Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Background Checks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House passes bill to allow background checks for some without Social Security numbers after heated floor fight
Summary
The House passed HB 11-43, which lets entities that provide non-employment educational opportunities use alternative identification for background checks; floor debate focused on whether institutions must accept ITINs instead of Social Security numbers and whether enforcement or fiscal impacts were adequately addressed.
The Colorado House on April 21 passed House Bill 11-43, a measure changing what identifying information organizations may collect when conducting background checks for non-employment educational opportunities.
Representative Joseph, the bill sponsor, told the chamber the bill is intended to ensure qualified people who lack Social Security numbers can still undergo background checks and participate in internships, clinical placements and volunteer roles: "Right now, some Coloradans are blocked from internships, clinical placement, and volunteer opportunities, not because they are unqualified, but because they don't have a Social Security number," Joseph said.
Opponents warned the language is broad. Representative Bottoms argued the proposal could override private choice and impose requirements on institutions and employers: "Why would we not let employers choose? This makes no sense," Bottoms said during floor debate, urging members to protect employers' discretion.
Floor amendments focused on two linked issues: whether the statute should require entities to accept an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) in place of an SSN, and whether the Attorney General could enforce civil penalties against public entities. Representative Richardson offered an amendment (L006) intended to make some provisions permissive; that amendment failed on a voice vote. Representative Taggart later pursued an amendment narrowing enforcement language to avoid state-agency-on-state-agency fines, arguing the bill as drafted risked one department fining another. That Taggart amendment was defeated in a recorded vote (25 yes, 38 no).
Representative Joseph described earlier committee work and a committee amendment that removed a $100,000 appropriation and eliminated a fiscal note by allowing institutions to retain existing vendor arrangements; he asked the House for a yes vote on the bill as amended in committee.
After additional debate and display of amendments, the House found the ayes had it and HB 11-43 was passed.
What happens next: HB 11-43 will proceed to the other chamber or to the enrolled-bill process, depending on the legislative calendar and any required technical corrections. If enacted, the bill would change legal expectations about what identifying information certain non-employment education providers may collect when conducting background checks.
