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Commerce Department seeks authority for national background checks for sensitive hires
Summary
Department of Commerce asked the committee to permit state and national criminal-history checks for final applicants and employees in defined 'sensitive positions'; bill defines disqualifying convictions and adds the checks to the list of authorized criminal-record uses under state law.
House Bill 2342 would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to request state and national criminal-history record checks by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for final applicants or current employees in specified ‘‘sensitive positions’’ within the department, the reviser told the committee.
The bill would add the Commerce Secretary’s requests to K.S.A. 22-4714(b)(5), the statute that lists which agencies may receive adult convictions, adult diversions and juvenile adjudication information. HB 2342 defines a final applicant as an individual from a narrowed group of applicants whom the secretary may intend to give final consideration, and lists sensitive positions to include division directors, assistant secretaries, deputy secretaries, IT managers, chief counsel, grant or loan program managers and other roles the secretary designates that involve substantial financial management.
Rachel Willis, director of legislative affairs for the Department of Commerce, told the committee the checks would be a new step in hiring for narrowly defined positions and would “mitigate legal risks, ensure safety and security, and promote a positive work environment.” The bill would disqualify a final applicant or an employee in a sensitive position who has a misdemeanor conviction involving theft, fraud, forgery or other financial crime, or any felony conviction; the reviser summarized the record types the agency could receive under the proposal.
Questions from members included whether similar fingerprinting or background-check authorities available to other agencies would be in scope and whether the statute duplicated or overlapped other measures enacted this session. The reviser noted a recent Senate bill granted related fingerprinting authority for the Department of Labor and said HB 2342 is specific to Commerce.
No neutral or opponent witnesses appeared at the hearing in person. The committee did not take final action; members suggested broader discussion could be appropriate if other agencies seek similar authorities.
