Amended in Assembly June 26, 2013

Amended in Assembly June 11, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1428

Introduced by Assembly Member Conway

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bigelow, Dahle, Hagman, Harkey, Morrell, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, and Wilk)

April 30, 2013

An act to begin delete add end delete begin insert amend end insert Section 1043 to the Government Code, relating to health care coverage, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1428, as amended, Conway. California Health Benefit Exchange: employees and contractors.

Under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), each state is required, by January 1, 2014, to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange that makes available qualified health plans to qualified individuals and small employers. Existing state law establishes the California Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) within state government, specifies the powers and duties of the board governing the Exchange, and requires the board to facilitate the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchange by qualified individuals and small employers by January 1, 2014. Existing law requires the board to employ necessary staff and authorizes the board to enter into contracts.

begin delete

This bill would require the board, consistent with specified federal standards, to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information of all employees, prospective employees, contractors, subcontractors, volunteers, or vendors, whose duties include or would include access to specified information, for the purposes of obtaining prescribed criminal history information. The bill would require the board to require any services contract, interagency agreement, or public entity agreement that includes or would include access to the specified information to include a provision requiring the contractor to agree to criminal background checks on its employees, contractors, agents, or subcontractors who will have access to that information as part of their services contract, interagency agreement, or public entity agreement. The bill would require the department to forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requests for federal summary criminal history information, and would require the department to review the information returned from the FBI and compile and disseminate a response to the board. The bill would require the department to charge a fee sufficient to cover the costs of processing requests pursuant to the bill.

end delete begin insert

Existing law requires the board, consistent with federal guidance applicable to state-based exchanges, to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information of specified individuals whose duties include or would include access to confidential information, personal identifying information, personal health information, federal tax information, financial information, or any other information as required by federal law or guidance applicable to state-based exchanges for the purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions and information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her recognizance pending trial or appeal.

end insert begin insert

This bill would revise these provisions to require that the fingerprint images and related information be submitted to the Department of Justice consistent with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Catalog of Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for Exchanges (MARS-E), Exchange Reference Architecture Supplement version 1.0, issued on August 12, 2012, or further updates, guidance, or regulations. The bill would provide that the fingerprint images and related information submitted to the Department of Justice include those of the specified individuals whose duties include or would include access to any information contained in the information systems and devices of the Exchange.

end insert

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 1043 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

1043.  

(a) (1) The executive board of the California Health
Benefit Exchange, as established by Section 100500, shall,
consistent with begin delete federal guidance applicable to state-based
exchanges end delete begin insert the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), Catalog of Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for
Exchanges (MARS-E), Exchange Reference Architecture
Supplement version 1.0, issued on August 12, 2012, or further
updates, guidance, or regulations end insert , submit to the Department of
begin delete Justice, end delete begin insert Justice end insert fingerprint images and related information required
by the Department of Justice of all employees, prospective
employees, contractors, subcontractors, volunteers, or begin delete vendors end delete
begin insert vendors, end insert whose duties include or would include access to begin insert any
information contained in the information systems and devices of
the Exchange, including, but not limited to, end insert confidential
information, personal identifying information, personal health
information, federal tax information, financial information, or any
other information as required by federal law or guidance applicable
to state-based exchanges for the purposes of obtaining information
as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal
convictions and also information as to the existence and content
of a record of state or federal arrests for which the Department of
Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her
recognizance pending trial or appeal.

(2) The board shall require any services contract, interagency
agreement, or public entity agreement that includes or would
include access to information described in paragraph (1), and
entered into, renewed, or amended on or after the effective date
of this section, to include a provision requiring the contractor to
agree to criminal background checks on its employees, contractors,
agents, or subcontractors who will have access to information
described in paragraph (1) as part of their services contract,
interagency agreement, or public entity agreement with the board.

(b) The Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal
history information received pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a). The Department of Justice shall review the
information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
compile and disseminate a response to the board.

(c) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal
level response to the board pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section
11105 of the Penal Code.

(d) The board shall request from the Department of Justice
subsequent notification service, as provided pursuant to Section
11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons listed in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).

(e) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to
cover the cost of processing requests pursuant to this section.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 1043 is added to the Government Code,
to read:

1043.  

(a) (1) The executive board of the California Health
Benefit Exchange, as established by Section 100500, shall,
consistent with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), Catalog of Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for
Exchanges (MARS-E), Exchange Reference Architecture
Supplement version 1.0, issued on August 12, 2012, or further
updates, guidance, or regulations, submit to the Department of
Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the
Department of Justice of all employees, prospective employees,
contractors, subcontractors, volunteers, or vendors whose duties
include or would include access to any information contained in
the information systems and devices of the Exchange, including,
but not limited to, confidential information, personal identifying
information, personal health information, federal tax information,
or financial information, or for the purposes of obtaining
information as to the existence and content of a record of state or
federal convictions and also information as to the existence and
content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the
Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or
on his or her recognizance pending trial or appeal.

(2) The board shall require any services contract, interagency
agreement, or public entity agreement that includes or would
include access to information described in paragraph (1), and
entered into, renewed, or amended on or after the effective date
of this section, to include a provision requiring the contractor to
agree to criminal background checks on its employees, contractors,
agents, or subcontractors who will have access to information
described in paragraph (1) as part of their services contract,
interagency agreement, or public entity agreement with the board.

(b) The Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal
history information received pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a). The Department of Justice shall review the
information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
compile and disseminate a response to the board.

(c) The Department of Justice shall provide a state or federal
level response to the board pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section
11105 of the Penal Code.

(d) The board shall request from the Department of Justice
subsequent notification service, as provided pursuant to Section
11105.2 of the Penal Code, for persons listed in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).

(e) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to
cover the cost of processing requests pursuant to this section.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to protect and safeguard customers from the
unauthorized and illegal access to, or disclosure of, their personal
identifying information, personal health information, or federal
tax information when the California Health Benefit Exchange
begins enrolling customers into health care plans for coverage
beginning as early as January 1, 2014, it is necessary that this act
take effect immediately.