(a) The Department of Financial Regulation shall 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 (FBI) for any applicant for a banking division examiner 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 Financial Regulation 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 FBI criminal history records is subject to the rules and regulations of the FBI's National Crime Information Center.

(b) As used in this section, "banking division examiner" means employees of the State hired to perform onsite or offsite examinations of banks, credit unions, or any other entity licensed, regulated, or otherwise under the jurisdiction of the Banking Division of the Department of Financial Regulation.

(c) The Commissioner of Financial Regulation shall obtain from the Vermont Crime Information Center the record of Vermont convictions and pending criminal charges for any banking division examiner applicant after the applicant has received an offer of employment conditioned on the record check. Nothing in this section shall automatically bar a person who has a criminal record from applying or being selected for a banking division examiner position.

(d) The Commissioner of Financial Regulation, through the Vermont Crime Information Center, shall request the record of convictions and pending criminal charges of the appropriate criminal repositories in all states in which there is reason to believe the applicant has resided or been employed.

(e) If no disqualifying record is identified at the State level, the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, through the Vermont Crime Information Center, shall request from the FBI a national criminal history record check of the applicant's convictions and pending criminal charges. The request to the FBI shall be accompanied by a set of the applicant's fingerprints and a fee established by the Vermont Crime Information Center, which shall be paid by the Department of Financial Regulation.

(f) The Vermont Crime Information Center shall send to the requester any record received pursuant to this section or inform the Department of Financial Regulation that no record exists.

(g) The Department of Financial Regulation shall promptly provide a copy of any record of convictions and pending criminal charges to the applicant and shall inform the applicant of the right to appeal the accuracy and completeness of the record pursuant to rules adopted by the Vermont Crime Information Center.

(h) Upon completion of the application process under this section, the applicant's fingerprint card and any copies thereof shall be destroyed.

(i) No person shall confirm the existence or nonexistence of criminal record information to any person who would not be eligible to receive the information pursuant to this subchapter. (Added 2007, No. 49, § 1; amended 2013, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 8; 2013, No. 194 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 17, 2014; 2015, No. 23, § 146; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 140.)