Bill > HB6400

This bill modifies the mental health code regarding criminal history checks for individuals seeking employment, independent contracts, or clinical privileges at psychiatric facilities and similar facilities defined under 42 USC 1396d(d), which refers to nursing facilities providing care for individuals under twenty-one or sixty-five and older in psychiatric hospitals. Specifically, the legislation shortens the waiting period from 15 years to 10 years after completing sentencing, parole, and probation before certain felony convictions no longer bar an individual from working at these facilities, while simultaneously expanding the list of disqualifying misdemeanors to include offenses such as home invasion, embezzlement, and negligent homicide. Furthermore, the bill outlines updated protocols for conducting background checks through the Michigan Department of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—the federal agency responsible for maintaining national criminal history records—including fingerprint submission, registry checks for abuse and neglect, and provisions allowing for conditional employment under specific supervisory or internet-based background search conditions. It also establishes ongoing reporting requirements for employees to disclose criminal arraignments or convictions, mandates the creation of an automated fingerprint identification system database for real-time arrest notifications in collaboration with the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (the state agency overseeing technology and administrative services), and imposes misdemeanor penalties for knowingly falsifying employment statements or willful failures by facility operators to conduct the required background checks.