A. Each person required to be licensed under this Chapter shall maintain in his office the books, records, and accounts of its virtual currency business activities as the commissioner may reasonably require in order to determine whether the person is complying with the provisions of this Chapter and the rules and regulations promulgated under the provisions of this Chapter. Required records may be maintained in any electronic format consistent with the person’s ordinary business practices unless the person receives specific written instructions from the commissioner to the contrary. The books, records, and accounts shall be maintained separate and apart from any other business in which the person is involved and shall be kept at the location in the state at which the virtual currency business activities occurred or at the person’s principal office unless otherwise permitted in writing by the commissioner. Records shall be made available for review or examination at a nonresidential location approved by the commissioner.

            B. If the books and records of any person described in this Section are located outside of the state, he shall make them available to the commissioner at a location within this state convenient to the commissioner or pay the reasonable and necessary expenses for the commissioner or his representative to examine them at the place where they are maintained. The commissioner may designate representatives, including comparable officials of the state in which the records are located, to inspect the records on his behalf.

            C. The licensee shall pay the reasonable cost of the examination as the commissioner shall prescribe by rule. If the examination fee is not paid within thirty days of its assessment, the person examined shall be subject to an administrative penalty.

            D. The commissioner may do any of the following:

            (1) Conduct on-site examination or investigation, participate in a joint or concurrent examination or investigation with another state or federal agency or agencies, or examine or investigate the books, records, and accounts used in the business of every licensee.

            (2) Accept and rely upon an examination report or investigative report of any other state or federal agency.

            E. Nothing in Subsection D of this Section shall preclude the commissioner from conducting an examination or investigation in accordance with applicable provisions of this Chapter, including but not limited to any of the following:

            (1) Participating in a joint examination or investigation.

            (2) Participating in a concurrent examination or investigation.

            (3) Accepting results of an examination or investigation report conducted by any state or federal agency.

            F. A joint report or concurrent report accepted by the commissioner pursuant to this Section may be accepted as an official report of the office for purposes of this Chapter.

            G.(1) To efficiently and effectively enforce the provisions of this Chapter and to minimize regulatory burdens, the commissioner may participate in a multistate examination and investigation process for licensees that hold licenses in this state and other states.

            (2) As a participant in any mulitistate examination or investigation, the commissioner may, to the extent provided by law, do all of the following:

            (a) Cooperate, coordinate, and share information with other state regulators of virtual currency business activities.

            (b) Enter into written cooperation, coordination, or information-sharing contracts or agreements with organizations made up of other state governmental regulators of virtual currency business activities.

            (c) Cooperate, coordinate, and share information with organizations made up of other state governmental regulators of virtual currency business activities, if the organizations agree in writing to maintain confidentiality and security of shared information.

            (3) Nothing in this Section shall constitute a waiver of the commissioner’s authority to do any of the following:

            (a) Conduct any examination or investigation authorized by law.

            (b) Otherwise take any independent action authorized by law or any rule promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

            (c) Enforce compliance of any order issued pursuant to this Chapter.

            (4) The following shall not constitute a waiver of any examination fee provided pursuant to this Chapter or any rule promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act:

            (a) The commissioner’s participation in any joint examination or investigation.

            (b) The commissioner’s acceptance of an examination or investigative report conducted and prepared by other state or federal regulators of virtual currency business activity.

            Acts 2020, No. 341, §1; Acts 2023, No. 331, §1, eff. June 13, 2023.

            NOTE: The provisions of Acts 2023, No. 331, will terminate on July 1, 2025.