposits. The comptroller also prescribes the formalities for transfer of evidences of

state debt State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and countersigns such papers.

List of comptrollers of Maryland

References

List of Comptrollers of Maryland
from the Maryland Archives

External links

Official website of the Comptroller of Maryland
{{MD Gov branches 1851 establishments in Maryland

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...