The office of the State Auditor is authorized under Article VI of the Montana Constitution. The State Auditor is the ex-officio Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI) and is responsible for licensing and regulating insurance companies and agents, and registering and regulating securities firms and representatives that transact business to or from Montana. The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance adopts rules and enforces the law in the securities and insurance industries.  The Commissioner also serves as a member of the Land Board and the Crop Hail Insurance Board.  The Commissioner’s office has three divisions: Central Management, Insurance, and Securities.

The Commissioner is also responsible for passing through funding for local police and firefighter retirement programs (Municipal Police Officers’ Retirement System, Firefighters’ Unified Retirement System, the Volunteer Fire Fighters’ Compensation Act, local fire department relief associations, municipalities with police department trust funds, and local police pension funds for supplemental benefits).   The retirement programs are funded from general insurance (33-2-705, MCA) and fire insurance premium taxes (50-3-109, MCA).  Because these funds are statutorily appropriated, the expenditures are not included in the general appropriations act.