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Senate committee hears SB26 to add Rapback authority and expand fingerprint checks to contractors serving vulnerable populations
Summary
Department of Public Safety presenters told the Senate Judiciary Committee that an amendment to SB26 would authorize Nevada to participate in the FBI's NGI Rapback service and would explicitly allow fingerprint‑based background checks under the NCPA VCA for contractors and vendors who work with children, elderly and individuals with disabilities.
Department of Public Safety records officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 24 that Senate Bill 26, as amended, would (1) give the state statutory authority to participate in the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) Rapback service and (2) close a statutory gap by explicitly authorizing fingerprint‑based background checks under the National Child Protection Act/Volunteers for Children Act (NCPA VCA) for contractors and vendors who provide services to vulnerable populations.
"This service aids in the continuous vetting of individuals by providing criminal history updates to authorized entities that may occur after the initial fingerprint search," Shannon Helgott, Records Bureau Chief in the Department of Public Safety, said in presenting the Rapback portion of the amendment.
Rapback allows authorized entities that enroll fingerprints in NGI to receive ongoing notifications of criminal history updates that occur after the initial background check. Presenters said Rapback subscriptions carry no direct fees and that participating entities must perform annual validations to confirm an enrollee remains employed or affiliated; the division would audit enrollments and remove notifications when an individual is no longer employed by the subscribing entity.
The bill’s second section, presented by Georgina Castaneda of the Records, Communications and Compliance Division, would amend Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 179A to ensure that fingerprint checks conducted under NCPA VCA can be used for contractors and vendors who have access to children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities. Presenters said the 2018 Child Protection Improvement Act (CPIA) broadened the federal definition of covered individuals and created uncertainty about whether contractors and vendors remained covered under the existing state implementation.
"This requirement extends beyond employees and volunteers to include contractors and vendors who provide essential services to these populations," Castaneda said. "Amending the statute to add the authority specific to contractors and vendors will authorize these fingerprint based background checks. Without this, it creates a significant gap in ensuring the safety of vulnerable populations."
Officials provided program context and usage data: the Records division said it supports about 315 active qualified entities that used the authority for roughly 12,837 fingerprint submissions; in 2024 the division processed about 13,018 fingerprint submissions under the authority cited in testimony.
Committee members asked operational questions about how quickly fingerprints move through the state and FBI systems and about compliance and capacity. Helgott said live‑scan submissions arrive to the division the same day and are forwarded to the FBI within about a day; current end‑to‑end responses were characterized as about two to three weeks because of manual back‑end processing. Officials said a modernization program (NCGIS modernization) is expected to reduce response times to days after an upgrade scheduled for May.
Senators also asked whether the statutory authority is required by the FBI to participate in Rapback; presenters said the FBI requires explicit statutory authority from the state before the state can enroll fingerprints in NGI Rapback.
No callers or in‑person witnesses testified in support, opposition, or neutral positions on SB26 during the recorded hearing. The hearing record shows presenters closing with thanks and the committee closing the SB26 hearing; there was no recorded committee vote on the bill at that session.
The amendment and testimony focused on technical and operational changes to background‑check processes; supporters framed the changes as tools to improve continuous vetting and fill a statutory gap for contractor/vendor checks, while operational questions centered on capacity, compliance and how enrollments would be audited and validated.
The committee concluded the SB26 hearing without a recorded vote; presenters offered to answer follow‑up questions outside the hearing.
