Bill Text: NH HB1535 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to liability for payment of criminal record background checks and drug tests.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-09 - Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote 03/09/2016 House Journal 23 P. 48 [HB1535 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2016-HB1535-Introduced.html
HB 1535-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
16-2144
06/01
HOUSE BILL 1535-FN
AN ACT relative to liability for payment of criminal record background checks and drug tests.
SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills. 37
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires the employer to pay the cost of a criminal record background check or drug test of a current or prospective employee or contractor.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
16-2144
06/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT relative to liability for payment of criminal record background checks and drug tests.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Labor; Protective Legislation; Cost of Criminal Background Check or Drug Test. Amend RSA 275 by inserting after section 3 the following new section:
275:3-a Payment for Criminal Record Check or Drug Test. It shall be unlawful for any employer to require any employee or any applicant for employment to pay the cost of a criminal background check or drug test unless otherwise authorized by law.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
16-2144
11/23/15
HB 1535-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to liability for payment of criminal record background checks and drug tests.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Departments of Administrative Services and Safety and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill, as introduced, will increase state and local expenditures and decrease state revenue by indeterminable amounts in FY 2017 and in each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county or local revenue or on county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill prohibits all employers, both public and private, from charging employees and prospective employees for the cost of drug testing and criminal background checks unless specifically permitted by law. The Department states the Division of Personnel administrative rules, which apply to executive branch classified employees, do not require agencies to conduct criminal background checks or drug testing for existing or prospective employees. The Department states criminal background checks and drug tests are not centralized executive branch functions and each agency determines its own policies and procedures. The Department indicates it conducts background checks and drug tests for some employees and applicants, depending on the type of position, but does not charge the employee or applicant and therefore the bill would have no fiscal impact on the Department’s budget. Since the function is not centralized, and the Department does not have information concerning other entities, the Department states the fiscal impact of this bill is indeterminable.
The Department of Safety states this bill requires employers to pay the cost of criminal record background checks. The Department indicates school districts, professional licensing boards, and municipalities, among others are statutorily required to include both a state and federal criminal history record check as part of their hiring or licensing process. The Department states there will be an interminable fiscal impact on these entities. In addition, the Department states the Criminal Records Unit is solely fee funded and this bill will have an impact on its revenue and expenditures as employers not required to conduct background checks may no longer request them. The Department assumes this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state, county and local expenditures as well as on state revenue.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states RSA 41:9-b authorizes municipalities to conduct background checks, but not drug tests, on certain applicants for employment. RSA 41:9-b, IV authorizes the municipality to require the applicant to pay the cost. The Association assumes this bill would not affect that authority. In addition, the Association states federal law requires employees and prospective employees who are subject to commercial driver license requirements undergo drug and alcohol tests under certain circumstances. The requirements apply to certain municipal employees, but the Association does not have information as to whether federal laws authorize employers to charge employees for this testing. The Association has no information concerning whether municipalities currently require employees or prospective employees to pay these costs and cannot determine the impact on municipal expenditures.
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The Department of Labor states the provisions of this bill would be enforced along with other protective legislation and the bill would have no fiscal impact on its operations.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have no identifiable fiscal impact to the counties.
