May 16, 2005
Striking a balance | Christine Bruenn takes the reins at the state's Department of Professional and Financial Regulation
By Rebecca Lamet
Running the state's Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which oversees 42 licensing and regulatory agencies, is a matter of balancing the safety of consumers against the cost of regulation to industries and the state, according to Christine Bruenn, who recently was sworn in by Gov. John Baldacci as Maine's top business regulator. For example, Bruenn, who served as the agency's acting commissioner for a period last year, recently recommended that Baldacci oppose a proposal to require Maine contractors to be licensed. "There are a lot of heartbreaking stories" about contractors' misdeeds, she says, but requiring registration ˆ rather than licensing ˆ would decrease costs while still allowing the state to track contractors operating in Maine.
While the department's work ˆ overseeing the insurance, finance, securities and consumer credit industries, as well as the state's professional licensing boards ˆ may seem mundane, "The fact is, what we do is of enormous importance," says Bruenn. And, as the number of businesses in the state grows, so does her department. The key to handling that growth, she says, is increasing efficiency, in large part by getting rid of paper documents. For example, each of the approximately 15,000 mutual funds sold in the state is required to file a form with her office and pay a filing fee every year. With the adoption this summer of a new system called the security online service, filings will be done over the Internet and fees will be paid automatically.
Bruenn, 48, received unanimous approval from the Legislature's Insurance and Financial Services Committee and was sworn in early in May. A native of Connecticut, she has a history degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from Memphis State University. She has worked in the department since 1987, and served most recently as the state's securities administrator, overseeing the sale of investments and the distribution of financial advice.
Last year, when then-Commissioner Robert Murray was nominated for a judgeship, Bruenn asked Baldacci for the post of acting commissioner. "I thoroughly enjoyed that," she says of the six-month post. "It was interesting to deal with all the different regulatory issues, as diverse as health care and cosmetology." After her stint as acting head ended, Baldacci asked Bruenn to take on the job for the long term.
For Bruenn, the new position will mean a shift from carrying out investigations on fraudulent lenders and securities scams to looking at the broader picture, finding trends and collecting data to help the governor make policy decisions. In addition, she says part of her role will be to promote Maine as a good place to do business, particularly for the financial services industry. "We have a willing and well-educated workforce," she says, "[so] it's important that our regulations are rational so that we can encourage back-office businesses to turn to Maine."
While Bruenn will oversee regulation of professionals ranging from accountants to veterinarians, she says the prospect is less daunting since she can rely on her colleagues' expertise. "I don't have to become an expert, I just need to make sure they have the tools they need for their particular area of concentration," she says.
At the same time, she hopes to increase communication department-wide and between licensing boards. "My commitment is to making sure that we stay abreast of changes in all the industries we regulate," she says.
For Bruenn, the prospect of leading the department is exciting because of the direct influence she'll have on people's lives, she says, "whether it's figuring out how to deliver dentistry services in rural Maine or wrestling with the costs of health care and lack of insurance available to our citizens or making sure our banks are healthy and vibrant."
While the department's work ˆ overseeing the insurance, finance, securities and consumer credit industries, as well as the state's professional licensing boards ˆ may seem mundane, "The fact is, what we do is of enormous importance," says Bruenn. And, as the number of businesses in the state grows, so does her department. The key to handling that growth, she says, is increasing efficiency, in large part by getting rid of paper documents. For example, each of the approximately 15,000 mutual funds sold in the state is required to file a form with her office and pay a filing fee every year. With the adoption this summer of a new system called the security online service, filings will be done over the Internet and fees will be paid automatically.
Bruenn, 48, received unanimous approval from the Legislature's Insurance and Financial Services Committee and was sworn in early in May. A native of Connecticut, she has a history degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from Memphis State University. She has worked in the department since 1987, and served most recently as the state's securities administrator, overseeing the sale of investments and the distribution of financial advice.
Last year, when then-Commissioner Robert Murray was nominated for a judgeship, Bruenn asked Baldacci for the post of acting commissioner. "I thoroughly enjoyed that," she says of the six-month post. "It was interesting to deal with all the different regulatory issues, as diverse as health care and cosmetology." After her stint as acting head ended, Baldacci asked Bruenn to take on the job for the long term.
For Bruenn, the new position will mean a shift from carrying out investigations on fraudulent lenders and securities scams to looking at the broader picture, finding trends and collecting data to help the governor make policy decisions. In addition, she says part of her role will be to promote Maine as a good place to do business, particularly for the financial services industry. "We have a willing and well-educated workforce," she says, "[so] it's important that our regulations are rational so that we can encourage back-office businesses to turn to Maine."
While Bruenn will oversee regulation of professionals ranging from accountants to veterinarians, she says the prospect is less daunting since she can rely on her colleagues' expertise. "I don't have to become an expert, I just need to make sure they have the tools they need for their particular area of concentration," she says.
At the same time, she hopes to increase communication department-wide and between licensing boards. "My commitment is to making sure that we stay abreast of changes in all the industries we regulate," she says.
For Bruenn, the prospect of leading the department is exciting because of the direct influence she'll have on people's lives, she says, "whether it's figuring out how to deliver dentistry services in rural Maine or wrestling with the costs of health care and lack of insurance available to our citizens or making sure our banks are healthy and vibrant."
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