JFAC reviews Department of Finance budget request focused on cybersecurity, elder‑fraud investigations

The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee on Jan. 21 heard the Department of Finance present its base budget and a six‑position enhancement package that the agency says is intended to bolster IT examination and fraud investigation capacity.

Noah Peterson, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the Department of Finance’s FY2026 enhancement request totals six full‑time positions and $816,600 from state regulatory funds, and includes new IT‑focused examiners and specialized investigators. "The first one would be an IT examiner for the Financial Institutions Bureau," Peterson said, listing the positions and one‑time capital requests in the packet he provided to members.

The agency told the committee the Department of Finance currently has 72 full‑time positions under a single program that houses the Financial Institutions Bureau, the Consumer Finance Bureau and the Securities Bureau. The agency reported it spends above 90% of its appropriation on average and that roughly 77.8% of FY2024 expenditures were for personnel.

Patty Perkins, director of the Department of Finance, said the requested positions are a response to rising cybercrime and fraud targeting older Idahoans. "There is a huge increase in cybercrime ... we have a particular concern about the elderly population in the state," Perkins said, describing partnership work with the Idaho State Police and other law enforcement to "follow the money" in complex cases, including those involving cryptocurrency.

Perkins described recent staffing additions and tools the department has sought in prior years, including mortgage examiners, a public outreach specialist, a securities technician and an investigation management software system. The FY2026 package also includes one‑time capital outlay recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services of $52,600 for laptops ($42,000), docking stations ($6,100) and portable field monitors ($4,500).

Peterson told the committee the governor recommended the requested positions and capital outlay with one exception: the governor did not recommend the two Financial Investigator 3 positions proposed for the Consumer Finance Bureau that would focus on IT examinations. Committee members asked Perkins for data to justify the positions; Perkins said the department would provide case and workload details to the committee at a later date.

Discussion on the record distinguished departments' operational funding sources: the state regulatory fund covers nearly all of the Department of Finance’s operations; the department also cited the statutory $50,000 annual usage limits for the mortgage recovery fund and for the securities investor education fund.

The committee did not take a formal vote during this hearing. Committee members asked the Department of Finance to provide more quantifiable workload and outcome data so lawmakers can assess the return on investment if the positions are approved in the budget process.