Department of Financial Regulation lowers projected year‑end transfer after weaker securities and appointment fees

Acting Commissioner Sandy Bigglestone told the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday that the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) had reduced its projection of year‑end special‑fund transfers to the general fund.

The department originally projected a larger “direct app” transfer; Bigglestone said the estimate has been downgraded by roughly $340,000 because of three factors: a bookkeeping correction, a shortfall in securities‑related revenue and lower insurance appointment fees.

“The first is that we made an adjustment or a correction rather, with a $110,000 transfer from the financial institutions…fund,” Acting Commissioner Sandy Bigglestone said. “The second piece was a $700,000 downgrade to our securities regulations fund.” She added that the securities shortfall reflected actual January receipts and that she and her staff expect that revenue to recover over several years based on past patterns.

David Cameron, administrative services director for DFR, explained the third factor as caution around higher fees for insurance appointments: “We reduced a 4% increase that we had built in prior to the fees,” Cameron said; the department estimated that change at about $160,000.

Bigglestone emphasized that mutual fund registration fees — which she said bring in roughly $41 million and are remitted directly to the general fund — were not part of the $700,000 securities shortfall and therefore are not driving the DFR projection change.

Committee members asked whether the downgrade was concentrated in one fund or spread across the department’s special funds; Cameron said the change combines adjustments across multiple funds, with the securities and insurance appointment figures the main drivers.

Bigglestone and Cameron told senators they will monitor monthly collections and that the final amount returned to the general fund will be determined at fiscal year end. “So, that’ll be reflected in the direct app at the end of the year,” Cameron said.

The department did not propose any spending increases tied to the change and presented the adjustment as a technical revision to projected transfers rather than a policy shift.

Ending: DFR staff said they will continue to track actual receipts monthly and update the committee as the fiscal year closes.