Insurance commissioner asks lawmakers for new staff, pay equity and fire‑marshal funding

Chairman Munson said the Government Operations section had before it House Bill 1010, the Insurance Commissioner's budget, then invited Insurance Commissioner John Godfrey to present details.

Godfrey told the House Appropriations Government Operations Committee the department is asking for several new FTEs and pay adjustments to handle increased workloads. He said the department needs an additional attorney position because of more legal work generated by consumer assistance and complaints, and an analyst position for company licensing to reduce reliance on contracted examiners. Godfrey said the department currently has six attorneys in the legal division, including general counsel, and that one attorney position has been vacant for several months. He also said the department had contracted out some company financial examinations and that bringing that work in‑house would be more efficient for the state and industry.

The department asked for equity adjustments including roughly $255,000 for attorney pay and $45,000 to increase deputy fire marshal pay; Godfrey said low pay has led to multiple candidate refusals. He also asked for a one‑time $20,000 pool to cover overtime and comp time for deputy fire marshals and other staff, plus equipment requests including updated radios ($10,000) and a portable x‑ray unit (about $80,000). Godfrey said the fire marshal staff transferred in from the Attorney General's office currently totals 10 deputy marshals (eight transferred plus two added last session); one Williston position remains unfilled.

Committee members pressed for specifics. Representative Meyer asked for a breakdown of the six attorneys' duties and for the dollar amount the department spent contracting out examinations; Godfrey said he would provide those numbers. Representative Brandenburg and others said the committee had been instructed to scrutinize new FTE requests; several members placed question marks next to proposed FTE additions and asked staff to return with more detailed cost comparisons (contract versus hire). Representative Bosch and others also asked the department to supply a reconciliation between its worksheet and the Armstrong executive recommendation.

Administrative Division Director Rachel Kriegi told the committee the department had not yet paid out comp‑time balances except when employees leave the agency; the proposed one‑time request would be to pay such balances at the end of the biennium. On retirement and leave payouts, Godfrey said the department is requesting about $63,250 for anticipated retirements and leave payouts (part of a broader $83,497 line shown on the worksheet) and that some prior one‑time funds had been spent this biennium.

Godfrey said the insurance department is funded entirely from special funds derived from industry fees and fines, not the general fund. He told the committee the insurance regulatory trust fund currently has an effective cap that has caused cash‑flow issues; the department plans to seek a statutory cap change (fees bill cited as “11 23” in testimony) and noted a separate cigarette propensity fund transfer (cited as “10 86”) that would add about $493,000 to its special fund. Godfrey said those legislative changes would be considered in separate bills and would affect the department's cash position.

Chairman Munson and several members asked the department to return with more documentation on the requests — including contractor costs for outsourced examinations, justification for each new FTE, and updated worksheets showing the Armstrong recommendation and proposed changes. The committee placed question marks on several line items and deferred final decisions until staff could review the additional materials.

Ending

The committee agreed to revisit the insurance department budget after staff and the department provided requested breakdowns and documentation on contractor costs, vacancy history, and the proposed equity and FTE changes.