HF 794

as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 02/07/2019 02:07pm

A bill for an act
relating to human services; modifying certain background study requirements;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 245C.08, subdivisions 1, 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 245C.08, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Background studies conducted by Department of Human Services.

(a)
For a background study conducted by the Department of Human Services, the commissioner
shall review:

(1) information related to names of substantiated perpetrators of maltreatment of
vulnerable adults that has been received by the commissioner as required under section
626.557, subdivision 9c, paragraph (j);

(2) the commissioner's records relating to the maltreatment of minors in licensed
programs, and from findings of maltreatment of minors as indicated through the social
service information system;

(3) information from juvenile courts as required in subdivision 4 for individuals listed
in section 245C.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), when there is reasonable cause;

(4) information from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, including information
regarding a background study subject's registration in Minnesota as a predatory offender
under section 243.166;

(5) except as provided in deleted text begin clause deleted text end new text begin clauses new text end (6) new text begin and (8) new text end , information received as a result of
submission of fingerprints for a national criminal history record check, as defined in section
245C.02, subdivision 13c, when the commissioner has reasonable cause for a national
criminal history record check as defined under section 245C.02, subdivision 15a, or as
required under section 144.057, subdivision 1, clause (2);

(6) for a background study related to a child foster care application for licensure, a
transfer of permanent legal and physical custody of a child under sections 260C.503 to
260C.515, or adoptions, and for a background study required for family child care, certified
license-exempt child care, child care centers, and legal nonlicensed child care authorized
under chapter 119B, the commissioner shall also review:

(i) information from the child abuse and neglect registry for any state in which the
background study subject has resided for the past five years; and

(ii) when the background study subject is 18 years of age or older, or a minor under
section 245C.05, subdivision 5a, paragraph (c), information received following submission
of fingerprints for a national criminal history record check; and

(7) for a background study required for family child care, certified license-exempt child
care centers, licensed child care centers, and legal nonlicensed child care authorized under
chapter 119B, the background study shall also include, to the extent practicable, a name
and date-of-birth search of the National Sex Offender Public website deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (8) for a background study related to a group residential housing services provider, the
commissioner shall also review information from national crime information databases,
arrest and investigate information from other states, and criminal records from other states.
new text end

(b) Notwithstanding expungement by a court, the commissioner may consider information
obtained under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), unless the commissioner received notice
of the petition for expungement and the court order for expungement is directed specifically
to the commissioner.

(c) The commissioner shall also review criminal case information received according
to section 245C.04, subdivision 4a, from the Minnesota court information system that relates
to individuals who have already been studied under this chapter and who remain affiliated
with the agency that initiated the background study.

(d) When the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that the identity of a
background study subject is uncertain, the commissioner may require the subject to provide
a set of classifiable fingerprints for purposes of completing a fingerprint-based record check
with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Fingerprints collected under this paragraph
shall not be saved by the commissioner after they have been used to verify the identity of
the background study subject against the particular criminal record in question.

(e) The commissioner may inform the entity that initiated a background study under
NETStudy 2.0 of the status of processing of the subject's fingerprints.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for background studies requested on or
after August 1, 2019.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 245C.08, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Arrest and investigative information.

(a) For any background study completed
under this section new text begin except as provided in paragraph (c) new text end , if the commissioner has reasonable
cause to believe the information is pertinent to the disqualification of an individual, the
commissioner also may review arrest and investigative information from:

(1) the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension;

(2) the commissioner of health;

(3) a county attorney;

(4) a county sheriff;

(5) a county agency;

(6) a local chief of police;

(7) other states;

(8) the courts;

(9) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(10) the National Criminal Records Repository; and

(11) criminal records from other states.

(b) The commissioner is not required to conduct more than one review of a subject's
records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation if a review of the subject's criminal history
with the Federal Bureau of Investigation has already been completed by the commissioner
and there has been no break in the subject's affiliation with the license holder who initiated
the background study.

new text begin (c) For a background study related to a group residential housing services provider, the
commissioner shall also review information from national crime information databases,
arrest and investigative information from other states, and criminal records from other states.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective for background studies requested on or
after August 1, 2019.
new text end