Sponsor and deputy secretary clash over scope, cost and public access in vendor background-check bill

Representative Claudine Burnham introduced HB 574, a bill that would require background checks for employees and contractors of private companies that program and maintain New Hampshire voting machines.

“Since the machines are programmed and maintained by company employees, it is only right to have every person involved in this process to pass a level of security with a background check,” Burnham told the committee, and she disputed the fiscal estimate in the bill.

Deputy Secretary Erin Hennessy told the committee the bill as drafted implies recurrent reporting obligations and public posting that the deputy secretary said require clarification. Committee members and the sponsor questioned language that appeared to require monthly submissions and public publication of background-check results on the secretary of state’s website.

Hennessy said the draft language was unclear about an identifying number for employees (whether an employee ID or Social Security number). She also noted the existing cost-estimate in the fiscal note is much larger than the sponsor’s back-of-envelope figure: she said the state had received an estimate in the bill package that projected a considerably higher cost over time, and she flagged operational details (digital fingerprinting, adjudication of background-check “hits”) that the committee would need to resolve.

Committee members asked whether a positive background-check result would bar employment under this bill; the sponsor said the bill does not itself remove employees but suggested related criminal issues would be handled under other law. One lawmaker noted other sectors (childcare, municipal volunteers) often accept background checks valid for a multi-year period.

Committee members closed the hearing after the deputy secretary’s answers and recorded online testimony tallies showing the bill had both supporters and opponents.