Nevada bill would require fingerprint-based background checks, five-year reinvestigations for welfare staff handling federal tax data

Assembly Bill 551 would require FBI fingerprint-based background checks, local law-enforcement checks and proof of legal work eligibility for employees and contractors of the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) at initial appointment and at reinvestigation every five years.

The measure’s sponsor and DWSS staff said the change is needed so the division can comply with federal requirements for handling federal tax information (FTI), including Internal Revenue Code §6103 and the safeguards in IRS Publication 1075.

Marnie Whelan, with the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee that DWSS uses FTI to verify applicants’ income and that ‘‘because federal tax information is highly sensitive, any agency or employee who receives or handles this is required by federal law . . . to adhere to strict security and confidentiality standards.’’ Whelan said the bill would add FBI fingerprinting and reinvestigations every five years to meet those standards.

Whelan said the division currently runs pre-employment fingerprint-based background checks through the Department of Public Safety under the authority cited in state law (as presented to the committee at the hearing), but said the Department of Public Safety recently notified DWSS that the authority used did not clearly permit the reinvestigations that federal rules require. ‘‘This bill will enable the division to comply with the federal requirements,’’ she said.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about scope and eligibility. A vice chair asked for a plain-language summary of what the bill requires; Whelan said simply that DWSS already does background investigations at hire and the bill would add statutory authority to permit the five-year reinvestigations required by IRS standards. Senator Titus asked whether DACA recipients would qualify for employment under the citizenship/eligibility provision; Whelan said, ‘‘The specific requirements are what we normally do for our I-9 requirements. So if they’re eligible for employment under those guidelines, then they would be eligible under this.’’

There was no public testimony in support, opposition or neutral testimony at the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on AB551 and moved on to other agenda items without a final vote on the bill.

The bill, as presented, references federal confidentiality requirements (Internal Revenue Code §6103 and IRS Publication 1075) and relies on state enforcement processes administered through the Department of Public Safety and DWSS for implementation.

The committee did not take a formal recorded vote on AB551 at this hearing; members limited testimony to expedite consideration of several budget-implementation bills on the agenda.