Bill would let Nevada agencies fingerprint contractors and vendors who serve children, elderly and disabled

The Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 26, which seeks to amend state law to authorize fingerprint-based background checks under the National Child Protection Act/Volunteers for Children Act (NCPA/VCA) for contractors and vendors who provide services to children, elderly persons and individuals with disabilities. The bill’s presenters said the change would align Nevada statute with federal eligibility and close a gap that currently prevents some contracted personnel from undergoing FBI fingerprint checks via the NCPA/VCA process.

Erica Souza (for the record presented with the pronunciation/spelling provided in committee) of the Department of Public Safety introduced the bill and said the Records, Communications and Compliance Division maintains the central repository of Nevada criminal-history records and processes fingerprint-based background checks for licensing, employment and volunteer purposes. Georgina Castaneda, a management analyst with the division, presented the bill and said it is intended to “ensure the continuation of fingerprint based background checks for individuals working or volunteering with our state's most vulnerable populations.” She told the committee the proposed amendment would explicitly authorize qualified entities in Nevada to include contractors and vendors in NCPA/VCA fingerprint submissions.

Castaneda described how a change in federal law (the Child Protection Improvement Act, as amended) expanded covered individuals but left uncertainty about whether contractors and vendors could be screened through the NCPA/VCA process under state law. She said Nevada statute does not currently authorize fingerprint checks for contractors or vendors of a qualified entity and that amending the statute would close that gap. The division reported it supports 315 active qualified entities using the NCPA/VCA process and stated there were 12,837 fingerprint submissions in 2023 and 313,018 fingerprint submissions in 2024 under that authority as presented to the committee.

Public supporters included Maximilian Lowe, who said he receives services and supports the bill to improve safety screening, and Susan Keema, executive director of the Nevada Association of School Superintendents. No recorded opposition or neutral testimony was offered. The committee opened and closed the hearing with no vote taken; any statutory change would require subsequent committee action and floor consideration.

If enacted, the bill would allow qualified entities to submit fingerprint-based background checks for contracted personnel (for example, janitorial, cafeteria or transportation staff supplied by contractors) through the state’s NCPA/VCA process, which submits fingerprints to the FBI. Proponents said the change would reduce a “significant gap” in screening for people who have access to vulnerable populations.

The hearing concluded without a committee vote; the bill will proceed by the Legislature’s regular committee and floor process.