Section 172A. The commissioner shall assess a fee for each request for criminal offender record information or self-audit, according to a fee structure established by the secretary of public safety and security. No fee shall be assessed for a request made by a victim of crime or a witness or a family member of a homicide victim, all as defined in section 1 of chapter 258B, or for a request made by any local, state or federal government entity, including any requests from navigator organizations certified by the commonwealth health insurance connector authority under 42 U.S.C. § 18031(i), or veterans organizations requesting information relative to employees, volunteers and veterans that such organizations shall provide housing for. The commissioner shall waive the fee or a portion of the fee from such other persons as provided in the department's rules and regulations. The department is authorized to enter into contracts and agreements for reduced or bulk fees for requestors who make extensive use of the database.
The department shall be authorized, subject to appropriation, to retain a portion of the revenues received by the commonwealth under this section for the following purposes: to assist ex-offenders in obtaining and maintaining employment, including, but not limited to, workforce development training and other applicable training programs, training and auditing requestors described in subsection (a) of section 172, providing education and assistance regarding the correction of criminal records, including but not limited to, training judges, providing the necessary information to employers and other applicable persons in possession of an applicant's criminal offender record information, and to operate and maintain the public safety information system and the criminal records review board.