H. B. 2764
(By Delegates Kominar, Barker, Moore, Perry,
Ashley, Walters, Schoen and Hartman)
[Introduced January 31, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Banking and Insurance then the Judiciary.]
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; authorizing Insurance
Commissioner to establish and collect fees; requiring
applicants to submit fingerprints; requiring the Insurance
Commission to transmit fingerprints 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) The purpose of this section is to set 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) Definitions: When used in this section:
(1) "Applicant" means a natural person applying for:
(A) An initial home state license as an insurance producer;
(B) An additional line of authority under an existing home
state insurance producer license where a criminal history record
check has not been obtained; or
(C) A resident insurance producer license under change of
home state provisions. "Applicant" does not mean a person applying
for renewal or continuation of a home state insurance producer
license or a nonresident insurance producer license.
(2) "Fingerprints" means an impression of the lines on the
finger taken for the purpose of identification. The impression may
be electronic or in ink converted to an electronic format.
(c) In order to make a determination of license eligibility, the commissioner is authorized to require fingerprints of
applicants and to submit such fingerprints and the fee required to
perform the criminal history record checks to the West Virginia
State Police and the FBI for state and national criminal history
record checks.
(d The commissioner shall require a criminal history record
check on each applicant in accordance with this section. The
commissioner shall require each applicant to submit a full set of
fingerprints, including a scanned file from a hard copy
fingerprint, in order for the commissioner to obtain and receive
National Criminal History Records from the FBI Criminal Justice
Information Services Division.
(e) The commissioner shall collect a fee from each applicant
in an amount established by rule; such amount must be sufficient to
cover:
(1) The cost of the collection and transmittal of fingerprints
to the State Police and FBI; and
(2) The cost of any amounts charged by the State Police and
FBI to perform the criminal history record checks.
(f) The commissioner may contract for the collection and
transmission of fingerprints authorized under this section and may
order that the fee for collecting and transmitting fingerprints be
payable directly by the applicant to the contractor.
(g) The commissioner is authorized to receive criminal history record information in lieu of the State Police that submitted the
fingerprints to the FBI.
(h) The commissioner shall treat and maintain an applicant's
fingerprints and any 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 for the electronic storage of fingerprints and
necessary identifying information and limit the use of records
solely to the purposes authorized in this section. The
fingerprints and any 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.
(i) 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish criminal
history checks for applicants for insurance producer licenses; to
define terms; to authorize the Insurance Commissioner to establish
and collect fees; to require applicants to submit fingerprints; to
require the Insurance Commission to transmit fingerprints to the
State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation; to require
certain records be confidential; to exempt certain information from
disclosure pursuant to subpoena or discovery; and to authorize the
Insurance Commissioner to promulgate emergency and legislative
rules.
§33-12-37 is new; therefore, underscoring and strike-throughs
have been omitted.
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