Legislature(2017 - 2018)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/07/2018 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB124 | |
| SB109 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 109 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 124 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 109-CRIM HIST CHECK: ST EMPLOYEES/CONTRACTORS
2:30:24 PM
CHAIR COGHILL reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SB 109.
2:31:26 PM
GENEVIEVE WOJTUSIK, Legislative Liaison, Department of Revenue,
Juneau, Alaska, said SB 109 relates to background checks of
state employees. The September 30, 2016 Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) publication 1075 has new guidelines that requires
individuals who have access to federal data to undergo a
background check. The state is not in compliance with the
fingerprinting requirement in that publication.
She provided the following sectional analysis for SB 109:
Section 1 Amends AS 12.62.400 by adding a new
subsection. This will require an agency to submit the
fingerprints of current or prospective employees or
contractors whose job duties require access to federal
tax information (defined in AS 39.55.015(e)(3) and
36.30.960(d)(3)) to the Department of Public Safety
for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
to obtain a criminal history record. Defines "agency",
"employee" and "contractor".
Section 2 Amends AS 36.30 by adding a new section.
This section establishes state personnel procedures
for obtaining and submitting fingerprints for current
or prospective contractors if a contract with the
state requires access to federal tax information.
Defines "agency", "contractor" and "federal tax
information".
Section 3 Amends AS 39 by adding a new chapter. This
new chapter addresses state personnel procedures
related to federal tax information.
Adds AS 39.55.010
This section explains the purpose of the chapter-- to
establish procedures to safeguard federal tax
information which will apply to a current or
prospective state employee whose job duties require
access to federal tax information.
Adds AS 39.55.015
This section requires current and prospective state
employees whose job duties require access to federal
tax information to provide information to an agency
for a state and national criminal history record
check. Defines "agency", "employee", "federal tax
information", "return", and "return information".
Section 4 Provides the effective date of July 1, 2017.
MS. WOJTUSIK noted that the effective date will need to be
amended to 2018.
2:34:24 PM
CHAIR COGHILL asked what happened at the federal level that
elicited this requirement.
MS. WOJTUSIK said it came about in a routine review.
SENATOR BISHOP asked if an employee who did not want to be
fingerprinted would have the option of being reassigned to a
different division or department.
MS. WOJTUSIK said that hasn't come up. All the employees in the
Tax Division and the Child Support Services Division of the
Department of Revenue (DOR) have already had background checks.
They receive federal data so they also need to be fingerprinted.
SENATOR BISHOP said he understands that but wonders if they
could transfer to a division that doesn't have that requirement.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there is any other heightened
scrutiny that employees could go through if they objected to
giving their fingerprint information.
MS. WOJTUSIK said the FBI said that fingerprints are needed as
part of a full background check. They did not offer any
alternative.
CHAIR COGHILL said he'd asked the individuals who were online.
2:37:31 PM
CAROL BEECHER, Director, Child Support Services Division,
Department of Revenue (DOR), said her understanding from reading
Publication 1075 is that there is no other option.
CHAIR COGHILL asked if any employees objected that the
requirement is too onerous.
MS. BEECHER said there has been no pushback.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI observed that the definition of "agency"
covers the entire executive and then some. He asked if she has
an estimate of the number of employees who would be required to
give fingerprints.
MS. WOJTUSIK said she didn't know.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Ms. Wojtusik to do some research and follow
up with the information.
MS. WOJTUSIK said DHSS is affected and 300 employees within the
Department of Revenue.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he'd like more complete numbers. He
asked what assurance Alaskans can have that their data will be
safely maintained.
2:41:00 PM
MS. BEECHER clarified that DOR doesn't receive the fingerprint
information. When DOR has a background check done, the report is
returned to the agency's Criminal Investigation Unit. She
believes that information is destroyed if it doesn't have a
nexus to the job. She offered to follow up and find out if her
understanding is correct.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Senator Wielechowski to clarify his question
for Mr. Gaffney.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what kind of safety protections there
are and what the plans are for the fingerprints after they are
collected.
2:42:56 PM
ERIC GAFFNEY, Records and Licensing Supervisor, Criminal Records
Identification Bureau, Department of Public Safety, Anchorage,
Alaska, explained that the fingerprints would be placed in the
archive that is maintained by the state for other civil and
criminal fingerprint submissions. Alaska is a member of the
Western Identification Network with other Western states and
criminal justice agencies in those states can access that
archive. The prints would also be conveyed to the FBI to be used
for comparison and then destroyed.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how much it costs to obtain the
fingerprints and who would be responsible for paying.
MS. WOJTUSIK said DPS charges $47 to take the fingerprint and
the state will pay.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there is a fiscal note.
MS. WOJTUSIK said it's forthcoming; it's being updated from
2017.
CHAIR COGHILL updated Mr. Spanos on the discussion and asked if
the House had questions about the security of the information.
2:46:44 PM
BRANDON SPANOS, Deputy Director, Tax Division, Department of
Revenue (DOR), Juneau, Alaska, confirmed that the other body did
have concerns about the security of the information. He
explained that DOR has policies in place for security and they
take this seriously, but that isn't part of the bill.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if other states have complied with
this requirement and what the consequences are if the bill
doesn't pass.
MR. SPANOS said the IRS has been talking about this a long time
and it has been discussed with the states. When the publication
was finalized, the new requirements were background checks and
fingerprinting. To date, 26 states have passed legislation to
allow fingerprinting and background checks, 14 states -
including Alaska - have legislation under consideration, and 8
states have no legislation pending. Some of the latter states
may be able to comply without a bill.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there is a deadline for complying.
MR. SPANOS said if the bill doesn't pass, the IRS will likely
have a finding on the May 2018 audit that notes that the
legislation hasn't passed. He suspects that the IRS would
eventually stop sharing federal tax information with the
division. For the Tax Division that means the loss of about $2
million a year from federal fee back audits. The division would
also lose the ability to get federal tax information on certain
taxpayers like tobacco, mining, and alcohol to use in their
audits. Child support services would lose the ability to collect
the federal refunds of taxpayers who owe child support. They
would also potentially lose the funding they receive from the
federal government, which is 66 percent of their budget.
He said he wasn't aware of a deadline to pass the legislation.
2:51:08 PM
SENATOR COSTELLO said she would like to look at the form an
individual would fill out. She asked if the form asks for a
Social Security Number and what the state does with those
numbers.
MR. SPANOS said the Tax Division has slimmed the form to one and
a half pages. It requires name, age, aliases, former names,
Social Security Number, places of residence for the last 10
years, conviction dates and the classification of the crime, the
punishment, and a signature authorizing the department to run
the background check. The questionnaires go to the Criminal
Investigation Unit to run the background check and the results
come back they give the division a clean sheet that says the
person passed the background check or that there were concerns
due to crimes of dishonesty. The division would review those to
determine whether they would retain or potentially hire or not
hire the prospective employee. The division keeps a record that
the background check was run but the results are retained by the
Criminal Investigation Unit.
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what happens to the Social Security
Number that's on the form.
MR. SPANOS said DOR's Criminal Investigation Unit would retain
it in a locked file behind a locked and secure door.
SENATOR COSTELLO related her personal experience of having her
identity stolen. She emphasized that public servants need to be
on the lookout to protect Alaskans when they're asked to provide
this type of information.
2:55:43 PM
MR. SPANOS said the department is very concerned about privacy
and confidentiality. Forms with Social Security Numbers are
handled by very few people in the department. There is a chain
of custody and the forms are always secured under lock and key.
2:57:00 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he is aware of any state employees
misusing federal tax information.
MR. SPANOS said the Child Support Services Division terminated
several employees who were accessing information they had no
business reason to access. That information potentially had
federal tax information. He was aware of one breach of
information within the Tax Division that resulted in discipline
and termination. Other breaches were mistakes; information was
sent to the wrong email that involved state tax information, not
federal. The division has a procedure to address that.
2:58:12 PM
CHAIR COGHILL asked if the companion bill in the House is
moving.
MR. SPANOS said the intention is to take amendments and
potentially move the bill on Friday.
CHAIR COGHILL held SB 109 in committee.