Authorizes performance of credit, security clearance and criminal background checks of employees and prospective employees of the New York state higher education services corporation.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8159A
SPONSOR: Glick TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to
permitting credit, security clearance, and criminal background checks of
employees of the Higher Education Services Corporation
PURPOSE OF BILL:
This bill would amend the Education Law to permit background investi-
gations, including criminal background checks and credit checks, of
certain current and prospective Higher Education Services Corporation
(HESC) employees, as required by the U.S. Department of Education for
the performance of services under new and existing contracts related to
the administration of federal student loans.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 of this bill would add a new Section
652-a to the Education Law to authorize HESC to perform background
investigations, including criminal background checks and credit checks,
for all current and prospective employees, when necessary for employee
participation in the administration of federal student loans or other
federal programs under the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). Such
investigations would be done in conjunction with the Department of Crim-
inal Justice Services (DCJS) or a federal government agency with lawful
authority to obtain the necessary information. The bill also provides
for the confidentiality of information obtained during the course of
investigations. Further, subjects of background investigations will be
provided with information regarding the factors considered in making a
determination pursuant to the new section and subjects will have the
opportunity to seek correction of inaccurate information contained in
background records. HESC shall be responsible for any fees associated
with a background investigation of a current employee.
Section 2 of the bill would provide for an immediate effective date.
EXISTING LAW: Currently, Civil Service Law §50(4) permits state
departments (upon engaging in a delineated process) to run criminal
background checks on all new employees, with DCJS performing the crimi-
nal background checks. However, §50(4) specifically excludes from its
ambit several classifications of employees: existing employees, New York
State employees seeking transfer employment under Civil Service Law §70,
New York State employees who are on a preferred list subject to Civil
Service Law §81 and who are seeking employment through their place on an
eligible list as defined in Civil Service Law §56 and who have success-
fully completed a promotional exam subject to Civil Service Law §52.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new proposal.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT: Over the past five years, HESC has paid out
more than $167 million in State financial aid programs through its
participation in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program.
Provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA)
(HR4872) passed in March 2010 eliminated future student loan origi-
nations under the FFEL Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2010.
As a result, all federal student loans will now be originated under the
FDLP. HESC is seeking to obtain a contract to perform services for FDLP
to maintain current agency funding levels.
Generally, entities seeking to do business with the federal government
must meet a series of security and technology standards delineated by
the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology (NIST). Among these standards is the requirement that all employ-
ees of the contracting entity be subject to background and/or security
clearance investigations and credit screening. To ensure that HESC is
able to meet current and anticipated federal contracting requirements,
HESC is seeking the authorization to conduct such investigations on
those HESC employees necessary for HESC to perform services under exist-
ing and new federal contracts.
BUDGET IMPLICATIONS: This bill would have a positive fiscal impact,
as it would allow HESC to participate in federal revenue-generating
programs.
EFFECTIVE DATE: The bill would take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8159--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- (at request of the Higher Education
Services Corporation) -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Higher Education -- reported and referred to the Committee on Codes --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to permitting credit,
security clearance, and criminal background checks of employees of the
Higher Education Services Corporation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 652-a
2 to read as follows:
3 § 652-a. Employees of the New York state higher education services
4 corporation; background checks. 1. Current and prospective employees of
5 the corporation shall be subject to background and security clearance
6 investigations required in the ordinary course of the corporation's
7 business if background and security clearance are necessary for employee
8 participation or proposed participation in the administration of federal
9 student loans or other federal programs under the federal direct loan
10 program.
11 2. Such background or security clearance investigation shall be
12 performed by the corporation or on behalf of the corporation by a state
13 or federal government agency authorized to perform such investigations.
14 The corporation shall be authorized to request and receive from the
15 division of criminal justice services or federal government agency
16 having facilities for performing such services: security clearance
17 information, including criminal background and credit information for
18 corporation employees, New York state employees seeking transfer to the
19 corporation under section seventy of the civil service law, New York
20 state employees seeking hire at the corporation who are on a preferred
21 list subject to section eighty-one of the civil service law, or New York
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09755-08-1
A. 8159--A 2
1 state employees seeking hire at the corporation through their place on
2 an eligible list as defined in section fifty-six of the civil service
3 law and who have successfully completed a promotional exam subject to
4 section fifty-two of the civil service law if such security information
5 is necessary for the employees to be in compliance with the adminis-
6 tration of federal student loans or other federal programs under the
7 federal direct loan program. The corporation shall inform subjects of
8 background and security clearance investigations of the factors to be
9 considered in the evaluation of the criminal background information and
10 credit information obtained.
11 3. If an employee or prospective employee needs background and securi-
12 ty clearance in order to be compliant with the administration of federal
13 student loans or other federal programs under the federal direct loan
14 program, the corporation shall be authorized to require such an employee
15 or prospective employee to submit to the corporation or other state or
16 federal government agency authorized to perform such investigations
17 identifying information, which shall include fingerprints, personal
18 information, or other authorizations, required by the corporation or the
19 division of criminal justice services or federal government agency
20 authorized to perform such investigations. The fingerprints so obtained
21 shall be forthwith forwarded to the division of criminal justice
22 services for a state criminal history record check, and the federal
23 bureau of investigation or other federal government agency having facil-
24 ities for conducting a national criminal history record check, for the
25 purposes of determining whether or not criminal charges are pending
26 against the employee or prospective employee or whether or not the
27 employee or prospective employee had previously been convicted of a
28 crime, and such agency shall report a finding of such pending charges
29 and previous convictions, if any, to the corporation in writing or by
30 electronic means or any other method agreed upon by the corporation and
31 the agency. All such criminal history records or other background
32 information received by the corporation shall be confidential pursuant
33 to applicable federal and state laws, rules and regulations, and shall
34 not be published or in any way disclosed except to those employees of
35 the corporation responsible for evaluating the information obtained or
36 upon the request of federal officials responsible for administration of
37 a federal student loan program. All determinations made pursuant to
38 this section shall be in accordance with the provisions of subdivision
39 sixteen of section two hundred ninety-six of the executive law and arti-
40 cle twenty-three-A of the correction law unless such provisions are in
41 direct conflict with federal law or federal loan program requirements.
42 The corporation shall provide the subject of the criminal history check
43 or checks with a copy of any criminal history record together with a
44 copy of article twenty-three-A of the correction law and inform such
45 applicant of his or her right to seek correction of any incorrect
46 information contained in such record. The subject shall have the right
47 to seek correction of any incorrect information contained in such
48 records pursuant to applicable state and federal laws and regulations.
49 The corporation shall be responsible for any fees associated with back-
50 ground and security checks required by this section for current employ-
51 ees.
52 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
