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a license through the state Department of Insurance and to pass a criminal background check.
• Ohio governor Gov. John Kasich signed a similar bill into law last year, but a federal judge has put an injunction on it. Lawmakers in Missouri, South Dakota and South Carolina have also proposed similar measures.
• Proponents say the requirements protect consumers who share private information such as Social Security numbers and tax returns from identity theft.
• But Democrats say the bill is an attempt to slow down enrollment and that it is unnecessary because navigators already have contracts with the federal government.
• Navigators receive grants through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assist people in picking insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act health exchange. A spokesman for the federal agency said states can adopt their own standards for navigators as long as they do not stymie the health care overhaul's implementation.
• "What we're doing here is we're just handling the background checks and licensing to make sure we're protecting our consumers," Arizona Rep. Paul Boyer, R-Phoenix, said.
• Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, said Arizona gave up its right to license navigators when it failed to adopt its own state insurance exchange program. She said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has already established guidelines that regulate navigators, and that a judge struck down a similar law in Missouri.
• Missouri's law required navigators to be licensed, receive at least 30 hours of training and pay a small fee.
• The Arizona bill would not impose a fee or extra training but it would bar anyone convicted of a misdemeanor involving fraud or dishonesty from becoming a navigator. An amendment to the bill would also allow the employer of a navigator to attest that the navigator has passed a background check in lieu of an inspection by the state.
• "This is totally unnecessary," McCune Davis said. "The rules are in place and the federal contracts are already in place."
• The Arizona House approved the bill 35-23. It now goes to the Senate.
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