Committee reviews revised bill to allow federal background checks for solid‑waste facility owners

Senate Bill 302, which would update state law to permit federal criminal‑records checks for owners and certain officers of solid‑waste facilities, was introduced to the House Environment & Agriculture Committee by Sen. Howard Pearl. "This is the third time we're making an attempt at getting this language correct," Pearl said, and he presented an amendment to correct technical drafting problems in the bill passed by the Senate.

The legislation aims to resolve a recurring obstacle: New Hampshire agencies seeking to use the FBI's criminal databases have been blocked because the federal agency found prior statutory language ambiguous or noncompliant. Mike Wimsatt, director of the Waste Management Division at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES), told the committee that the statutes already require background checks under the Hazardous Waste Management Act and the Solid Waste Management Act and that the problem has been procedural: "there's been a long standing requirement in the statutes... [but] the language in our statutes was insufficient and ambiguous in some areas in ways that made them uncomfortable allowing us to access the federal criminal databases," he said.

Wimsatt described the practical changes in the current draft: clearer definitions of which officers or entity representatives must submit to a records check; designation of which DES officials will receive the reports; and removal of an unnecessary procedural requirement that routed requests through the Department of Justice. The revised process, as Wimsatt explained, would allow DES to request checks directly from the Department of Safety and state police, which the agency expects to be "a lot cleaner." He also said the Office of Legislative Services corrected "about 8 or 10 technical errors" in the introduced language.

Committee members asked how the revisions change substantive policy. Representative King summarized the position: the statute already authorizes background checks and the bill is intended to fix drafting so federal checks can be performed. Wimsatt noted the statute gives the agency discretion in evaluating results and said the law contains a clause allowing denial of a permit if an individual subjected to the check has been convicted of a felony within the last five years.

Senator Pearl said the bill responds to longstanding concerns about criminal influence in the waste industry, citing historical reasons the Legislature included background checks decades ago. No committee vote was taken; the sponsor offered an amendment to fix drafting and the hearing was closed pending that amendment and further committee review.

Discussion points: committee members expressed support for the technical fix and asked the agency to confirm FBI acceptance of the revised language before final action. The committee chair said copies of the amendment would be circulated to members prior to the next executive session.

Ending: The committee did not take a final vote on SB 302 at the hearing and left the item for further review with the sponsor's amendment expected to be circulated to members.