Access To, and Dissemination Of, Information.

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7-19-106. Access to, and dissemination of, information.

(a) Criminal history record information shall be disseminated by criminal justice agencies in this state, whether directly or through any intermediary, only to:

(i) Other criminal justice agencies;

(ii) Any person designated for the purpose provided by W.S. 14-6-227;

(iii) The department of family services;

(iv) Other governmental agencies as authorized by the laws of the United States or any state or by executive order;

(v) An individual who has met the requirements established by the division to ensure the record will be used solely as a statistical research or reporting record and that the record is to be transferred in a form that is not individually identifiable;

(vi) Any record subject as provided by W.S. 7-19-109;

(vii) The department of health;

(viii) The Wyoming state board of nursing for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure or certification under the board;

(ix) Court supervised treatment program staff solely for the purposes of utilizing the information pursuant to the Court Supervised Treatment Programs Act in title 7, chapter 13, article 6;

(x) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 127, § 3.

(xi) The secretary of state, through the electronic voter registration system, for confirmation of the existence or nonexistence of felony conviction records of registered voters and of individuals seeking to register to vote. If the criminal history record information indicates that the subject's voting rights have been restored, that information shall also be provided. Notwithstanding subsection (c) of this section and W.S. 7-19-108, the subject's fingerprints shall not be required and no fee shall be charged. The necessary identifying information shall be provided to the division and the disclosures made in accordance with the terms agreed upon by the secretary of state and the attorney general;

(xii) The board of examiners for optometry for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure or certification by the board;

(xiii) Any public fire department, ambulance service, counties providing fire protection services pursuant to W.S. 18-3-509, regional emergency response team or fire protection district, using paid employees or volunteers on a full-time or part-time basis, for purposes of obtaining criminal history record information on prospective employees;

(xiv) The office of homeland security for purposes of obtaining background information on prospective homeland security workers and regional emergency response team participants;

(xv) The military department for purposes of obtaining criminal history record information on prospective employees or volunteers;

(xvi) The department of transportation for purposes of dealer and wholesaler licensing and permitting under title 31, chapter 16 and for purposes of performing background checks required by W.S. 31-7-103(b) and 31-7-114(f)(iv);

(xvii) The department of audit;

(xviii) The certified real estate appraiser board for purposes of permitting or registration under title 33, chapter 39;

(xix) The state auditor;

(xx) The Wyoming retirement system;

(xxi) The board of physical therapy for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure or certification by the board;

(xxii) The state banking commissioner for purposes of licensing and registration pursuant to W.S. 40-14-604, 40-14-634, 40-14-642, 40-22-108, 40-23-103 and 40-23-125;

(xxiii) The board of medicine for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure or certification by the board whose application or other information received by the board indicates the applicant has or may have been convicted of a crime, and for purposes of investigation of complaints and disciplinary action against licensees of the board;

(xxiv) The board of midwifery for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure by the board whose application or other information received by the board indicates the applicant has or may have been convicted of a crime, and for purposes of investigation of complaints and disciplinary action against licensees of the board;

(xxv) The department of insurance, for purposes of licensing under Wyoming statutes title 26, chapter 9;

(xxvi) The Wyoming professional teaching standards board for purposes of obtaining background information on applications for certification and if requested by a school district, to school district boards of trustees for obtaining background information on employees who may have access to minors in the course of employment;

(xxvii) The department of enterprise technology services for purposes of obtaining background information on prospective and current employees;

(xxviii) A health care licensure board that licenses health care professionals under title 33 of the Wyoming statutes for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure pursuant to an interstate compact entered into by the state of Wyoming;

(xxix) The collection agency board for purposes of licensing under Wyoming statutes title 33, chapter 11;

(xxx) The department of health for purposes of obtaining background information on persons specified in W.S. 40-28-103(d) as part of a medical digital innovation sandbox application;

(xxxi) The banking commissioner or the secretary of state for purposes of obtaining background information on persons specified in W.S. 40-29-104(d) as part of a financial technology sandbox application;

(xxxii) The state treasurer;

(xxxiii) The board of examiners of speech-language pathology and audiology for purposes of obtaining background information on persons applying for licensure on or after July 1, 2020 as speech-language pathologists, audiologists or speech-language pathology assistants under Wyoming statutes title 33, chapter 33;

(xxxiv) The mental health professions licensing board for purposes of obtaining background information on applicants for licensure or certification by the board.

(xxxv) The Wyoming gaming commission.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the division may disseminate criminal history record information to central repositories of other states and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the division governing participation in an interstate system for the exchange of criminal history record information, and upon assurance that the information will be used only for purposes that are lawful under the laws of the other states involved or the laws applicable to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(c) All applications or requests to the division for criminal history record information submitted by the record subject or any other person except a criminal justice agency or the department of family services, shall be accompanied by the record subject's fingerprints in addition to any other information required by the division.

(d) No criminal justice agency or individual employed by the agency shall confirm the existence or nonexistence of criminal history record information to any person that would not be eligible to receive the information.

(e) Nothing in this act prohibits the dissemination of conviction data for purposes related to the issuance of visas and the granting of citizenship.

(f) Each person requesting criminal history record information from the division or a criminal justice agency shall upon request be advised in writing whether the person is found to be eligible or ineligible for access.

(g) No information shall be disseminated by the division or by any criminal justice agency to any person or agency prior to determination of eligibility.

(h) Each criminal justice agency holding or receiving criminal history record information shall maintain dissemination logs and other records relative to the release of the information in accordance with rules promulgated by the division.

(j) No criminal history record information released to an authorized recipient shall be released, used or disseminated by that recipient to any other person for any purpose not included in the original request except that the record subject may make further dissemination in his discretion.

(k) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the division may disseminate criminal history record information concerning a record subject, or may confirm that no criminal history record information exists relating to a named individual:

(i) In conjunction with state or national criminal history record information check under W.S. 7-19-201; or

(ii) If application is made for a voluntary record information check, provided:

(A) The applicant submits proof satisfactory to the division that the individual whose record is being checked consents to the release of the information to the applicant;

(B) The application is made through a criminal justice agency in this state authorized to access criminal history record information maintained by the division which application shall then be forwarded to the division by the criminal justice agency; and

(C) The applicant pays the fees required by W.S. 7-19-108.

(m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the Wyoming department of corrections and county jails may release the following information regarding any individual, except juveniles charged with a status offense as defined by W.S. 14-6-201(a)(xxiii), who is or has been committed to the supervision or custody of the department or county jails, unless release of the information could compromise the physical safety of the individual:

(i) Name and other identifying information;

(ii) Photograph and physical description;

(iii) Any conviction for which the individual was committed to the supervision or custody of the department or county jail;

(iv) Sentencing information regarding any conviction for which the individual was committed to the supervision or custody of the department or county jail;

(v) Projected parole eligibility, release and discharge dates;

(vi) Current location of the individual's supervision or custody; and

(vii) Date of release from the department's or county jail's supervision or custody.

(n) Unless otherwise specifically prohibited by court order, or if disclosure may be withheld under other pertinent law, the Wyoming department of corrections may, ten (10) years after the date of death of the record subject, release to the public any record created and maintained by the department relating to an individual committed to the supervision or custody of the department, except:

(i) Records regarding the victim of the crime;

(ii) Medical, psychological and dental records of the inmate;

(iii) Records relating to the security of any facility in which the inmate was housed during his incarceration; and

(iv) Records relating to out of state placement of the inmate.


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