33-17-220. Licensing background examination -- action by commissioner. (1) (a) Each applicant for a producer's license or navigator certification shall obtain a complete background examination. The applicant or insurer shall pay the cost of the background examination. The background examination report must provide information to confirm:

(i) the applicant's:

(A) identity;

(B) current address;

(C) professional license certification; and

(D) military service; and

(ii) (A) existing or ongoing criminal investigations and court records relating to the applicant; and

(B) regulatory agencies' disciplinary actions concerning the applicant.

(b) The background examination is confidential and may not be held as part of the licensee's or navigator's public file.

(c) (i) The commissioner may, when initially making a decision regarding an applicant's navigator certification, consider the findings obtained from the background examination, including an existing or ongoing criminal investigation or any disciplinary action taken by a regulatory agency against the applicant that relates to the applicant's suitability for navigator certification.

(ii) The commissioner may not issue navigator certification to an applicant if the background examination discloses an act by the applicant that, under 33-17-1001, would allow the commissioner to suspend, revoke, refuse to renew, or refuse to issue an insurance producer's license.

(iii) If the commissioner initially approves an applicant's navigator certification while the applicant is the subject of a criminal investigation or is potentially subject to disciplinary action and the applicant is subsequently found to have committed an act that, under 33-17-1001, would allow the commissioner to suspend, revoke, refuse to renew, or refuse to issue an insurance producer's license, the commissioner may suspend or, pursuant to subsection (1)(c)(iv), shall revoke the navigator certification.

(iv) The commissioner shall immediately revoke a navigator's certification if the commissioner discovers that the navigator has committed an act that, under 33-17-1001, would allow the commissioner to suspend, revoke, refuse to renew, or refuse to issue an insurance producer's license.

(2) For the purpose of obtaining a state and a federal criminal records check pursuant to subsection (1), the commissioner may require a person applying for a license or navigator certification to submit a full set of fingerprints to the commissioner. The commissioner shall submit the fingerprints to the Montana department of justice. The Montana department of justice may exchange this fingerprint data with the federal bureau of investigation.

(3) The commissioner may require fingerprints to be collected and remitted in an electronic format to facilitate periodic resubmission of fingerprints.

(4) The commissioner may contract for the collection, transmission, and retention of fingerprints and may agree to a reasonable fee charged by a contractor for these services. If the commissioner contracts for services, the fee for collecting, transmitting, and retaining of fingerprints must be paid directly to the contractor by the applicant or insurer.

(5) The commissioner is authorized to receive criminal history record information in lieu of the Montana department of justice relating to fingerprints submitted to the federal bureau of investigation.

(6) The commissioner may adopt rules to further implement this section, including but not limited to rules on the length of time that a background examination is valid and rules for the electronic filing of fingerprints.