Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act of 1997

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Private Security Officer Quality 
Assurance Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) employment of private security officers in the United 
        States is growing rapidly;
            (2) private security officers function as an adjunct to 
        public law enforcement by helping to reduce and prevent crime;
            (3) the private security industry provides numerous 
        opportunities for entry-level job applicants, including 
        individuals suffering from unemployment due to economic 
        conditions or dislocations;
            (4) such private security officers protect individuals, 
        tangible and intangible property and proprietary information 
        and provide protection to such diverse operations as banks, 
        hospitals, chemical companies, oil and gas refineries, 
        airports, communication facilities and operations, office 
        complexes, schools, residential properties, apartment 
        complexes, gated communities and many others;
            (5) 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;
            (6) 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;
            (7) the trend in the Nation toward growth in such security 
        services has accelerated rapidly as the per capita number of 
        public sector law enforcement officers has decreased;
            (8) such growth serves important public policy goals in 
        making available more public sector law enforcement officers to 
        combat serious and violent crimes;
            (9) 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;
            (10) 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; and
            (11) private security officers and applicants for private 
        security officer positions should be screened as thoroughly as 
        possible, particularly since many private security officers 
        bear weapons.

SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS.

    (a) In General.--(1) At the request of an employer of private 
security officers, an association of employers of private security 
officers, designated for the purpose of this section by the Attorney 
General, must submit to the Attorney General fingerprints or other 
methods of positive identification of an employee of such employer for 
purposes of a background check.
    (2) An employer may seek authorization from its employees to submit 
their fingerprints for purposes of a background check.
    (3) Upon receipt of fingerprints from an association designated 
under this section, the Attorney General shall search the records of 
the Interstate Information Index of the National Crime Information 
Center and the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, and shall provide any identification and criminal 
history records corresponding to the fingerprints to the requesting 
association within 30 business days.
    (4) The Attorney General shall, to the maximum extent possible, 
encourage the use of the best technology available in compiling 
criminal history information and in responding to requests under this 
section.
    (5) An association designated under this section shall submit 
employee fingerprints to the Attorney General for identification and 
appropriate processing within one business day of receiving them. Such 
an association shall also transfer a copy of the identification and 
criminal history records that it receives from the Attorney General to 
the requesting employer within one business day of receiving them.
    (6) An association designated under this section shall provide a 
copy to the appropriate licensing authorities or regulatory agencies in 
the States of the requests it makes on behalf of employers for 
identification and criminal history records. The association shall also 
provide a copy of the information it transfers to employers to such 
States.
    (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. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Subsection (d) of section 534 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding the following paragraph:
            ``(3) an association of employers of private security 
        officers designated by the Attorney General for purposes of 
        conducting background checks on employees or prospective 
        employees.''.

SEC. 5. CRIMINAL PENALTY.

    Whoever knowingly and intentionally uses any information obtained 
pursuant to section 3 other than for the purpose of determining the 
suitability of an individual for employment as a private security 
officer shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more 
than two years, or both.

SEC. 6. EMPLOYER LIABILITY.

    Where an employer of private security officers reasonably relies 
for employment determinations upon criminal history information 
provided by the Attorney General, such employer shall not be liable in 
any action for damages based on such employment determinations.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Attorney General'' includes any person or 
        entity designated by the Attorney General, including the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation;
            (2) the term ``employee'' includes an applicant for 
        employment;
            (3) the term ``employer'' means any person that--
                    (A) provides, as an independent contractor, for 
                consideration, the services of one or more private 
                security officers (possibly including oneself); and
                    (B) is licensed by one or more States as a provider 
                of private security services, or is certified as such 
                by the chief law enforcement officer of one or more 
                States;
            (4) the term ``fingerprint'' includes any other method of 
        positive identification approved by the Attorney General;
            (5) the term ``private security officer''--
                    (A) means 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, 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,
                            (v) an individual on active duty in the 
                        military service,
                            (vi) employees of electronic security 
                        system companies acting as technicians or 
                        monitors,
                            (vii) employees whose duties primarily 
                        involve the secure movement of prisoners, or
                            (viii) employees of armored vehicle 
                        companies;
            (6) 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 maintenance of order and safety at 
                athletic, entertainment, or other public activities; 
                and
                    (G) the provision of canine services for protecting 
                premises or for the detection of any unlawful device or 
                substance; and
            (7) 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.

SEC. 8. USER FEES.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Attorney General 
may collect a user fee for a request, under any applicable law, for an 
individual's criminal history information.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The effective date of this Act shall be July 1, 1999.

Summary: Private Security Officer Quality Assurance Act of 1997 - Directs the Attorney General (AG) to designate an association of employers of private security officers, which must submit to the AG, at the request of an employer of officers, fingerprints or other methods of positive identification for background checks of such officers. Allows an employer to seek authorization from its employees for a background check. Directs the AG, upon receipt of fingerprints from an association, to: (1) search records of the Interstate Information Index of the National Crime Information Center and the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And (2) provide any corresponding identification and criminal history records to the requesting association. Authorizes the AG to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act, including measures relating to the imposition of fees necessary for the recovery of costs. Directs the AG to report to specified congressional committees two years after enactment of this Act on the number of inquiries made by the association of employers and their disposition. Establishes criminal penalties for misuse of such background check information. Provides that employers shall not be held liable in any action for damages based on employment determinations that rely on such criminal history information from the AG. Authorizes the AG to collect a user fee for a request, under any applicable law, for an individual's criminal history information.