Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 159 (2015GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Henderson, D.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/20/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• permits the Division of Finance to require background checks or credit history reports of a public employee in a public funds position;
• classifies the background check or credit history report as a private record; and
• makes technical and conforming amendments.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR STATE ACCOUNTANTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Deidre M. Henderson
House Sponsor: 
Steve Eliason
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill enacts language related to background checks for certain public employees.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ permits the Division of Finance to require background checks or credit history
reports of a public employee in a public funds position;
▸ classifies the background check or credit history report as a private record; and
▸ makes technical and conforming amendments.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63A-3-201
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 1993, Chapter 212
63G-2-302
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 373
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63A-3-201
 is amended to read:
63A-3-201.
Appointment of accounting and other officers and employees by
director of the Division of Finance -- Delegation of powers and duties by director --
Background checks.
(1) With the approval of the executive director, the director of the Division of Finance
shall appoint an accounting officer and other administrative officers that are necessary to
efficiently and economically perform the functions of the Division of Finance.
(2) The director of the Division of Finance may:
(a) organize the division and employ other assistants to discharge the functions of the
division;
(b) delegate to assistants, officers, and employees any of the powers and duties of the
office subject to his or her control and subject to any conditions he may prescribe; and
(c) delegate the powers and duties of the office only by written order filed with the
lieutenant governor.
(3) (a) As used in this Subsection (3):
(i) "Public employee" means a person employed by a state agency.
(ii) "Public funds" means money, funds, and accounts, regardless of the source from
which the money, funds, and accounts are derived, that are owned, held, or administered by a
state agency.
(iii) "Public funds position" means employment with a state agency that requires:
(A) physical or electronic access to public funds;
(B) performing internal control functions or accounting;
(C) creating reports on public funds; or
(D) using, operating, or accessing state systems that account for or help account for
public funds.
(iv) "State agency" means an executive branch:
(A) department;
(B) agency;
(C) board;
(D) commission;
(E) division;
(F) office; or
(G) state educational institution with the exception of an institution defined in
Subsection 
53B-1-102
(1).
(b) The Division of Finance may require that a public employee who applies for or
holds a public funds position:
(i) submit a fingerprint card in a form acceptable to the division;
(ii) consent to a criminal background check by:
(A) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
(B) the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification; or
(C) another agency of any state that performs criminal background checks; or
(iii) consent to a credit history report, subject to the requirements of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.
(c) The Division of Finance may, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act, adopt rules to implement this section.
Section 2. Section 
63G-2-302
 is amended to read:
63G-2-302.
Private records.
(1) The following records are private:
(a) records concerning an individual's eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits,
social services, welfare benefits, or the determination of benefit levels;
(b) records containing data on individuals describing medical history, diagnosis,
condition, treatment, evaluation, or similar medical data;
(c) records of publicly funded libraries that when examined alone or with other records
identify a patron;
(d) records received by or generated by or for:
(i) the Independent Legislative Ethics Commission, except for:
(A) the commission's summary data report that is required under legislative rule; and
(B) any other document that is classified as public under legislative rule; or
(ii) a Senate or House Ethics Committee in relation to the review of ethics complaints,
unless the record is classified as public under legislative rule;
(e) records received by, or generated by or for, the Independent Executive Branch
Ethics Commission, except as otherwise expressly provided in Title 63A, Chapter 14, Review
of Executive Branch Ethics Complaints;
(f) records received or generated for a Senate confirmation committee concerning
character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual:
(i) if, prior to the meeting, the chair of the committee determines release of the records:
(A) reasonably could be expected to interfere with the investigation undertaken by the
committee; or
(B) would create a danger of depriving a person of a right to a fair proceeding or
impartial hearing; and
(ii) after the meeting, if the meeting was closed to the public;
(g) employment records concerning a current or former employee of, or applicant for
employment with, a governmental entity that would disclose that individual's home address,
home telephone number, Social Security number, insurance coverage, marital status, or payroll
deductions;
(h) records or parts of records under Section 
63G-2-303
 that a current or former
employee identifies as private according to the requirements of that section;
(i) that part of a record indicating a person's Social Security number or federal
employer identification number if provided under Section 
31A-23a-104
, 
31A-25-202
,
31A-26-202
, 
58-1-301
, 
58-55-302
, 
61-1-4
, or 
61-2f-203
;
(j) that part of a voter registration record identifying a voter's:
(i) driver license or identification card number;
(ii) Social Security number, or last four digits of the Social Security number;
(iii) email address; or
(iv) date of birth;
(k) a voter registration record that is classified as a private record by the lieutenant
governor or a county clerk under Subsection 
20A-2-104
(4)(f);
(l) a record that:
(i) contains information about an individual;
(ii) is voluntarily provided by the individual; and
(iii) goes into an electronic database that:
(A) is designated by and administered under the authority of the Chief Information
Officer; and
(B) acts as a repository of information about the individual that can be electronically
retrieved and used to facilitate the individual's online interaction with a state agency;
(m) information provided to the Commissioner of Insurance under:
(i) Subsection 
31A-23a-115
(2)(a);
(ii) Subsection 
31A-23a-302
(3); or
(iii) Subsection 
31A-26-210
(3);
(n) information obtained through a criminal background check under Title 11, Chapter
40, Criminal Background Checks by Political Subdivisions Operating Water Systems;
(o) information provided by an offender that is:
(i) required by the registration requirements of Title 77, Chapter 41, Sex and Kidnap
Offender Registry; and
(ii) not required to be made available to the public under Subsection 
77-41-110
(4);
(p) a statement and any supporting documentation filed with the attorney general in
accordance with Section 
34-45-107
, if the federal law or action supporting the filing involves
homeland security;
(q) electronic toll collection customer account information received or collected under
Section 
72-6-118
 and customer information described in Section 
17B-2a-815
 received or
collected by a public transit district, including contact and payment information and customer
travel data;
(r) an email address provided by a military or overseas voter under Section
20A-16-501
;
(s) a completed military-overseas ballot that is electronically transmitted under Title
20A, Chapter 16, Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act;
(t) records received by or generated by or for the Political Subdivisions Ethics Review
Commission established in Section 
11-49-201
, except for:
(i) the commission's summary data report that is required in Section 
11-49-202
; and
(ii) any other document that is classified as public in accordance with Title 11, Chapter
49, Political Subdivisions Ethics Review Commission; [
and
]
(u) a record described in Subsection 
53A-11a-203
(3) that verifies that a parent was
notified of an incident or threat[
.
]
; and
(v) a criminal background check or credit history report conducted in accordance with
Section 
63A-3-201
.
(2) The following records are private if properly classified by a governmental entity:
(a) records concerning a current or former employee of, or applicant for employment
with a governmental entity, including performance evaluations and personal status information
such as race, religion, or disabilities, but not including records that are public under Subsection
63G-2-301
(2)(b) or 
63G-2-301
(3)(o) or private under Subsection (1)(b);
(b) records describing an individual's finances, except that the following are public:
(i) records described in Subsection 
63G-2-301
(2);
(ii) information provided to the governmental entity for the purpose of complying with
a financial assurance requirement; or
(iii) records that must be disclosed in accordance with another statute;
(c) records of independent state agencies if the disclosure of those records would
conflict with the fiduciary obligations of the agency;
(d) other records containing data on individuals the disclosure of which constitutes a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(e) records provided by the United States or by a government entity outside the state
that are given with the requirement that the records be managed as private records, if the
providing entity states in writing that the record would not be subject to public disclosure if
retained by it; and
(f) any portion of a record in the custody of the Division of Aging and Adult Services,
created in Section 
62A-3-102
, that may disclose, or lead to the discovery of, the identity of a
person who made a report of alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
(3) (a) As used in this Subsection (3), "medical records" means medical reports,
records, statements, history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, and evaluation.
(b) Medical records in the possession of the University of Utah Hospital, its clinics,
doctors, or affiliated entities are not private records or controlled records under Section
63G-2-304
 when the records are sought:
(i) in connection with any legal or administrative proceeding in which the patient's
physical, mental, or emotional condition is an element of any claim or defense; or
(ii) after a patient's death, in any legal or administrative proceeding in which any party
relies upon the condition as an element of the claim or defense.
(c) Medical records are subject to production in a legal or administrative proceeding
according to state or federal statutes or rules of procedure and evidence as if the medical
records were in the possession of a nongovernmental medical care provider.