Relative to criminal background checks and relative to insurance coverage for intrauterine insemination.
Impact
One significant aspect of HB1197 is the impact it will have on the efficiency of background checks required for employment and volunteer roles in New Hampshire. Currently, the state faces a workforce crisis due in part to the backlog caused by a limited number of agencies authorized to perform these checks. By allowing more personnel to conduct background checks and facilitating faster processing procedures, the bill aims to mitigate these issues and improve hiring timelines for critical roles.
Summary
House Bill 1197 aims to amend New Hampshire's laws regarding criminal background checks and insurance coverage for infertility treatments. It establishes additional personnel authorized to conduct non-criminal related background checks, thereby streamlining the fingerprinting process involved in these checks. The bill also proposes the formation of a multi-agency task force that will evaluate the necessity of FBI criminal history record checks for various employment and volunteer positions across the state. This task force is expected to report its findings and recommendations periodically, influencing future legislation on background checks.
Contention
The provisions of HB1197 have sparked discussion around issues of privacy, security, and the adequacy of existing checks. Some stakeholders may be concerned about the potential implications of expanding the pool of personnel authorized to conduct background checks, fearing that it could lead to breaches of sensitive information if not managed correctly. Furthermore, the inclusion of insurance coverage for up to six rounds of intrauterine insemination raises questions about the implications for health insurers and the standards by which medical necessity is determined.
Requiring certain non-public schools or education service providers that accept public funds to perform background checks on all employees and volunteers.
Relative to the regulation of recreational therapists and respiratory care practitioners and relative to delaying the effective dates of various new procedures for criminal history records checks.
Relative to requiring a criminal background check when applying for a fish and game guide license and relative to zoning and planning regulations for municipal parking.