House Bill 1075 would authorize the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services to conduct federal criminal history fingerprint checks for personnel beyond the agency’s current limited list of positions. The committee recommended the bill for a due‑pass report after agency testimony and questions about privacy and process.

Darren Hansen, Homeland Security Division director, told the committee DES already conducts fingerprint checks for dispatchers, staff who work in the state and local intelligence center, and employees with access to the law‑enforcement switch or computer‑aided dispatch systems. "We already have this capability, but we do not have the authority within the agency," Hansen said. He described operational problems when only some staff can be vetted and therefore cannot receive law‑enforcement‑sensitive information while supporting large missions such as protests or major disasters.

Hansen said the bill’s language was developed in coordination with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and vetted with the FBI because the agency must obtain an originating agency identifier (ORI) from the FBI before it can run fingerprint checks. He described internal controls that would be defined later, such as which staff can view results and when checks are required, mirroring processes used by other state agencies that already have FBI access.

Committee members raised privacy and scope questions. Hansen said this bill would not alter security‑clearance processes and that only a small number of DES employees currently hold federal security clearances. He also said he did not expect universal access to fingerprint records across government and that many agencies do not require that level of background check.

Senator Marsalais moved a due‑pass recommendation and Senator Weber seconded; the motion carried on a recorded roll call. No opposition testimony was recorded and no fiscal note was indicated.