§ 2056i. Dissemination of criminal history records to the Department of Buildings and General
Services; private contractors
(a) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) “Criminal record” means the record of:
(A) convictions in Vermont; or
(B) convictions in other jurisdictions recorded in other state repositories or by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
(2) “Private contractor” means any individual who is performing specific services or functions
for the Department of Buildings and General Services on State-owned or -leased property
pursuant to a contract with the State or a subcontract with a person who has contracted
with the State and includes an individual who is employed by a person that is performing
specific services or functions for the Department of Buildings and General Services
on State-owned or -leased property pursuant to a contract with the State or a subcontract
with a person who has contracted with the State.
(b) Authority. The Department of Buildings and General Services may obtain from the Vermont Crime
Information Center a Vermont criminal record, an out-of-state criminal record, and
a record from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for any person who is or will be
working in a private contractor position and any applicant for a private contractor
position who has given written authorization, on a release form prescribed by the
Center, pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter and the user’s agreement filed
by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services with the Center. The user’s
agreement shall require the Department to comply with all federal and State statutes,
rules, regulations, and policies regulating the release of criminal history records
and the protection of individual privacy. The user’s agreement shall be signed and
kept current by the Commissioner. Release of interstate and Federal Bureau of Investigation
criminal history records is subject to the rules and regulations of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center.
(c) Request process. A request made under this section shall be accompanied by a set of the person’s fingerprints.
(d) Notice of records. Upon completion of a criminal record check, the Vermont Crime Information Center shall
send to the Commissioner a notice that no record exists or, if a record exists, a
copy of any criminal record.
(e) Process for sending information. The Commissioner may inform the contractor in writing of the approved level of access
granted for each person for which a record was obtained, but shall not reveal the
content of the record to the contractor.
(f) Notice of rights. Information sent to a person by the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services
under subsection (e) of this section shall be accompanied by a written notice of the
person’s rights under subsection (g) of this section, a description of the policy
regarding maintenance and destruction of records, and the person’s right to request
that the notice of no record or record be maintained for purposes of using it to comply
with future criminal record check requests pursuant to subsection (i) of this section.
(g) Appeal. Any person subject to a criminal record check pursuant to this section may challenge
the accuracy of the record by appealing to the Vermont Crime Information Center pursuant
to rules adopted by the Commissioner of Public Safety.
(h) Confidentiality. Criminal records and criminal record information received under this section are designated
confidential unless, under subsection (e) of this section, or State or federal law
or regulation, the record or information may be disclosed to specifically designated
persons.
(i) Recheck of records request. The Commissioner may request a name and date of birth or fingerprint-supported recheck
of the criminal record for any person who is working in a private contractor position
every three years or as otherwise required by law.
(j) Maintenance or records. The Commissioner shall maintain the record or information pursuant to the user agreement
for maintenance of records. At the end of the time required by the user agreement
for maintenance of the information, the Commissioner shall destroy the information
in accordance with the user agreement. (Added 2019, No. 94 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 28, 2020.)