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Committee approves bill allowing Board of Chiropractic Examiners to require criminal history checks, delayed start date added
Summary
Senate File 167 would authorize the Board of Chiropractic Examiners to obtain criminal-history information and require fingerprinting for licensure; the committee added an amendment delaying the board's mandatory use of criminal-history requests until July 1, 2026 to accommodate FBI processing timelines.
The committee approved Senate File 167, a bill authorizing the Wyoming Board of Chiropractic Examiners to request criminal history and fingerprint-based background checks in licensure and disciplinary matters. The board and its executive director said the change is intended to protect patients and ensure applicants disclose relevant criminal history.
Senator Dockstader, presenting the bill, said the board currently must rely on applicants’ written answers and that the bill creates a verification process so the board can confirm whether an applicant has criminal convictions or disciplinary actions in other jurisdictions. The proposal authorizes fingerprinting and direct requests for criminal-history information and permits disciplinary action when appropriate.
Emily Cromwell, executive director for the Board of Chiropractic Examiners, told the committee the board has encountered applicants who answered "no" to disciplinary or criminal-history questions but were later found to have suspensions or criminal issues in other states. She said several other licensing boards already have similar authority and that about 36 states require criminal background checks for chiropractors.
Committee members expressed concern about timing and FBI processing. Cromwell said FBI background-check authority and the administrative steps to set up fingerprint-based checks can take many months, in some cases up to two years. Representative Yen offered an amendment to delay the board’s mandatory request for criminal-history checks until July 1, 2026; the committee adopted that amendment.
With that amendment, the committee reported passing the bill as amended (committee tally reported: 7 yes, 0 no, 2 excused). The board said the delayed start allows it to complete the necessary administrative steps without holding licensure decisions for applicants while FBI processes are established.
