Requires a criminal history report for certain employment or volunteer applicants to the office for people with developmental disabilities

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Andrew Lanza

Requires a criminal history background check for employment or volunteer applicants to the office for people with developmental disabilities to strengthen screening and safety.

REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH

Overview

Bill Number: S 5882

Title: Requires a criminal history report for certain employment or volunteer applicants to the office for people with developmental disabilities

Introduced: March 3, 2025

Status: Referred to Mental Health (2025-03-03 action listed twice in the record)

Sponsor (primary): Andrew J. Lanza

Classification: Bill (legislative measure)

Purpose and intent

S 5882 would require a criminal history background check for certain individuals applying for employment or volunteer roles with the office for people with developmental disabilities. The core aim is to strengthen screening of applicants to ensure safety and suitability when individuals will interact with people who have developmental disabilities.

Key provisions (as stated)

Applies to employment and volunteer applicants seeking positions or roles with the office for people with developmental disabilities.

Requires the applicant to undergo a criminal history report as part of the application process.

The bill designates the office and the related process as the entity responsible for implementing and utilizing the criminal history review for applicants.

Note: The provided information does not include detailed criteria (e.g., which offenses trigger disqualification, look-back periods, or how the report results are used), so the summary reflects the bill’s stated scope without those specifics.

Affected parties and impacts

Applicants: Individuals seeking employment or volunteer opportunities with the office for people with developmental disabilities would be subject to criminal history review.

Office for people with developmental disabilities (or the relevant state agency named in the bill): Would implement and administer background-check procedures.

Operational implications: Potentially longer hiring/volunteer onboarding timelines due to background-check processing; increased administrative costs and compliance obligations; potential disqualification or conditional employment scenarios based on findings.

Procedural and timeline considerations

The bill has been introduced and referred to the Mental Health committee for consideration. There is no listed fiscal note or subsequent committee action in the provided record.

Next steps typically include committee deliberations, possible amendments, and votes before advancing to the full chamber for consideration.

Related legislation

The bill lists several related bills from prior sessions, suggesting ongoing interest in enhanced background checks for the office serving people with developmental disabilities:
- S 3847 (prior-session)
- S 2301 (prior-session)
- S 6326 (prior-session)
- S 6289 (prior-session)
- S 2632 (prior-session)
- S 4923 (prior-session)
- S 4208 (prior-session)

Practical considerations

Stakeholders may seek details on:

Specific disqualifying offenses and any grace periods or waivers.
How far back the criminal history check looks (look-back period).
Privacy protections and data handling for applicants’ records.
Timelines and cost allocation for conducting background checks.
Appeals or reconsideration processes for applicants cleared after mitigation.

This summary reflects the information available in the current bill record. For a complete understanding, monitoring committee hearings and the final enacted text will be essential.

Bill