State banking regulator introduces two bill requests, outlines additional 2026 proposals

Brock Raeler, general counsel for the Office of State Bank Commissioner, told the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee that the agency had asked the panel to introduce two requests: RS 2,679, described as a repeal of an antiquated statute, and RS 2,734, intended to establish a charitable foundation limited to consumer financial education. The committee accepted the introductions and agreed to forward the requests to the Senate.

Raeler said the proposed foundation would allow the agency to invest proceeds from fines rather than holding them in non‑interest-bearing accounts; he described safeguards that would limit foundation activity to consumer education and prevent uses such as paying agency staff or engaging in political activity. "We received over a $1,000,000 fine on a multistate agreement and right now from our perspective it is sitting in a bank account not earning any interest," Raeler said, arguing the foundation would put those proceeds to work for education.

Beyond the two introduced items, Raeler outlined several bills the office expects to file in 2026: a Virtual Currency Kiosk Consumer Protection Act that would classify cryptocurrency kiosks at convenience and grocery stores as money transmitters; an amendment to the probate code to require conservators to provide certain financial-institution orders (prompted by a consumer complaint); and an amendment to the Financial Institutions Information Security Act to add earned-wage-access providers to the list of entities covered by that law. He asked the committee for support as those measures move forward.

The committee did not vote on any of the proposed new statutes today beyond accepting the introductions for RS 2,679 and RS 2,734; Raeler said the kiosk bill would be introduced in the House and the foundation request was already assigned an RS number. The committee will consider the measures as they move through the legislative process.