Bill Text: NY A10545 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits the office for the aging to receive criminal history information on prospective employees and volunteers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-01 - referred to aging [A10545 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A10545-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10545 IN ASSEMBLY June 1, 2016 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Cymbrowitz) -- (at request of the Office for the Aging) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Aging AN ACT to amend the elder law and the executive law, in relation to the review of criminal history information by the state office for the aging of prospective volunteers and paid employees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The elder law is amended by adding a new section 224 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 224. Review of criminal history information concerning prospective 4 volunteers and employees. 1. The office for the aging shall be author- 5 ized to receive from the division of criminal justice services criminal 6 history information, as such term is defined in paragraph (c) of subdi- 7 vision one of section eight hundred forty-five-b of the executive law, 8 and information from the federal bureau of investigation resulting from 9 a national criminal history record check, on each prospective employee 10 or volunteer whose duties will involve the provision of direct services 11 to older adults through programs administered by the office, including 12 but not limited to coordinators and volunteers providing direct services 13 under the long term care ombudsman program. 14 2. Access to and the use of criminal history information shall be 15 governed by the provisions of section eight hundred forty-five-b of the 16 executive law. 17 § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 845-b of the executive 18 law, as amended by chapter 769 of the laws 2005, is amended to read as 19 follows: 20 (c) "Criminal history information" means a record of pending criminal 21 charges, criminal convictions which are not vacated or reversed, and 22 certificates filed pursuant to subdivision two of section seven hundred 23 five of the correction law, and which the division is authorized to 24 maintain pursuant to subdivision six of section eight hundred thirty- 25 seven of this article. For the purposes of criminal history information 26 checks authorized pursuant to article twenty-eight-E of the public EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14163-02-6A. 10545 2 1 health law or section two hundred twenty-four of the elder law, criminal 2 history information shall also include information from the federal 3 bureau of investigation as a result of a national criminal history 4 record check. 5 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 845-b of the executive law, as amended 6 by section 5 of part F of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to 7 read as follows: 8 2. Where a provider is authorized or required to request a check of 9 criminal history information by an authorized agency pursuant to section 10 16.33 or 31.35 of the mental hygiene law, article twenty-eight-E of the 11 public health law [or], subdivision one of section three hundred seven- 12 ty-eight-a of the social services law, or section two hundred twenty- 13 four of the elder law, such provider shall proceed pursuant to the 14 provisions of this section and in a manner consistent with the 15 provisions of article twenty-three-A of the correction law, subdivisions 16 fifteen and sixteen of section two hundred ninety-six of this chapter 17 and all other applicable laws. 18 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 845-b of the executive 19 law, as amended by chapter 769 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read 20 as follows: 21 (a) A provider authorized to request a check of criminal history 22 information pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall designate 23 one authorized person who shall request a check of criminal history 24 information on behalf of such provider pursuant to this section and 25 review the results of such check. Only such authorized person or his or 26 her designee and the subject individual to whom such criminal history 27 information relates shall have access to such information; provided, 28 however, that criminal history information received by a provider may be 29 disclosed to other persons who are directly participating in any deci- 30 sion in regard to such subject individual; and provided, further, that 31 such other persons shall also be subject to the confidentiality require- 32 ments and all other provisions of this section. In the case of requests 33 made pursuant to article twenty-eight-E of the public health law or 34 section two hundred twenty-four of the elder law, only information 35 authorized for disclosure under applicable federal laws shall be trans- 36 mitted to the provider. Each provider shall specifically identify to the 37 authorized agency in writing, in advance of disclosure, the authorized 38 person and each other such agent or employee of the provider who is 39 authorized to have access to the results of a check of criminal history 40 information pursuant to this section. Any person who willfully permits 41 the release of any confidential criminal history information contained 42 in the report to persons not permitted by this section to receive such 43 information shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 44 § 5. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 4 of section 845-b of the 45 executive law, as amended by chapter 331 of the laws of 2006, are 46 amended to read as follows: 47 (a) The authorized agency shall pay the processing fee imposed pursu- 48 ant to subdivision eight-a of section eight hundred thirty-seven of this 49 article, and in the case of the authorized agency pursuant to article 50 twenty-eight-E of the public health law or section two hundred twenty- 51 four of the elder law, any fee imposed by the federal bureau of investi- 52 gation, and shall promptly submit the fingerprints and the processing 53 fee to the division for its full search and retain processing, and in 54 the case of the authorized agency pursuant to article twenty-eight-E of 55 the public health law or section two hundred twenty-four of the elder 56 law, the division shall immediately forward the fingerprints to theA. 10545 3 1 federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history record 2 check. The authorized agency may charge a provider a fee in amount no 3 greater than the fee established pursuant to law by the division for 4 processing such a criminal history information check, in such amounts as 5 may be established by the authorized agency and approved by the director 6 of the division of the budget, and in the case of the authorized agency 7 pursuant to article twenty-eight-E of the public health law or section 8 two hundred twenty-four of the elder law, a fee no greater than any fee 9 imposed by the federal bureau of investigation. Nothing in this section 10 shall prohibit the authorized agency or provider from claiming the cost 11 of such fees and related costs, including administrative costs, as a 12 reimbursable cost under the medical assistance program, Medicare or 13 other payor, to the extent permitted by state and federal law. 14 (b) The division shall promptly provide requested state criminal 15 history information to the authorized agency and, in accordance with 16 article twenty-eight-E of the public health law and section two hundred 17 twenty-four of the elder law, the department of health [is] and the New 18 York state office for the aging, respectively, are authorized also to 19 receive criminal history information from the federal bureau of investi- 20 gation, after the receipt of a request pursuant to this section if such 21 request is: 22 (i) made pursuant to a request by an authorized person on behalf of a 23 provider authorized to make such a request pursuant to subdivision two 24 of this section; 25 (ii) accompanied by the completed form described in this section; and 26 (iii) accompanied by fingerprints of the subject individual obtained 27 pursuant to this section. 28 § 6. Subdivision 8 of section 845-b of the executive law, as amended 29 by chapter 769 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows: 30 8. A provider shall advise the authorized agency when a subject indi- 31 vidual is no longer subject to such check. The authorized agency shall 32 inform the division when a subject individual is no longer subject to 33 such check so that the division may terminate its retain processing with 34 regard to such individual. At least once a year, the authorized agency 35 shall be required to conduct a validation of the records maintained by 36 the division, including information obtained from the federal bureau of 37 investigation pursuant to article twenty-eight-E of the public health 38 law or section two hundred twenty-four of the elder law, and provide 39 such results to the authorized agency for purposes of updating the 40 permanent record of such criminal history information results. 41 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
