CHAPTER 153
SB 153 - FINAL VERSION
03/26/2015 0984s
6May2015… 1341h
2015 SESSION
15-0887
04/05
SENATE BILL 153
AN ACT relative to the accessibility of criminal records.
SPONSORS: Sen. Boutin, Dist 16; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen.?D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Hosmer, Dist 7; Sen. Pierce, Dist 5; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Rep. Lachance, Hills 8; Rep. Fields, Belk 4; Rep. Hunt, Ches 11
This bill makes changes to the provisions governing disclosure of criminal records.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/26/2015 0984s
6May2015… 1341h
15-0887
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT relative to the accessibility of criminal records.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
153:1 State Police; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 106-B:7 to read as follows:
106-B:7 Rulemaking Power; Employees.
I. The director may, with the approval of the commissioner of safety, adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:
(a) The efficient administration of this chapter and reasonable prohibitions on the resale, rental, unauthorized disclosure, abuse, or misuse of criminal record and fingerprinting checks obtained from the division;
(b) Reasonable fees to cover criminal record and fingerprinting checks conducted by the division pursuant to RSA 106-B:14, I, which fees shall be [chargeable to any license applicant on whom the division is required or requested to perform such checks, or in the case of an individual requesting his own criminal record or the criminal record of another pursuant to RSA 106-B:14, I to the individual making the request] paid by the requesting individual or public or private agency not otherwise prohibited from receiving such criminal record and fingerprinting checks; and
(c) The administration of RSA 169-E:2-a, regarding the operation of the statewide hotline for missing children.
II. Notwithstanding RSA 106-B:10 or any other provision of law to the contrary, the fees collected pursuant to RSA 106-B:7, I(b) shall be credited to a special nonlapsing account [for the department of safety] by the department of administrative services for the department of safety to cover the expenses of staffing the criminal records section, maintaining and updating the database, and conducting such checks. Such fees shall not be deposited in the general fund.
III. The director may, within the limits of the appropriation for the division, employ such civilian employees as may be necessary and determine their duties, and provide such resources as may be necessary. The director may require any such employee to give bond.
IV. The director may provide criminal record information in electronic form once the division has the technological capability to do so.
153:2 State Police; Criminal Records; Reports. Amend RSA 106-B:14, I to read as follows:
I. With the approval of the commissioner of safety, the director shall adopt rules under RSA?541-A as may be necessary to secure records and other information relative to persons who have been convicted of a felony, misdemeanor or violation within the state, or who are known to be habitual criminals, or who have been placed under arrest in criminal proceedings. The term “violation”[;] as used in this section shall apply only to violations committed under title LXII. Notwithstanding RSA 91-A, [such] records and other information secured by the director under this section, including but not limited to dissemination logs, shall not be [open to the inspection of any person except those who may be authorized to inspect the same by the director,] disclosed to any individual or public or private agency except as follows:
(a) Law enforcement personnel may request and receive any information documenting an individual’s contact with the criminal justice system, including data regarding identification, arrest or citation, arraignment, judicial disposition, custody and supervision.
(b) Any individual may request and receive, for a fee, a copy of his or her own criminal conviction and arrest records and related information.
(c) Any individual or any public or private agency may request and receive a copy of the criminal conviction record of another who has provided authorization in writing, duly signed and notarized, explicitly allowing the requestor to receive such information.
(d) An employee of or person under contract to the state of New Hampshire to whom such disclosure of information is necessary in connection with the processing, storage, and transmission of such information, or the programming, repair, maintenance, testing, or procurement of equipment used to process, store, or transmit such information may have access to such information.
(e) A consumer reporting agency subject to and complying with the requirements of 15 U.S.C. section 1681, et seq., conducting employment screening services, including the screening of independent contractors, may request and receive a copy of the state criminal conviction record for a felony, misdemeanor, or violation of a candidate being screened for employment purposes or as an independent contractor.
The clerks of the superior and [municipal] circuit courts, or if there is no clerk the justice thereof, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, police officers, probation and parole officers, and superintendents of the county departments of corrections shall secure and forward to the director all such information as he or she may direct relative to persons brought before said courts or arrested or in the custody of such officers. [Any person violating the provisions of this section or any rules adopted under RSA 541-A shall be guilty of a violation, for each offense.]
153:3 New Paragraphs; State Police; Criminal Records; Reports. Amend RSA 106-B:14 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraphs:
I-a.(a) No individual, or public or private agency receiving criminal conviction record information from the division shall resell, rent, trade, transfer, make available, or otherwise disclose such information to another person for any purpose, other than to a client of the individual or public or private agency, without permission of the director.
(b) The state of New Hampshire and its officials, employees, or agents shall not be liable for the improper use, disclosure, or inaccuracy of conviction record information provided to a requesting individual or public or private agency under the provisions of this section.
(c) The director, after notice and opportunity for hearing, may prohibit any individual or public or private agency from requesting or receiving state criminal conviction information from the division if such individual or public or private agency resells, rents, trades, transfers, makes available, or otherwise discloses such information to another in violation of this section or any rule adopted thereunder.
(d) Criminal conviction records received from the division shall be the official source of certified criminal conviction history records for employment and licensing purposes.
I-b. Any person violating the provisions of this section or any rules adopted under RSA?541-A, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for each offense.
153:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 90 days after its passage.
Approved: June 12, 2015
Effective Date: September 10, 2015