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Insurance commissioner seeks $2.9M restoration for oversight, cites Fortified Roof success and enforcement needs
Summary
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple asked the Senate Budget Committee to restore $2.9 million of previously unfunded items to staff captive oversight, conduct PBM audits and administer the Fortified Homes program. The department highlighted 4,250 fortified roof certificates and requested dedicated enforcement resources, including a $175,000 DPS security contract for the Poitras office and clarity on unfunded health-care mandates.
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple asked the Senate Budget Committee to restore part of the department's unfunded FY27 requests and highlighted the Fortified Roof program as an example of a legislatively funded, high-impact initiative.
Temple said the department is requesting restoration of about $2.9 million of $16.9 million left unfunded, focused on program administration and enforcement capacity for newly passed responsibilities. He said the Fortified Roof grant program has issued about 4,250 certificates over the past 27 months—"that's about $42,200,000 of funds that the legislature appropriated"—and described recurring dedicated funding of roughly $30 million per year to continue the program.
Commissioner Temple and Deputy Undersecretary Lance Herron explained a $175,000 priority item to fund dedicated Department of Public Safety (DPS) security staffing at the Poitras office front desk; Herron said the figure reflects overtime rates and an assurance of dedicated coverage rather than ad hoc presence. Lawmakers pressed about additional unfunded mandates (Temple identified roughly $13 million of such requirements), and senators asked for a consolidated list so budget decisions can align with enacted responsibilities.
Senators also raised a health-care coverage item (bariatric surgery) cited as an unfunded mandate that would cost about $5.6 million per year to implement; Temple said the department can provide data on costs and expected social and fiscal benefits if the committee wants a fuller analysis.
The committee did not take a final vote; senators and the department agreed to continue follow-up discussions on enforcement staffing, PBM audits and unfunded mandates.
