I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3263

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to

establish a national clearinghouse to assist in background checks of

law enforcement applicants.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 17, 1996

Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida (for himself, Mr. FROST, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr.

MCDERMOTT, Mr. THOMPSON, Mrs. THURMAN, Mrs. MEEK of Florida,

Mr. SHAW, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr. RAHALL,

Mr. BRYANT of Texas, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. FRAZER) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

Act of 1968 to establish a national clearinghouse to

assist in background checks of law enforcement applicants.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Law Enforcement and

5 Correctional Officers Employment Registration Act of

6 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) law enforcement officials, including mem4 bers of the International Association of Chiefs of Po5 lice, recognize that violent crime represents the

6 greatest threat to the safety and security of citizens

7 and that dedicated, ethical law enforcement profes8 sionals, and lawful initiatives and participation by

9 members of the community represent the best hope

10 of responding to the challenges of violent crime;

11 (2) the International Association of Chiefs of

12 Police acknowledges that a few officers choose to

13 violate the public trust by abusing their authority or

14 by breaking the law and that such officers should

15 not be permitted to seek police employment in an16 other State or jurisdiction with the expectation that

17 they will be able to conceal their history of mis18 conduct;

19 (3) there have been numerous documented

20 cases of officers who have obtained officer employ21 ment and certification in a State after revocation of

22 officer certification or dishonorable discharge in an23 other State;

24 (4) a national clearinghouse of officer employ25 ment histories would enable each criminal justice

26 agency to conduct thorough background checks on
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1 officer applicants and to assure that only honest eth2 ical officers are permitted to serve; and

3 (5) Federal legislation is needed that would re4 quire Federal registration of employment termi5 nation data of law enforcement officers and correc6 tional officers.

7 SEC. 3. REGISTRATION.

8 Subpart 1 of part E of the Omnibus Crime Control

9 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3781 et seq.)

10 is amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘REGISTRATION OF EMPLOYMENT DATA OF LAW

12 ENFORCEMENT AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS

13 ‘‘SEC. 509a. (a)(1) The Governor of each State, or

14 chief executive of each Territory of the United States, that

15 receives funds under section 506 in a fiscal year shall des16 ignate an official or agency which shall submit to an offi17 cer or agency designated by the Attorney General of the

18 United States, a list of all law enforcement and correc19 tional officers who held such office in such State or terri20 tory on or since January 1, 1990, in accordance with para21 graph (2). Such list shall be updated and supplemented

22 by agencies or officials responsible for submission of em23 ployment data in accordance with subsection (b).

24 ‘‘(2) Such list shall include the names (and any

25 former names), dates of birth, social security numbers,

26 Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint identification
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1 numbers if known, the dates of appointment as officers

2 if known, the names and addresses or National Crime In3 formation Center numbers of the appointing or employing

4 agencies, and, if applicable, the dates such service ended

5 for such officers.

6 ‘‘(b) The agency or official responsible for submission

7 of such employment data shall, not later than 90 days

8 after an officer’s employment, appointment, or separation

9 from employment or appointment, notify the agency or of10 ficer designated by the Attorney General of the United

11 States to receive such employment data, that a law en12 forcement officer or correctional officer has been ap13 pointed or employed as an officer, or that a registered offi14 cer is no longer empowered or employed as such. If the

15 former officer has had officer certification revoked for

16 cause, that fact shall be reported.

17 ‘‘(c) For purposes of this section—

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means

19 an individual who is elected or appointed by a State

20 or territory, or a political subdivision thereof, or by

21 a Native American Indian tribe or band, to conserve

22 the peace, or to make arrests or serve warrants, or

23 to otherwise possess or exercise the authority of a

24 peace officer in such State or territory; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘correctional officer’ means an in2 dividual who is elected or appointed by a State or

3 territory, or a political subdivision thereof, to guard

4 or supervise prisoners or inmates of jails or other

5 detention, penal, or correctional facilities.

6 A ‘law enforcement officer’ or ‘correctional officer’ in7 cludes an individual whether compensated for services or

8 not, whether full- or part-time, and whether appointment,

9 election, or term of office is temporary or permanent. Such

10 terms do not include citizens who are called to assist an

11 officer in the performance of the officer’s duties unless

12 such citizen received a deputation or commission of ap13 pointment lasting longer than 30 days.

14 ‘‘(d)(1) As a condition of employment, each State,

15 territory, or political subdivision thereof, that employs law

16 enforcement officers or correctional officers shall require

17 all applicants for appointment to or employment in such

18 positions before beginning employment—

19 ‘‘(A) to disclose all prior service or employment

20 as a law enforcement or correctional officer; and

21 ‘‘(B) to submit a written authorization and re22 quest for release of information, on a form pre23 scribed by the Attorney General or designee.

24 ‘‘(2) When a prospective law enforcement or correc25 tional employer obtains an officer’s required written au-
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1 thorization and request for release of information, the At2 torney General (or designee) is directed to release all data

3 collected under subsections (a) and (b) of this section to

4 such prospective employer.

5 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of a completed written authoriza6 tion and request for release of information and not later

7 than 30 days after such officer is first appointed or em8 ployed or at any time prior to the appointment or employ9 ment of an applicant, each State, territory, and political

10 subdivision thereof shall notify the Attorney General (or

11 designee).

12 ‘‘(e) The Attorney General shall issue regulations for

13 the implementation of this section and the operation of

14 the employment data clearinghouse.

15 ‘‘(f) Agencies or agency administrators who submit

16 employment or officer certification data pursuant to this

17 section are presumed to be acting in good faith and, unless

18 lack of good faith is shown by clear and convincing evi19 dence, are immune from civil liability for such disclosure

20 or its consequences. The presumption of good faith is re21 butted upon a showing that the data was submitted with

22 knowledge of its falsity or was submitted with the mali23 cious intent to deliberately mislead.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall take effect on Jan3 uary 1, 1997.

4 (b) INFORMATION COMPLIANCE.—Lists required

5 under section 509a(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and

6 Safe Streets Act of 1968 shall be submitted not later than

7 180 days after the enactment of this Act.

8 (c) STATE COMPLIANCE.—Beginning not later than

9 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each

10 State, territory, or political subdivision thereof, shall com11 ply with the requirements described in subsection (d) of

12 section 509a of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

13 Streets Act of 1968.

14 SEC. 5. REPORTS.

15 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the Attorney General, upon consultation

17 with the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance,

18 shall submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary

19 of the House of Representatives and the Senate evaluating

20 the compliance of the States with the requirements of sec21 tion 509a of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

22 Act of 1968, and listing each State that has failed materi23 ally to comply with the requirements of this section. Such

24 subsequent reports shall be presented as are deemed ap25 propriate by the Attorney General.

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