Summary#

HB 478, “An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Auditor Of Accounts And Background Checks,” amends Delaware’s existing background-check law, Title 29, § 2911. It gives the Auditor of Accounts or the Auditor’s designee a role in receiving and using criminal background information, and adds a background-check requirement for certain Auditor’s Office contractors. The stated goal is to meet federal requirements for access to FBI criminal history records.

• Certain current or prospective contractors of the Auditor’s Office must submit to a criminal background check if their work requires, or may require, access to state systems, facilities, or data that the Auditor or designee has identified as requiring a check.
• The State Bureau of Identification must send specified background-check information to the Auditor or designee.
• The Auditor or designee may review and use the information, to the extent allowed by law, when considering employment qualifications or continued access to state systems, facilities, or data.
• Current employees and contractors of the Auditor’s Office must provide the information required by the law within 30 days after receiving a written request.
• The bill is signed into law. The supplied material does not give an effective date.

What it means for you#

• Auditor’s Office contractors: If your work meets the bill’s access conditions, you must submit to a background check. The Auditor or designee identifies which access requires a check.
• Auditor’s Office employees and contractors: If the Auditor or designee sends a written request, you must provide the required information to the State Bureau of Identification within 30 days.
• Auditor and designee: They may receive, review, and use criminal background information for the stated purposes, subject to applicable law.
• Other state contractors and the public: The text provided does not extend this specific requirement to all state contractors or directly change a public benefit, tax, or fee.

Money#

No cost information is in the available material.

• The State Bureau of Identification and the Auditor’s Office have duties under the bill, but no staffing or cost estimate is provided.
• The bill does not state a fee or payment by people who undergo checks.

What is unclear#

• The existing version of § 2911 was not supplied, so the exact changes compared with current law could not be verified.
• The supplied text refers to information required elsewhere in § 2911, but does not include those details. It also does not show the full list of information the Bureau must provide under subsection (d).
• The bill does not explain how the Auditor identifies access that requires a check, or how a person can challenge a decision about employment or continued access.
• The bill does not state when it takes effect.

Case for#

• The bill appears intended to let the Auditor’s Office access FBI criminal history information in line with the federal requirements named in the synopsis.
• Requiring checks for contractors with specified access could help the office consider criminal history when deciding who qualifies for employment or continued access.
• Giving the information to the Auditor or designee directly assigns responsibility for its use within that office.

Case against#

• The bill does not explain how the Auditor decides which systems, facilities, or data require a background check.
• It allows background information to be used in employment and access decisions, but the supplied text does not explain how those decisions are made or challenged.
• The bill assigns duties to state offices without providing cost, staffing, or implementation details.