Bill > H0277

This bill amends existing law to require the Idaho Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) to conduct criminal history checks on prospective employees and contractors who provide IT services to state agencies in specific technical disciplines. The bill mandates these criminal history checks be based on a ten-finger fingerprint card or scan and include background information from both the Idaho Bureau of Criminal Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criminal history databases. The check applies to professionals working in areas such as network engineering, IT operations, software engineering, geographic information systems, database administration, systems infrastructure, information security, IT architecture, management, remote sensing analysis, and data science. The bill defines "information technology" using an existing statutory definition and includes a provision that these rules will be subject to legislative approval. The criminal history check requirement will go into effect on July 1, 2025, with the legislation declaring an emergency to ensure its timely implementation. This measure appears aimed at enhancing cybersecurity and ensuring the trustworthiness of state technology personnel by thoroughly vetting individuals with access to critical technology infrastructure.

Business and Industry, Government Affairs

State Affairs Committee (H)

https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/H0277/