Senate Passes Schaffer Bill on Criminal Records Checks
October 6, 2021
Tim Schaffer News
COLUMBUS—State Senator Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster) today announced the unanimous passage of Senate Bill 217 by the Ohio Senate. The bill, sponsored by Schaffer, will align the Ohio Revised Code with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) guidelines for criminal records checks.
“Recently, the Ohio Attorney General’s office was informed by the FBI that Ohio has four statutes in the Revised Code that require updates in order to be compliant with federal standards necessary to access federal criminal history record information,” said Schaffer. Senate Bill 217 will limit circumstances when criminal records check reports for long-term care job applicants and contractors can be released. It also prohibits a private individual or an entity that administers incomes taxes from accessing an employee’s, contractor’s or employment applicant’s criminal records. "By not permitting the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) to continue to provide the information within the FBI’s statutory requirements, the FBI may revoke BCI’s access to this data," Schaffer said. "This is a simple but extremely important change." Senate Bill 217 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for further consideration.
“Recently, the Ohio Attorney General’s office was informed by the FBI that Ohio has four statutes in the Revised Code that require updates in order to be compliant with federal standards necessary to access federal criminal history record information,” said Schaffer. Senate Bill 217 will limit circumstances when criminal records check reports for long-term care job applicants and contractors can be released. It also prohibits a private individual or an entity that administers incomes taxes from accessing an employee’s, contractor’s or employment applicant’s criminal records. "By not permitting the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) to continue to provide the information within the FBI’s statutory requirements, the FBI may revoke BCI’s access to this data," Schaffer said. "This is a simple but extremely important change." Senate Bill 217 now heads to the Ohio House of Representatives for further consideration.