STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1097

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1031

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1031, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECKS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to add the Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Departments of Taxation, Human Services, and Labor and Industrial Relations to the list of agencies that are authorized to conduct criminal history record checks of employees, prospective employees, and contractors who have access to federal tax information.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Department of Taxation; Department of Human Services; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Office of the Mayor, County of Hawai‘i; and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the Internal Revenue Service recently mandated that all agencies receiving federal tax information perform criminal history record checks, including a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint search, of all employees, employee applicants, and contractors who have access to federal tax information.  This measure allows the Child Support Enforcement Agency and the Departments of Taxation, Human Services, and Labor and Industrial Relations to comply with federal requirements and continue to perform their core functions.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding language regarding contractors and the employees or agents of contractors, when appropriate, to consistently apply criminal history record check procedures to contractors;

     (2)  Clarifying that contractors and their employees or agents who are providing services for the Department of Human Services and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations that require access to federal tax information are required to obtain prior authority to access the federal tax information by the United States Department of the Treasury;

     (3)  Amending the language regarding the termination or denial of employment as a result of a criminal history record check, notification requirements, and opportunity to respond to findings of the Departments of Taxation, Human Services, and Labor and Industrial Relations and Child Support Enforcement Agency for purposes of consistency;

     (4)  Adding a conforming amendment to section 831-3.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide an exemption for any denials or termination of employment as an employee, employee applicant, or contractor of the Departments of Taxation, Human Services, or Labor and Industrial Relations, or the Child Support Enforcement Agency;

     (5)  Inserting an effective date of January 7, 2059, to encourage further discussion; and

     (6)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1031, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1031, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair