Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act of 1996

Summary: Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act of 1996 - Authorizes an association of employers of private security officers (officers) to submit fingerprints or other methods of positive identification to the Attorney General for background checks of such officers.  Allows the Attorney General to:  (1)  exchange identification and criminal history records with State governmental agencies for licensing and employment purposes; and (2) prescribe regulations to carry out this Act, including measures relating to the imposition of fees necessary for the recovery of costs. Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should participate in the background check system established under this Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Private Security Officer Quality 
Assurance Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) employment of private security officers in the United 
        States is growing rapidly;
            (2) the private security industry provides numerous 
        opportunities for entry-level job applicants, including 
        individuals suffering from unemployment due to economic 
        conditions or dislocations;
            (3) sworn law enforcement officers provide significant 
        services to the citizens of the United States in its public 
        areas, and are only supplemented by private security officers 
        who provide prevention and reporting services in support of, 
        but not in place of, regular sworn police;
            (4) given the growth of large private shopping malls, and 
        the consequent reduction in the number of public shopping 
        streets, the American public is more likely to have contact 
        with private security personnel in the course of a day than 
        with sworn law enforcement officers;
            (5) regardless of the differences in their duties, skill, 
        and responsibilities, the public has difficulty in discerning 
        the difference between sworn law enforcement officers and 
        private security personnel; and
            (6) the American public demands the employment of 
        qualified, well-trained private security personnel as an 
        adjunct, but not a replacement for sworn law enforcement 
        officers.

SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.

    (a) In General.--An association of employers of private security 
officers, designated for the purpose of this section by the Attorney 
General, may submit fingerprints or other methods of positive 
identification approved by the Attorney General, to the Attorney 
General on behalf of any applicant for a State license or certificate 
of registration as a private security officer or employer of private 
security officers. In response to such a submission, the Attorney 
General may, to the extent provided by State law conforming to the 
requirements of the second paragraph under the heading ``Federal Bureau 
of Investigation'' and the subheading ``Salaries and Expenses'' in 
title II of Public Law 92-544 (86 Stat. 1115), exchange, for licensing 
and employment purposes, identification and criminal history records 
with the State governmental agencies to which such applicant has 
applied.
    (b) Regulations.--The Attorney General may prescribe such 
regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section, including 
measures relating to the security, confidentiality, accuracy, use, and 
dissemination of information and audits and recordkeeping and the 
imposition of fees necessary for the recovery of costs.
    (c) Report.--The Attorney General shall report to the Senate and 
House Committees on the Judiciary 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this bill on the number of inquiries made by the association of 
employers under this section and their disposition.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that States should participate in the 
background check system established under section 3.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``employee'' includes an applicant for 
        employment;
            (2) the term ``employer'' means any person that--
                    (A) employs one or more private security officers; 
                or
                    (B) provides, as an independent contractor, for 
                consideration, the services of one or more private 
                security officers (possibly including oneself);
            (3) the term ``private security officer''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) an individual who performs security 
                        services, full or part time, for consideration 
                        as an independent contractor or an employee, 
                        whether armed or unarmed and in uniform or 
                        plain clothes whose primary duty is to perform 
                        security services, or
                            (ii) an individual who is an employee of an 
                        electronic security system company who is 
                        engaged in one or more of the following 
                        activities in the State: burglar alarm 
                        technician, fire alarm technician, closed 
                        circuit television technician, access control 
                        technician, or security system monitor; but
                    (B) does not include--
                            (i) sworn police officers who have law 
                        enforcement powers in the State,
                            (ii) attorneys, accountants, and other 
                        professionals who are otherwise licensed in the 
                        State,
                            (iii) employees whose duties are primarily 
                        internal audit or credit functions,
                            (iv) persons whose duties may incidentally 
                        include the reporting or apprehension of 
                        shoplifters or trespassers, or
                            (v) an individual on active duty in the 
                        military service;
            (4) the term ``certificate of registration'' means a 
        license, permit, certificate, registration card, or other 
        formal written permission from the State for the person to 
        engage in providing security services;
            (5) the term ``security services'' means the performance of 
        one or more of the following:
                    (A) the observation or reporting of intrusion, 
                larceny, vandalism, fire or trespass;
                    (B) the deterrence of theft or misappropriation of 
                any goods, money, or other item of value;
                    (C) the observation or reporting of any unlawful 
                activity;
                    (D) the protection of individuals or property, 
                including proprietary information, from harm or 
                misappropriation;
                    (E) the control of access to premises being 
                protected;
                    (F) the secure movement of prisoners;
                    (G) the maintenance of order and safety at 
                athletic, entertainment, or other public activities;
                    (H) the provision of canine services for protecting 
                premises or for the detection of any unlawful device or 
                substance; and
                    (I) the transportation of money or other valuables 
                by armored vehicle; and
            (6) the term ``State'' means any of the several States, the 
        District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
        United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 1996.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.