II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 484

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

establish a national clearinghouse to assist in background checks of

applicants for law enforcement positions, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 2 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1995

Mr. GRAHAM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the 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 applicants for law enforcement positions, and for other purposes.

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 1995’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) law enforcement officials, including mem2 bers of the International Association of Chiefs of Po3 lice, recognize that violent crime represents the

4 greatest threat to the safety and security of citizens

5 and that dedicated, ethical law enforcement profes6 sionals and lawful community initiatives with partici7 pation by members of the community represent the

8 best hope of responding to the challenges of violent

9 crime;

10 (2) the International Association of Chiefs of

11 Police acknowledges that a few officers choose to

12 violate the public trust by abusing their authority or

13 by breaking the law; such officers should not be able

14 to seek police employment in another State or juris15 diction with the expectation that they will be able to

16 conceal their history of misconduct;

17 (3) there have been numerous documented

18 cases of officers who have obtained officer employ19 ment and certification in a State after revocation of

20 officer certification or dishonorable discharge in an21 other State;

22 (4) a national clearinghouse of officer employ23 ment histories would enable each criminal justice

24 agency to conduct thorough background checks on
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1 officer applicants and to ensure that only honest

2 ethical 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. 3751 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)(A) The Governor of each State,

14 and the chief executive of each territory of the United

15 States, the District of Columbia, and each Native Amer16 ican Indian tribe or band that receives funds under section

17 506 shall ensure that the State peace officer standards

18 board of such jurisdiction, or its equivalent, shall prepare,

19 electronically maintain, and submit a list of all law en20 forcement and correctional officers employed on or after

21 January 1, 1995, in such State or territory, the District

22 of Columbia, or Native American Indian tribe or band to

23 the officer or agency designated by the Attorney General

24 of the United States pursuant to subsection (d).

25 ‘‘(B) The head of each department, agency, or other

26 entity in the executive branch of the United States Gov-
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1 ernment that employs law enforcement or correctional offi2 cers shall prepare, electronically maintain, and submit a

3 list of all such officers employed on or after January 1,

4 1995, to the officer or agency designated by the Attorney

5 General of the United States pursuant to subsection (d).

6 ‘‘(2) Each list prepared pursuant to this subsection

7 shall be updated and supplemented by the agencies or offi8 cials responsible for the submission of the list, in accord9 ance with subsection (b), and shall include, for each officer

10 listed—

11 ‘‘(A) the name (and any former names) of the

12 officer;

13 ‘‘(B) the date of birth;

14 ‘‘(C) the social security number;

15 ‘‘(D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation fin16 gerprint identification number, if known;

17 ‘‘(E) the date of appointment as officer, if

18 known;

19 ‘‘(F) the name and address or National Crime

20 Information Center number of the appointing or em21 ploying agency; and

22 ‘‘(G) the date such service ended for such offi23 cer, if applicable.

24 ‘‘(b) Not later than 90 days after the date on which

25 an officer has been employed, appointed, or separated
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1 from employment or appointment, the agency or official

2 responsible for the submission of the list under subsection

3 (a) shall so notify the officer or agency designated by the

4 Attorney General of the United States pursuant to sub5 section (d). Notice shall also be made if an officer has

6 had officer certification revoked for cause.

7 ‘‘(c)(1) As a condition of employment, each State,

8 territory, political subdivision of a State or territory, the

9 District of Columbia, Native American Indian tribe or

10 band, and Federal agency that employs law enforcement

11 officers or correctional officers shall require that each ap12 plicant for appointment or employment in such positions,

13 before beginning employment—

14 ‘‘(A) disclose all prior service or employment as

15 a law enforcement or correctional officer; and

16 ‘‘(B) submit a written authorization and re17 quest for release of information, on a form pre18 scribed by the Attorney General or a designee of the

19 Attorney General.

20 ‘‘(2) When a prospective law enforcement or correc21 tional employer obtains an officer’s required written au22 thorization and request for release of information, the offi23 cer or agency designated by the Attorney General pursu24 ant to subsection (d) shall release all data collected under

25 subsections (a) and (b) to such prospective employer.
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1 ‘‘(3) Upon receipt of completed written authorization

2 and request for release of information, and not later than

3 30 days after such officer is first appointed or employed,

4 or at any time prior to the appointment or employment

5 of an applicant, each State, territory, political subdivision

6 of a State or territory, the District of Columbia, Native

7 American Indian tribe or band, and Federal agency that

8 employs law enforcement or correctional officers shall no9 tify the officer or agency designated by the Attorney Gen10 eral pursuant to subsection (d).

11 ‘‘(d) The Attorney General shall—

12 ‘‘(1) designate an officer or agency of the Fed13 eral Government to collect and disseminate informa14 tion in accordance with this section; and

15 ‘‘(2) issue regulations to carry out this section

16 and the operation of the employment data clearing17 house.

18 ‘‘(e) Agencies or agency administrators who submit

19 employment or officer certification data pursuant to this

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

21 lack of good faith is shown by clear and convincing evi22 dence, are immune from civil liability for such disclosure.

23 The presumption of good faith may be rebutted upon a

24 showing that the data was submitted with knowledge of
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1 its falsity or was submitted with the malicious intent to

2 deliberately mislead.

3 ‘‘(f) For purposes of the section:

4 ‘‘(1)(A)(i) The term ‘law enforcement officer’

5 means a Federal law enforcement officer or an indi6 vidual who is elected or appointed by a State or ter7 ritory, a political subdivision of a State or territory,

8 the District of Columbia, or a Native American In9 dian tribe or band, to preserve the peace, make ar10 rests, serve warrants, or otherwise possess or exer11 cise the authority of a peace officer.

12 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a law enforcement officer

13 elected or appointed by a State or a political subdivi14 sion of a State, the term ‘law enforcement officer’

15 shall only include law enforcement officers required

16 by the law of the State to be licensed or certified.

17 ‘‘(B)(i) The term ‘correctional officer’ means a

18 Federal correctional officer, or an individual who is

19 elected or appointed by a State or territory, a politi20 cal subdivision of a State or territory, the District

21 of Columbia, or a Native American Indian tribe or

22 band to guard or supervise prisoners or inmates of

23 a jail or other detention, penal, or correctional facil24 ity.
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1 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a correctional officer elected

2 or appointed by a State or a political subdivision of

3 a State, the term ‘correctional officer’ shall only in4 clude correctional officers required by the law of the

5 State to be licensed or certified.

6 ‘‘(C)(i) The terms ‘law enforcement officer’ and

7 ‘correctional officer’ shall include an individual re8 gardless of whether such individual is compensated

9 for services, serves on a full- or part-time basis, is

10 appointed or elected, or serves on a temporary or

11 permanent basis.

12 ‘‘(ii) Such terms do not include citizens who are

13 called to assist an officer in the performance of the

14 officer’s duties, unless such citizen received a depu15 tation or commission of appointment lasting not less

16 than 30 days.

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘certification revoked for cause’

18 means the cancellation or revocation of an individ19 ual’s law enforcement officer or correctional officer

20 State professional license by a State peace officer

21 standards board or its equivalent after affording ad22 ministrative due process.’’.

23 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATES.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act, and the amendment

25 made by this Act, shall take effect on October 1, 1995.
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1 (b) INFORMATION COMPLIANCE.—Not later than 180

2 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each

3 State, territory, political subdivision of a State or terri4 tory, the District of Columbia, Native American Indian

5 tribe or band, and Federal agency employing law enforce6 ment and correctional officers shall fully comply with the

7 requirements of section 509A of the Omnibus Crime Con8 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968.

9 SEC. 5. GRANTS.

10 The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance

11 may authorize grants to agencies to assist in their compli12 ance with such section 509A of the Omnibus Crime Con13 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968.

14 SEC. 6. REPORTS.

15 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment

16 of this Act, the Attorney General, upon consultation with

17 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall

18 submit a report to the Committees on the Judiciary of

19 the House of Representatives and the Senate evaluating

20 the compliance with the requirements of section 509A of

21 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968,

22 and listing each State, territory, political subdivision of a

23 State or territory, the District of Columbia, Native Amer24 ican Indian tribe or band, and Federal agency employing

25 law enforcement or correctional officers who have failed
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1 materially to comply with the requirements of such sec2 tion. Such subsequent reports shall be presented at such

3 time in such form as is deemed appropriate by the Attor4 ney General.

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