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Senate committee hears technical fix to finance employeesbackground-check access
Summary
Senator Forer told the Senate Elections & Government Affairs Committee that a house substitute for House Bill 323 would correct statutory language to allow Department of Finance personnel access to FBI criminal-history notifications ("Rap Back"). Committee members called the measure straightforward and bipartisan; no formal vote on the bill was recorded at the hearing.
Senator Forer introduced House substitute 1 for House Bill 323 to make a technical correction that would restore the Department of Financeaccess to FBI criminal-history record information and the Rap Back notification service for certain employees.
"It's a notification system provided by the FBI that alerts law enforcement agencies when an individual's fingerprints are recorded in connection with another crime," Senator Forer said, describing the change as a narrow fix to language that previously prevented the department's application from being approved. He said the department's earlier application was denied because of problematic third-party wording in the statute.
Committee members asked whether any organizations had objected. Senator Forer said he was not aware of opposition, and several members indicated they would cosponsor the measure. A department representative thanked the Attorney General's office and U.S. Department of Justice staff who worked on clarifying the language.
The exchange focused on restoring the state's practical ability to conduct continuous criminal-history monitoring for staff with access to sensitive financial systems rather than on expanding new background-check authority. No public opposition was registered during the hearing, and committee members described the bill as straightforward and bipartisan.
The committee did not take a formal recorded vote on the bill during the session; the item was advanced as part of the meeting record and the committee moved on to later agenda items.
