COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2764
(By Delegates Kominar, Barker, Moore, Perry,
Ashley, Walters, Schoen and Hartman)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 19, 2007]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §33-12-37, relating
to criminal history checks for applicants for insurance
producer licenses; defining terms; requiring applicants to
submit to criminal history records checks; authorizing
Insurance Commissioner to establish and collect fees;
requiring the Insurance Commission to transmit requests to the
State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation; requiring
certain records be confidential; exempting certain information
from disclosure pursuant to subpoena or discovery; and
authorizing Insurance Commissioner to promulgate emergency and
legislative rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §33-12-37, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 12. INSURANCE PRODUCERS AND SOLICITORS.
§33-12-37. Authorization for criminal history record check; fees;
rules.
(a) In furtherance of the national goal of promoting uniformity
and reciprocity among the states with regard to producer licensing,
this section sets forth the requirements to obtain access to the
Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) criminal history record information and
secure information or reports from the Criminal Justice Information
Services Division of the FBI. The scope of this section is to set
forth the applicability of the criminal history record check to
applicants for a home state insurance producer license.
(b) When used in this section, "applicant" means a natural
person applying for:
(1) An initial home state license as an insurance producer;
(2) An additional line of authority under an existing home
state insurance producer license where a criminal history record
check has not been obtained; or
(3) A resident insurance producer license under change of home
state provisions.
(c) "Applicant" does not mean a person applying for renewal or
continuation of a home state insurance producer license or a
nonresident insurance producer license.
(d) In order to make a determination of license eligibility,
the commissioner is authorized to require applicants to submit to criminal history record checks to the West Virginia State Police and
the FBI for state and national criminal history record checks.
(e) The commissioner shall require a criminal history record
check on each applicant in accordance with this section.
(f) The commissioner shall collect a fee from each applicant
in an amount established by rule, such amount must be sufficient to
cover the cost of any amounts charged by the State Police and FBI
to perform the criminal history record checks.
(g) The commissioner shall treat and maintain an applicant's
criminal history record information obtained under the section as
confidential and shall apply security measures consistent with the
Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the FBI standards
and limit the use of records solely to the purposes authorized in
this section. The criminal history record information is not
subject to subpoena, other than one issued in a criminal action or
investigation, and shall be confidential by law and privileged, and
is not subject to discovery or admissible in evidence in any private
civil action.
(h) The commissioner may, in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, promulgate emergency and legislative
rules as are necessary for the administration of this section,
including rules governing the issuance of provisional producer
licences pending receipt of the criminal background check.
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