(a) The Department of Agriculture through the Illinois State Police shall conduct a background check of the prospective cultivation center agents. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal history record check, which shall be deposited in the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the record check. In order to carry out this provision, each person applying as a cultivation center agent shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the Illinois State Police for the purpose of obtaining a State and federal criminal records check. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter, to the extent allowed by law, filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall furnish, following positive identification, all Illinois conviction information to the Department of Agriculture.
     (b) When applying for the initial permit, the background checks for the principal officer, board members, and registered agents shall be completed prior to submitting the application to the Department of Agriculture.