Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 191 (2015GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Ray, P.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/30/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• repeals and reenacts background clearance requirements for emergency medical service personnel;
• requires ongoing evaluation of information sources to determine whether background clearance should be denied or revoked;
• requires rulemaking;
• authorizes the Department of Health to obtain information from specified sources;
• prohibits agencies providing the information from charging the department for that information, except as specified;
• requires the department to limit access to the information it receives;
• authorizes the department to charge fees to cover the costs of background clearances;
• requires the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division within the Department of Public Safety to notify the Department of Health when it receives certain information about individuals who have applied to the Department of Health for background clearance;
• requires the department to use its Direct Access Clearance System database to manage information about background clearance status;
• requires local governments to establish cost, quality, and access goals for the ground ambulance and paramedic services that serve their areas;
• makes conforming amendments; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

UTAH EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES SYSTEM ACT
AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Paul Ray
Senate Sponsor: 
Allen M. Christensen
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends the Utah Emergency Medical Services System Act.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ repeals and reenacts background clearance requirements for emergency medical
service personnel;
▸ requires ongoing evaluation of information sources to determine whether
background clearance should be denied or revoked;
▸ requires rulemaking;
▸ authorizes the Department of Health to obtain information from specified sources;
▸ prohibits agencies providing the information from charging the department for that
information, except as specified;
▸ requires the department to limit access to the information it receives;
▸ authorizes the department to charge fees to cover the costs of background
clearances;
▸ requires the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division within the
Department of Public Safety to notify the Department of Health when it receives
certain information about individuals who have applied to the Department of Health
for background clearance;
▸ requires the department to use its Direct Access Clearance System database to
manage information about background clearance status;
▸ requires local governments to establish cost, quality, and access goals for the ground
ambulance and paramedic services that serve their areas;
▸ makes conforming amendments; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
26-8a-302
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 1999, Chapter 141
26-8a-408
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 297
26-21-209
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 328
78A-6-209
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 328
78A-6-323
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 328
REPEALS AND REENACTS:
26-8a-310
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-8a-302
 is amended to read:
26-8a-302.
Certification of emergency medical service personnel.
(1) To promote the availability of comprehensive emergency medical services
throughout the state, the committee shall establish:
(a) initial and ongoing certification and training requirements for emergency medical
service personnel in the following categories:
(i) paramedic;
(ii) medical director;
(iii) emergency medical service instructor; and
(iv) other types of emergency medical personnel as the committee considers necessary;
and
(b) guidelines for giving credit for out-of-state training and experience.
(2) The department shall, based on the requirements established in Subsection (1):
(a) develop, conduct, and authorize training and testing for emergency medical service
personnel; and
(b) issue certifications and certification renewals to emergency medical service
personnel.
(3) As provided in Section 
26-8a-502
, an individual issued a [
certificate
] 
certification
under this section may only provide emergency medical services to the extent allowed by the
[
certificate
] 
certification
.
(4) An individual may not be issued or retain a certification under this section unless
the individual obtains and retains background clearance under Section 
26-8a-310
.
Section 2. Section 
26-8a-310
 is repealed and reenacted to read:
 26-8a-310.
Background clearance for emergency medical service personnel.
(1) The department shall determine whether to grant background clearance for an
individual seeking certification under Section 
26-8a-302
 from whom it receives:
(a) the individual's Social Security number, fingerprints, and other personal
identification information specified by the department under Subsection (4); and
(b) any fees established by the department under Subsection (10).
(2) The department shall determine whether to deny or revoke background clearance
for individuals for whom it has previously granted background clearance.
(3) The department shall determine whether to grant, deny, or revoke background
clearance for an individual based on an initial and ongoing evaluation of information the
department obtains under Subsections (5) and (11), which, at a minimum, shall include an
initial criminal background check of state, regional, and national databases using the
individual's fingerprints.
(4) The department shall make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act, that specify:
(a) the criteria the department will use under Subsection (3) to determine whether to
grant, deny, or revoke background clearance; and
(b) the other personal identification information an individual seeking certification
under Section 
26-8a-302
 must submit under Subsection (1).
(5) To determine whether to grant, deny, or revoke background clearance, the
department may access and evaluate any of the following:
(a) Department of Public Safety arrest, conviction, and disposition records described in
Title 53, Chapter 10, Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Act, including
information in state, regional, and national records files;
(b) adjudications by a juvenile court of committing an act that if committed by an adult
would be a felony or misdemeanor, if:
(i) the applicant is under 28 years of age; or
(ii) the applicant:
(A) is over 28 years of age; and
(B) has been convicted of, has pleaded no contest to, or is currently subject to a plea in
abeyance or diversion agreement for a felony or misdemeanor;
(c) juvenile court arrest, adjudication, and disposition records, other than those under
Subsection (5)(b), as allowed under Section 
78A-6-209
;
(d) child abuse or neglect findings described in Section 
78A-6-323
;
(e) the Department of Human Services' Division of Child and Family Services
Licensing Information System described in Section 
62A-4a-1006
;
(f) the Department of Human Services' Division of Aging and Adult Services database
of reports of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation, described in Section 
62A-3-311.1
;
(g) Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing records of licensing and
certification under Title 58, Occupations and Professions;
(h) records in other federal criminal background databases available to the state; and
(i) any other records of arrests, warrants for arrest, convictions, pleas in abeyance,
pending diversion agreements, or dispositions.
(6) Except for the Department of Public Safety, an agency may not charge the
department for information accessed under Subsection (5).
(7) When evaluating information under Subsection (3), the department shall classify a
crime committed in another state according to the closest matching crime under Utah law,
regardless of how the crime is classified in the state where the crime was committed.
(8) The department shall adopt measures to protect the security of information it
accesses under Subsection (5), which shall include limiting access by department employees to
those responsible for acquiring, evaluating, or otherwise processing the information.
(9) The department may disclose personal identification information it receives under
Subsection (1) to the Department of Human Services to verify that the subject of the
information is not identified as a perpetrator or offender in the information sources described in
Subsections (5)(d) through (f).
(10) The department may charge fees, in accordance with Section 
63J-1-504
, to pay
for:
(a) the cost of obtaining, storing, and evaluating information needed under Subsection
(3), both initially and on an ongoing basis, to determine whether to grant, deny, or revoke
background clearance; and
(b) other department costs related to granting, denying, or revoking background
clearance.
(11) The Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division within the
Department of Public Safety shall:
(a) retain, separate from other division records, personal information under Subsection
(1), including any fingerprints sent to it by the Department of Health; and
(b) notify the Department of Health upon receiving notice that an individual for whom
personal information has been retained is the subject of:
(i) a warrant for arrest;
(ii) an arrest;
(iii) a conviction, including a plea in abeyance; or
(iv) a pending diversion agreement.
(12) The department shall use the Direct Access Clearance System database created
under Section 
26-21-209
 to manage information about the background clearance status of each
individual for whom the department is required to make a determination under Subsection (1).
Section 3. Section 
26-8a-408
 is amended to read:
26-8a-408.
Criteria for determining public convenience and necessity.
(1) The criteria for determining public convenience and necessity is set forth in
Subsections (2) through (6).
(2) Access to emergency medical services shall be maintained or improved. The
officer shall consider the impact on existing services, including the impact on response times,
call volumes, populations and exclusive geographic service areas served, and the ability of
surrounding licensed providers to service their exclusive geographic service areas. The
issuance or amendment of a license may not create an orphaned area.
(3) The quality of service in the area shall be maintained or improved. The officer
shall consider the:
(a) staffing and equipment standards of the current licensed provider and the applicant;
(b) training and certification levels of the current licensed provider's staff and the
applicant's staff;
(c) continuing medical education provided by the current licensed provider and the
applicant;
(d) levels of care as defined by department rule;
(e) plan of medical control; and
(f) the negative or beneficial impact on the regional emergency medical service system
to provide service to the public.
(4) The cost to the public shall be justified. The officer shall consider:
(a) the financial solvency of the applicant;
(b) the applicant's ability to provide services within the rates established under Section
26-8a-403
;
(c) the applicant's ability to comply with cost reporting requirements;
(d) the cost efficiency of the applicant; and
(e) the cost effect of the application on the public, interested parties, and the emergency
medical services system.
(5) Local desires concerning cost, quality, and access shall be considered. The officer
shall assess and consider:
(a) the existing provider's record of providing services and the applicant's record and
ability to provide similar or improved services;
(b) locally established emergency medical services goals, including those established in
Subsection (7);
(c) comment by local governments on the applicant's business and operations plans;
(d) comment by interested parties that are providers on the impact of the application on
the parties' ability to provide emergency medical services;
(e) comment by interested parties that are local governments on the impact of the
application on the citizens it represents; and
(f) public comment on any aspect of the application or proposed license.
(6) Other related criteria:
(a) the officer considers necessary; or
(b) established by department rule.
(7) [
The role of local governments in the licensing of ground ambulance and paramedic
providers that serve areas also served by the local governments is important. The Legislature
strongly encourages local
] 
Local
 governments [
to
] 
shall
 establish cost, quality, and access goals
for the ground ambulance and paramedic services that serve their areas.
(8) In a formal adjudicative proceeding, the applicant bears the burden of establishing
that public convenience and necessity require the approval of the application for all or part of
the exclusive geographic service area requested.
Section 4. Section 
26-21-209
 is amended to read:
26-21-209.
Direct Access Clearance System database -- Contents -- Use.
(1) The department shall create and maintain a Direct Access Clearance System
database, which:
(a) includes the names of individuals for whom the department has received
:
(i)
 an application for clearance[
; and
] 
under this part; or
(ii) an application for background clearance under Section 
26-8a-310
; and
(b) indicates [
for each applicant
] whether an application is pending and whether
clearance has been granted and retained[
.
] 
for:
(i) an applicant under this part; and
(ii) an applicant for background clearance under Section 
26-8a-310
.
(2) (a) The department shall allow covered providers and covered contractors to access
the database electronically.
(b) Data accessible to a covered provider or covered contractor is limited to the
information under [
Subsection (1)
] 
Subsections (1)(a)(i) and (1)(b)(i)
 for:
(i) covered individuals engaged by the covered provider or covered contractor; and
(ii) individuals:
(A) whom the covered provider or covered contractor could engage as covered
individuals; and
(B) who have provided the covered provider or covered contractor with sufficient
personal identification information to uniquely identify the individual in the database.
(c) (i) The department may establish fees, in accordance with Section 
63J-1-504
, for
use of the database by a covered contractor.
(ii) The fees may include, in addition to any fees established by the department under
Subsection 
26-21-204
(9), an initial set-up fee, an ongoing access fee, and a per-use fee.
Section 5. Section 
78A-6-209
 is amended to read:
78A-6-209.
Court records -- Inspection.
(1) The court and the probation department shall keep records as required by the board
and the presiding judge.
(2) Court records shall be open to inspection by:
(a) the parents or guardian of a child, a minor who is at least 18 years of age, other
parties in the case, the attorneys, and agencies to which custody of a minor has been
transferred;
(b) for information relating to adult offenders alleged to have committed a sexual
offense, a felony or class A misdemeanor drug offense, or an offense against the person under
Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person, the State Office of Education for the purpose
of evaluating whether an individual should be permitted to obtain or retain a license as an
educator or serve as an employee or volunteer in a school, with the understanding that the
office must provide the individual with an opportunity to respond to any information gathered
from its inspection of the records before it makes a decision concerning licensure or
employment;
(c) the Criminal Investigations and Technical Services Division, established in Section
53-10-103
, for the purpose of a criminal history background check for the purchase of a firearm
and establishing good character for issuance of a concealed firearm permit as provided in
Section 
53-5-704
;
(d) the Division of Child and Family Services for the purpose of Child Protective
Services Investigations in accordance with Sections 
62A-4a-403
 and 
62A-4a-409
 and
administrative hearings in accordance with Section 
62A-4a-1009
;
(e) for information related to a juvenile offender who has committed a sexual offense, a
felony, or an offense that if committed by an adult would be a misdemeanor, the Department of
Health for the purpose of evaluating under the provisions of Subsection 
26-39-404
(3) whether
a licensee should be permitted to obtain or retain a license to provide child care, with the
understanding that the department must provide the individual who committed the offense with
an opportunity to respond to any information gathered from its inspection of records before it
makes a decision concerning licensure; [
and
]
(f) for information related to a juvenile offender who has committed a sexual offense, a
felony, or an offense that if committed by an adult would be a misdemeanor, the Department of
Health to determine whether an individual meets the background screening requirements of
Title 26, Chapter 21, Part 2, Clearance for Direct Patient Access, with the understanding that
the department must provide the individual who committed the offense an opportunity to
respond to any information gathered from its inspection of records before it makes a decision
under that part[
.
]
; and
(g) for information related to a juvenile offender who has committed a sexual offense,
a felony, or an offense that if committed by an adult would be a misdemeanor, the Department
of Health to determine whether to grant, deny, or revoke background clearance under Section
26-8a-310
 for an individual who is seeking or who has obtained emergency medical service
personnel certification under Section 
26-8a-302
, with the understanding that the department
must provide the individual who committed the offense an opportunity to respond to any
information gathered from the department's inspection of records before it makes a
determination.
(3) With the consent of the judge, court records may be inspected by the child, by
persons having a legitimate interest in the proceedings, and by persons conducting pertinent
research studies.
(4) If a petition is filed charging a minor 14 years of age or older with an offense that
would be a felony if committed by an adult, the court shall make available to any person upon
request the petition, any adjudication or disposition orders, and the delinquency history
summary of the minor charged unless the records are closed by the court upon findings on the
record for good cause.
(5) Probation officers' records and reports of social and clinical studies are not open to
inspection, except by consent of the court, given under rules adopted by the board.
(6) (a) Any juvenile delinquency adjudication or disposition orders and the delinquency
history summary of any person charged as an adult with a felony offense shall be made
available to any person upon request.
(b) This provision does not apply to records that have been destroyed or expunged in
accordance with court rules.
(c) The court may charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs associated with retrieving
a requested record that has been archived.
Section 6. Section 
78A-6-323
 is amended to read:
78A-6-323.
Additional finding at adjudication hearing -- Petition -- Court
records.
(1) Upon the filing with the court of a petition under Section 
78A-6-304
 by the
Division of Child and Family Services or any interested person informing the court, among
other things, that the division has made a supported finding that a person committed a severe
type of child abuse or neglect as defined in Section 
62A-4a-1002
, the court shall:
(a) make a finding of substantiated, unsubstantiated, or without merit;
(b) include the finding described in Subsection (1)(a) in a written order; and
(c) deliver a certified copy of the order described in Subsection (1)(b) to the division.
(2) The judicial finding under Subsection (1) shall be made:
(a) as part of the adjudication hearing;
(b) at the conclusion of the adjudication hearing; or
(c) as part of a court order entered pursuant to a written stipulation of the parties.
(3) (a) Any person described in Subsection 
62A-4a-1010
(1) may at any time file with
the court a petition for removal of the person's name from the Licensing Information System.
(b) At the conclusion of the hearing on the petition, the court shall:
(i) make a finding of substantiated, unsubstantiated, or without merit;
(ii) include the finding described in Subsection (1)(a) in a written order; and
(iii) deliver a certified copy of the order described in Subsection (1)(b) to the division.
(4) A proceeding for adjudication of a supported finding under this section of a type of
abuse or neglect that does not constitute a severe type of child abuse or neglect may be joined
in the juvenile court with an adjudication of a severe type of child abuse or neglect.
(5) If a person whose name appears on the Licensing Information system prior to May
6, 2002 files a petition during the time that an alleged perpetrator's application for clearance to
work with children or vulnerable adults is pending, the court shall hear the matter and enter a
final decision no later than 60 days after the filing of the petition.
(6) For the purposes of licensing under Sections 
26-39-402
 and 
62A-1-118
, and for the
purposes described in [
Section
] 
Sections 
26-8a-310
 and
62A-2-121
 and Title 26, Chapter 21,
Part 2, Clearance for Direct Patient Access:
(a) the court shall make available records of its findings under Subsections (1) and (2):
(i) for those purposes; and
(ii) only to those with statutory authority to access also the Licensing Information
System created under Section 
62A-4a-1006
; and
(b) any appellate court shall make available court records of appeals from juvenile
court decisions under Subsections (1), (2), (3), and (4):
(i) for those purposes; and
(ii) only to those with statutory authority to access also the Licensing Information
System.
Section 7. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on July 1, 2015.