II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2647 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to establish a permanent 

background check system for private security officers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 23, 2014 

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

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to 

establish a permanent background check system for private security officers. 

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 ‘‘Security Officer 

5 Screening Improvement Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Integrated Automated Fingerprint 

9 Identification System of the Federal Bureau of InVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:44 Jul 28, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2647.IS S2647

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1 vestigation maintains fingerprints and criminal his2 tory records on more than 71,000,000 individuals. 

3 (2) Congress has worked with the States to 

4 make criminal history background checks available 

5 to employers of private security officers through the 

6 Private Security Officer Employment Authorization 

7 Act of 2004 (28 U.S.C. 534 note) and statutes en8 acted by dozens of States in compliance with Public 

9 Law 92–544. However, there are still numerous per10 sons employed as private security officers, entrusted 

11 to safeguard and protect people and property, who 

12 do not undergo criminal history background checks 

13 authorized by Federal and State law. 

14 SEC. 3. BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

15 The National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 

16 U.S.C. 5119 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating section 5 as section 6; and 

18 (2) by inserting after section 4 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 5. PROGRAM FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL HISTORY 

20 BACKGROUND CHECKS. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘background check designee’ 

23 means the entity designated by the Attorney General 

24 under subsection (b)(3) to carry out the duties de25 scribed in subsection (c); 


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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered entity’ means any person 

2 that employs a private security officer; 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘covered individual’ means an in4 dividual who is employed or applying for employ5 ment as a private security officer; 

6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘criminal history review designee’ 

7 means the entity designated by the Attorney General 

8 under subsection (b)(2) to carry out the criminal 

9 history review program; 

10 ‘‘(5) the term ‘criminal history review program’ 

11 means the program established under subsection (d); 

12 ‘‘(6) the term ‘qualified State program’ means 

13 a program of a State authorized agency that pro14 vides access to national criminal history background 

15 checks, as authorized by Federal or State law; 

16 ‘‘(7) the term ‘private security officer’ has the 

17 meaning given the term in subsection (c)(3) of the 

18 Private Security Officer Employment Authorization 

19 Act of 2004 (28 U.S.C. 534 note); and 

20 ‘‘(8) the term ‘State’ means a State of the 

21 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com22 monwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the 

23 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of 


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1 Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 

2 and the Republic of Palau. 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

5 is to facilitate widespread access to State and na6 tional criminal history background checks, not other7 wise authorized by Federal or State law, on private 

8 security officers and prospective private security offi9 cers. 

10 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of the Security Officer 

12 Screening Improvement Act of 2014, the Attorney 

13 General shall establish— 

14 ‘‘(A) policies and procedures to carry out 

15 the duties described in subsection (c); and 

16 ‘‘(B) a criminal history review program in 

17 accordance with subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(3) DESIGNEES.—The Attorney General may 

19 designate 1 or more Federal Government agencies to 

20 carry out the duties described in subsection (c). 

21 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO STATE AND NATIONAL BACK22 GROUND CHECKS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The Attorney General shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) inform covered entities about how to 

2 request State and national background 

3 checks— 

4 ‘‘(i) for covered entities located in a 

5 State with a qualified State program, by 

6 referring the covered entity to the State 

7 authorized agency; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) for covered entities located in a 

9 State without a qualified State program, 

10 by providing information on alternative 

11 methods of obtaining a State and national 

12 background check; 

13 ‘‘(B) complete a check of the national 

14 criminal history background check system; and 

15 ‘‘(C) provide information received in re16 sponse to such national criminal history back17 ground check to the criminal history review des18 ignee. 

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A request for 

20 a State and national criminal history background 

21 check shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) the fingerprints of the covered indi23 vidual; 


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1 ‘‘(B) other documents required by State 

2 law for a State criminal history background 

3 check; and 

4 ‘‘(C) the appropriate fee. 

5 ‘‘(3) FEES.—The Attorney General shall, in ad6 dition to the fee for the non-criminal justice, non-law 

7 enforcement national criminal history background 

8 check authorized under title II of the Department of 

9 Justice Appropriations Act, 1991 under the heading 

10 ‘SALARIES AND EXPENSES’ under the heading ‘FED11 ERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION’ (Public Law 

12 101–105; 28 U.S.C. 534 note)— 

13 ‘‘(A) collect a fee to offset the costs of car14 rying out the duties described in subsection (d), 

15 in an amount equal to the cost of conducting 

16 the criminal history review; and 

17 ‘‘(B) remit such fee to the Federal Bureau 

18 of Investigation. 

19 ‘‘(d) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW PROGRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

21 is to provide covered entities with reliable and accu22 rate information regarding the fitness of the covered 

23 individuals for performing security services. 

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Attorney General 

25 or designee shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) establish procedures to securely re2 ceive criminal history records; 

3 ‘‘(B) make determinations regarding 

4 whether the criminal history records received in 

5 response to a criminal history background check 

6 conducted under this section indicate that the 

7 covered individual has a criminal history that 

8 may bear on the covered individual’s fitness to 

9 perform security services; and 

10 ‘‘(C) convey to the covered entity that sub11 mitted the request for a State and national 

12 criminal history background check— 

13 ‘‘(i) the fitness and suitability of the 

14 covered individual based solely on the cri15 teria described in paragraph (3); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) instructions and guidance that 

17 the covered entity should consult the Equal 

18 Employment Opportunity Commission En19 forcement Guidance #915.002, dated April 

20 25, 2012, ‘Consideration of Arrest and 

21 Conviction Records in Employment Deci22 sions under Title VII of the Civil Rights 

23 Act of 1964’, or any successor thereto, 

24 issued by the United States Equal Employ25 ment Opportunity Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CRIMINAL HISTORY REVIEW CRITERIA.—In 

2 determining whether a criminal history record indi3 cates that a covered individual has a criminal history 

4 that may bear on the fitness of the covered indi5 vidual to perform security services, the Attorney 

6 General or designee shall employ the criteria used to 

7 evaluate individuals under the Private Security Offi8 cer Employment Authorization Act of 2004 (28 

9 U.S.C. 534 note). 

10 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION PROCESSING.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

12 shall establish the process by which a covered 

13 entity in a State without a qualified State pro14 gram may obtain a State and national criminal 

15 history background check. 

16 ‘‘(B) CHALLENGE TO COMPLETENESS OF

17 RECORD.—A covered individual may challenge 

18 the completeness of any information in the 

19 criminal history record of the individual by con20 tacting the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

21 under the procedure set out in section 16.34 of 

22 title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

23 successor thereto. 


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1 ‘‘(5) PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM.—The Attor2 ney General or designee shall determine whether an 

3 entity is a covered entity. 

4 ‘‘(6) PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any entity authorized 

6 to receive or transmit fingerprints or criminal 

7 history records under this section— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall use the fingerprints, crimi9 nal history records, or information in the 

10 criminal history records only for the pur11 poses specifically set forth in this section; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall maintain adequate security 

14 measures to ensure the confidentiality of 

15 the fingerprints, the criminal history 

16 records, and the information in the crimi17 nal history records. 

18 ‘‘(B) RETENTION OF FINGERPRINTS BY

19 THE FBI.—In accordance with State or Federal 

20 procedures, for the purpose of providing finger21 print verification, criminal investigation or sub22 sequent hit notification services, or for the re23 tention of criminal history, the Federal Bureau 

24 of Investigation may retain any fingerprints 


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1 submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investiga2 tion under this section. 

3 ‘‘(7) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

4 this subsection shall be construed to change or re5 place any background check program authorized by 

6 Federal or State law on the day before the date of 

7 enactment of the Security Officer Screening Im8 provement Act of 2014.’’. 

Æ 


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