Amended in Senate April 22, 2013

Amended in Senate April 16, 2013

Senate Bill No. 509

Introduced by begin delete Senator end delete begin insert Senators end insert DeSaulnier begin insert and Emmerson end insert

February 21, 2013

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 509, as amended, DeSaulnier. California Health Benefit Exchange: background checks.

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 executive 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 creates the California Health Trust Fund as a continuously appropriated fund for the administrative and operational expenses of the Exchange.

This bill would authorize the board to require, and to submit to the Department of Justice, fingerprint images and related information of employees, prospective employees, contractors, subcontractors, volunteers, or vendors for the purposes of obtaining prescribed criminal history information. 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. begin delete The bill, by expanding the purposes for which the moneys in the fund would be spent, would make an appropriation. end delete

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

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

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

SECTION 1.  

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

1043.  

(a) The executive board of the California Health Benefit
Exchange begin insert , as established by Section 100500, end insert may require, and
may 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 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.

(b) The Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal
history information received pursuant to 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 paragraph (1) of 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 subdivision (a).

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

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 be operational to begin preenrollment in the fall of
2013, the California Health Benefit Exchange has already begun
the process of recruiting staff for its service center. The California
Health Benefit Exchange will also be contracting with
community-based organizations that will employ in-person
assisters. Fingerprinting and background checks will be needed as
a condition of employment and certification. For these reasons, it
is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.