Subcommittee approves cryptocurrency monitoring, cybersecurity examiner and shifts database funding for Division of Financial Institutions

CARSON CITY — The subcommittee took multiple actions affecting the Division of Financial Institutions on March 18, approving reserve-funded staff and software and directing funding for a new licensing and enforcement database to be moved to the division's main budget account.

Madison Ryan, LCB fiscal analyst, described three major closing issues for the Division of Financial Institutions (account 1013835): a new unclassified deputy division administrator position, a new IT professional position to establish a cybersecurity examination program, and purchase of cryptocurrency monitoring software. The subcommittee approved the deputy administrator position and the IT cybersecurity examiner position and approved funding for the cryptocurrency monitoring software ($70,000 per fiscal year as recommended by the governor).

The subcommittee also considered a separate request to implement a new licensing, examination and enforcement system that the governor had proposed to fund from the Financial Institutions Investigations account (BA 1013805). Fiscal staff and LCB legal counsel raised questions about whether the investigative fund's statutory eligible uses permit broad database procurement. The subcommittee voted to not fund the implementation from the Investigations account and instead recommended funding the new system from the Division of Financial Institutions budget account (account 1013835), with authority for fiscal staff to make technical adjustments.

All actions recorded in the transcript were adopted by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the hearing record.