Summary — HB 6774: "An Act Concerning Long-Term Care Facility Employee Background Checks"
Status: FILE NO. 24
Introduced: January 29, 2025
Committee: Joint Committee on Aging (referred)
Latest procedural actions: Joint Favorable Substitute filed (2/18/25); reported out of LCO and given a favorable report and placed on House calendar (2/27/25). Public hearing held 2/6/25.
Note: The full bill text was not provided. The summary below explains the bill’s stated purpose and likely content based on the bill title, subject tags, and procedural documents. For exact statutory language and requirements, consult the official bill text (File No. 24) or the Legislative Commissioners’ Office filing.
Purpose / Intent
The bill’s stated purpose is to strengthen and standardize criminal background checks for employees (and likely volunteers/contractors) who work in long‑term care facilities. The goal is to improve resident safety by ensuring that persons working in nursing homes, assisted living, and similar long‑term care settings undergo comprehensive criminal history screening before hiring and, possibly, at regular intervals thereafter.
Key provisions (inferred from title and subject matter)
Because the bill text is not included here, these are the types of provisions this bill is likely to contain based on its title and subject tags (fingerprints; criminal history records; Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection; nurse’s aides; volunteers; public health):
- Require fingerprint-based state and national criminal history record checks for employees and volunteers of long‑term care facilities (including nurse’s aides and direct care staff).
- Specify which categories of workers must be screened (new hires, current employees on transition to new roles, volunteers, contractors).
- Require submission of fingerprints to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) and/or Department of Public Health for review.
- Define disqualifying offenses or circumstances that prohibit hiring or continued employment in resident care roles.
- Establish timelines for completion of checks (e.g., prior to employment or within a set number of days) and for periodic rechecks (e.g., every 1–3 years).
- Address confidentiality, record retention, fees, and who bears fingerprint/background check costs.
- Provide process for appeals or review when a prospective or current employee is reported as having a disqualifying record.
- Include effective date(s) and possible grandfathering or transition rules for existing employees.
Who would be affected
- Residents of long‑term care facilities (potentially increased safety).
- Employees, applicants, volunteers, and contractors in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care homes, and related long‑term care settings.
- Facility operators and employers—administrative workload, compliance and potential hiring impacts.
- State agencies involved in criminal record checks and licensing (e.g., DESPP, Department of Public Health).
- Potential fiscal impact on state and facilities for processing checks and appeals.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Safety: More thorough background checks are likely to reduce placement of individuals with disqualifying criminal histories in direct care positions.
- Administrative/financial: Facilities may face added costs (fingerprinting vendors, staff time, fees). The bill may assign costs to employers, employees, or the state; the Office of Fiscal Analysis was referred to review (2/21/25).
- Workforce: Stricter screening could complicate staffing in already tight labor markets; transition/exemptions in the bill may mitigate disruption.
- Legal/process: The bill may create or expand appeal or waiver processes to balance safety and employment rights.
Legislative status & next steps
- Referred to the Joint Committee on Aging (1/29/25).
- Public hearing held 2/6/25.
- Joint Favorable Substitute filed 2/18/25 (indicates committee amendments were proposed).
- Referred to the Office of Legislative Research and the Office of Fiscal Analysis (2/21/25).
- Reported out of the LCO with a favorable report and placed on the House calendar as File No. 24 / House Calendar No. 34 (2/27/25).
Next steps would typically include House floor consideration, possible passage, referral to the Senate, committee action there, and concurrence/committee of conference if amended.
If you want, I can:
- Retrieve and summarize the exact bill text (File No. 24) and the Joint Favorable Substitute language, or
- Produce a side‑by‑side comparison of current law vs. the bill’s changes once the text is available.
