Bill Text: PA HB531 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to join the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact; providing for the form of the compact; and authorizing the Attorney General to appoint a compact officer.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-11)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-02-19 - Referred to JUDICIARY [HB531 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB531-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 581
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 531 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY CASORIO, BEYER, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL, DeLUCA, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GRUCELA, HALUSKA, HARRIS, HESS, HORNAMAN, W. KELLER, KORTZ, KOTIK, MANN, MELIO, MILNE, MURT, MUSTIO, PETRARCA, READSHAW, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, SWANGER, VULAKOVICH AND WALKO, FEBRUARY 19, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009
AN ACT
Authorizing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to join the
National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact; providing for
the form of the compact; and authorizing the Attorney General
to appoint a compact officer.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the National
Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act.
Section 2. Legislative findings.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) It is in the interest of this Commonwealth to
facilitate the dissemination of criminal history records from
other states for use in this Commonwealth as authorized by
law.
(2) The National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact
creates a legal framework for the cooperative exchange of
criminal history records for noncriminal justice purposes.
(3) The compact provides for the organization of an
electronic information-sharing system among the Federal
Government and the states to exchange criminal history
records for noncriminal justice purposes authorized by
Federal or State law, such as background checks for
governmental licensing and employment.
(4) Under the compact, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the party states agree to maintain detailed
databases of their respective criminal history records,
including arrests and dispositions, and to make them
available to the Federal Government and party states for
authorized purposes.
(5) The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall manage the
Federal data facilities that provide a significant part of
the infrastructure for the system.
(6) Entering into the compact would facilitate the
interstate and Federal-state exchange of criminal history
information to streamline the processing of background checks
for noncriminal justice purposes.
(7) Release and use of information obtained through the
system for noncriminal justice purposes would be governed by
the laws of the receiving states.
(8) Entering into the compact will provide a mechanism
for establishing and enforcing uniform standards for record
accuracy and for the confidentiality and privacy interests of
record subjects.
Section 3. National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact.
The National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact is enacted
into law and entered into with all jurisdictions legally joining
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in the compact in the form substantially as set forth as
follows:
NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION AND PRIVACY COMPACT
Article I. Definitions
As used in this compact, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Attorney general" means the attorney general of the
United States.
(2) "Compact officer" means:
(a) with respect to the federal government, an official so
designated by the director of the FBI; and
(b) with respect to a party state, the chief administrator
of the state's criminal history record repository or a designee
of the chief administrator who is a regular full-time employee
of the repository.
(3) "Council" means the compact council established under
Article VI.
(4) "Criminal history record repository" means the state
agency designated by the governor or other appropriate executive
official or the legislature of a state to perform centralized
record keeping functions for criminal history records and
services in the state.
(5) (a) "Criminal history records" means information
collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting
of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests,
detentions, indictments, or other formal criminal charges and
any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal,
sentencing, correctional supervision, or release.
(b) The term does not include identification information
such as fingerprint records if the information does not indicate
involvement of the individual with the criminal justice system.
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(6) "Criminal justice" includes activities relating to the
detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial
release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or
rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. The
administration of criminal justice includes criminal
identification activities and the collection, storage, and
dissemination of criminal history records.
(7) (a) "Criminal justice agency" means:
(i) courts; and
(ii) a governmental agency or any subunit of an agency that
performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a
statute or executive order and allocates a substantial part of
its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice.
(b) The term includes federal and state inspector general
offices.
(8) "Criminal justice services" means services provided by
the FBI to criminal justice agencies in response to a request
for information about a particular individual or as an update to
information previously provided for criminal justice purposes.
(9) "Direct access" means access to the national
identification index by computer terminal or other automated
means not requiring the assistance of or intervention by any
other party or agency.
(10) "Executive order" means an order of the president of
the United States or the chief executive officer of a state that
has the force of law and that is promulgated in accordance with
applicable law.
(11) "FBI" means the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(12) (a) "III system" means the interstate identification
index system, which is the cooperative federal-state system for
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the exchange of criminal history records.
(b) The term includes the national identification index, the
national fingerprint file, and to the extent of their
participation in the system, the criminal history record
repositories of the states and the FBI.
(13) "National fingerprint file" means a database of
fingerprints or of other uniquely personal identifying
information that relates to an arrested or charged individual
and that is maintained by the FBI to provide positive
identification of record subjects indexed in the III system.
(14) "National identification index" means an index
maintained by the FBI consisting of names, identifying numbers,
and other descriptive information relating to record subjects
about whom there are criminal history records in the III system.
(15) "National indices" means the national identification
index and the national fingerprint file.
(16) "Noncriminal justice purposes" means uses of criminal
history records for purposes authorized by federal or state law
other than purposes relating to criminal justice activities,
including employment suitability, licensing determination,
immigration and naturalization matters, and national security
clearances.
(17) "Nonparty state" means a state that has not ratified
this compact.
(18) "Party state" means a state that has ratified this
compact.
(19) "Positive identification" means a determination, based
upon a comparison of fingerprints or other equally reliable
biometric identification techniques, that the subject of a
record search is the same person as the subject of a criminal
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history record or records indexed in the III system.
Identification based solely upon a comparison of subjects' names
or other nonunique identification characteristics or numbers, or
combinations thereof, does not constitute positive
identification.
(20) "Sealed record information" means:
(a) with respect to adults, that portion of a record that
is:
(i) not available for criminal justice uses;
(ii) not supported by fingerprints or other accepted means
of positive identification; or
(iii) subject to restrictions on dissemination for
noncriminal justice purposes pursuant to a court order related
to a particular subject or pursuant to a federal or state
statute that requires action on a sealing petition filed by a
particular record subject; and
(b) with respect to juveniles, whatever each state
determines is a sealed record under its own law and procedure.
(21) "State" means any state, territory, or possession of
the United States, the District of Columbia, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Article II. Purposes
The purposes of this compact are to:
(1) provide a legal framework for the establishment of a
cooperative federal-state system for the interstate and federal-
state exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal
justice uses;
(2) require the FBI to permit use of the national
identification index and the national fingerprint file by each
party state and to provide, in a timely fashion, federal and
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state criminal history records to requesting states, in
accordance with the terms of this compact and with rules,
procedures, and standards established by the council under
Article VI;
(3) require party states to provide information and records
for the national identification index and the national
fingerprint file and to provide criminal history records, in a
timely fashion, to criminal history record repositories of other
states and the federal government for noncriminal justice
purposes, in accordance with the terms of this compact and with
rules, procedures, and standards established by the council
under Article VI;
(4) provide for the establishment of a council to monitor
III system operations and to prescribe system rules and
procedures for the effective and proper operation of the III
system for noncriminal justice purposes; and
(5) require the FBI and each party state to adhere to III
system standards concerning record dissemination and use,
response times, system security, data quality, and other duly
established standards, including those that enhance the accuracy
and privacy of such records.
Article III. Responsibilities of Compact Parties
(1) The director of the FBI shall:
(a) appoint an FBI compact officer who shall:
(i) administer this compact within the Department of Justice
and among federal agencies and other agencies and organizations
that submit search requests to the FBI pursuant to Article V(3);
(ii) ensure that compact provisions and rules, procedures,
and standards prescribed by the council under Article VI are
complied with by the Department of Justice and the federal
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agencies and other agencies and organizations referred to in
subsection (1)(a)(i) of this Article III; and
(iii) regulate the use of records received by means of the
III system from party states when such records are supplied by
the FBI directly to other federal agencies;
(b) provide to federal agencies and to state criminal
history record repositories criminal history records maintained
in its data base for the noncriminal justice purposes described
in Article IV, including:
(i) information from nonparty states; and
(ii) information from party states that is available from
the FBI through the III system, but is not available from the
party state through the III system;
(c) provide a telecommunications network and maintain
centralized facilities for the exchange of criminal history
records for both criminal justice purposes and the noncriminal
justice purposes described in Article IV and ensure that the
exchange of the records for criminal justice purposes has
priority over exchange for noncriminal justice purposes; and
(d) modify or enter into user agreements with nonparty state
criminal history record repositories to require them to
establish record request procedures conforming to those
prescribed in Article V.
(2) Each party state shall:
(a) appoint a compact officer who shall:
(i) administer this compact within that state;
(ii) ensure that compact provisions and rules, procedures,
and standards established by the council under Article VI are
complied with in the state; and
(iii) regulate the in-state use of records received by means
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of the III system from the FBI or from other party states;
(b) establish and maintain a criminal history record
repository, which shall provide:
(i) information and records for the national identification
index and the national fingerprint file; and
(ii) the state's III system-indexed criminal history records
for noncriminal justice purposes described in Article IV;
(c) participate in the national fingerprint file; and
(d) provide and maintain telecommunications links and
related equipment necessary to support the criminal justice
services set forth in this compact.
(3) In carrying out their responsibilities under this
compact, the FBI and each party state shall comply with III
system rules, procedures, and standards duly established by the
council concerning record dissemination and use, response times,
data quality, system security, accuracy, privacy protection, and
other aspects of III system operation.
(4) (a) Use of the III system for noncriminal justice
purposes authorized in this compact must be managed so as not to
diminish the level of services provided in support of criminal
justice purposes.
(b) Administration of compact provisions may not reduce the
level of service available to authorized noncriminal justice
users on the effective date of this compact.
Article IV. Authorized Record Disclosures
(1) To the extent authorized by section 552a of Title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974),
the FBI shall provide on request criminal history records,
excluding sealed record information, to state criminal history
record repositories and noncriminal justice purposes allowed by
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federal statute, federal executive order, or a state statute
that has been approved by the attorney general to ensure that
the state statute explicitly authorizes national indices checks.
(2) The FBI, to the extent authorized by section 552a of
Title 5, United States Code (commonly know as the Privacy Act of
1974), and state criminal history record repositories shall
provide criminal history records, excluding sealed record
information, to criminal justice agencies and other governmental
or nongovernmental agencies for noncriminal justice purposes
allowed by federal statute, federal executive order, or a state
statute that has been approved by the attorney general to ensure
that the state statute explicitly authorizes national indices
checks.
(3) any record obtained under this compact may be used only
for the official purposes for which the record was requested.
Each compact officer shall establish procedures, consistent with
this compact and with rules, procedures, and standards
established by the council under Article VI, which procedures
shall protect the accuracy and privacy of the records and shall:
(a) ensure that records obtained under this compact are used
only by authorized officials for authorized purposes;
(b) require that subsequent record checks are requested to
obtain current information whenever a new need arises; and
(c) ensure that record entries that may not legally be used
for a particular noncriminal justice purpose are deleted from
the response and, if no information authorized for release
remains, an appropriate "no record" response is communicated to
the requesting official.
Article V. Record Request Procedures
(1) Subject fingerprints or other approved forms of positive
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identification must be submitted with all requests for criminal
history record checks for noncriminal justice purposes.
(2) Each request for a criminal history record check
utilizing the national indices made under any approved state
statute must be submitted through the state's criminal history
record repository. A state criminal history record repository
shall process an interstate request for noncriminal justice
purposes through the national indices only if the request is
transmitted through another state criminal history record
repository or the FBI.
(3) Each request for criminal history record checks
utilizing the national indices made under federal authority must
be submitted through the FBI or, if the state criminal history
record repository consents to process fingerprint submissions,
through the criminal history record repository in the state in
which the request originated. Direct access to the national
identification index by entities other than the FBI and state
criminal history records repositories may not be permitted for
noncriminal justice purposes.
(4) A state criminal history record repository or the FBI:
(a) may charge a fee, in accordance with applicable law, for
handling a request involving fingerprint processing for
noncriminal justice purposes; and
(b) may not charge a fee for providing criminal history
records in response to an electronic request for a record that
does not involve a request to process fingerprints.
(5) (a) If a state criminal history record repository
cannot positively identify the subject of a record request made
for noncriminal justice purposes, the request, together with
fingerprints or other approved identifying information, must be
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forwarded to the FBI for a search of the national indices.
(b) If, with respect to a request forwarded by a state
criminal history record repository under subsection (5)(a), the
FBI positively identifies the subject as having a III system-
indexed record or records;
(i) the FBI shall so advise the state criminal history
record repository; and
(ii) the state criminal history record repository is
entitled to obtain the additional criminal history record
information from the FBI or other state criminal history
repositories.
Article VI. Establishment of Compact Council
(1) (a) There is established a council to be known as the
compact council, which has the authority to promulgate rules and
procedures governing the use of the III system for noncriminal
justice purposes, not to conflict with FBI administration of the
III system for criminal justice purposes.
(b) The council shall:
(i) continue in existence as long as this compact remains in
effect;
(ii) be located, for administrative purposes, within the
FBI; and
(iii) be organized and hold its first meeting as soon as
practicable after the effective date of this compact.
(2) The council must be composed of 15 members, each of whom
must be appointed by the attorney general, as follows:
(a) nine members, each of whom shall serve a 2-year term,
who must be selected from among the compact officers of party
states based on the recommendation of the compact officers of
all party states, except that in the absence of the requisite
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number of compact officers available to serve, the chief
administrators of the criminal history record repositories of
nonparty states must be eligible to serve on an interim basis;
(b) two at-large members, nominated by the director of the
FBI, each of whom shall serve a 3-year term, of whom:
(i) one must be a representative of the criminal justice
agencies of the federal government and may not be an employee of
the FBI; and
(ii) one must be a representative of the noncriminal justice
agencies of the federal government;
(c) two at-large members, nominated by the chairman of the
council once the chairman is elected pursuant to subsection (3)
of this Article VI, each of whom shall serve a 3-year term, of
whom:
(i) one must be a representative of state or local criminal
justice agencies; and
(ii) one must be a representative of state or local
noncriminal justice agencies;
(d) one member who shall serve a 3-year term and who shall
simultaneously be a member of the FBI's advisory policy board on
criminal justice information services, nominated by the
membership of that policy board;
(e) one member, nominated by the director of the FBI, who
shall serve a 3-year term and who must be an employee of the
FBI.
(3) (a) From its membership, the council shall elect a
chairman and a vice chairman of the council. Both the chairman
and vice chairman of the council:
(i) must be a compact officer, unless there is no compact
officer on the council who is willing to serve, in which case
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the chairman may be an at-large member; and
(ii) shall serve 2-year terms and may be re-elected to only
one additional 2-year term.
(b) The vice chairman of the council shall serve as the
chairman of the council in the absence of the chairman.
(4) (a) The council shall meet at least once each year at
the call of the chairman. Each meeting of the council must be
open to the public. The council shall provide prior public
notice in the Federal Register of each meeting of the council,
including the matters to be addressed at the meeting.
(b) A majority of the council or any committee of the
council shall constitute a quorum of the council or of a
committee, respectively, for the conduct of business. A lesser
number may meet to hold hearings, take testimony, or conduct any
business not requiring a vote.
(5) The council shall make available for public inspection
and copying at the council office within the FBI and shall
publish in the Federal Register any rules, procedures, or
standards established by the council.
(6) The council may request from the FBI reports, studies,
statistics, or other information or materials that the council
determines to be necessary to enable the council to perform its
duties under this compact. The FBI, to the extent authorized by
law, may provide assistance or information upon a request.
(7) The chairman may establish committees as necessary to
carry out this compact and may prescribe their membership,
responsibilities, and duration.
Article VII. Ratification of Compact
This compact takes effect upon being entered into by two or
more states as between those states and the federal government.
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When additional states subsequently enter into this compact, it
becomes effective among those states and the federal government
and each party state that has previously ratified it. When
ratified, this compact has the full force and effect of law
within the ratifying jurisdictions. The form of ratification
must be in accordance with the laws of the executing state.
Article VIII. Miscellaneous Provisions
(1) Administration of this compact may not interfere with
the management and control of the director of the FBI over the
FBI's collection and dissemination of criminal history records
and the advisory function of the FBI's advisory policy board
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.
App.) for all purposes other than noncriminal justice.
(2) Nothing in this compact may require the FBI to obligate
or expend funds beyond those appropriated to the FBI.
(3) Nothing in this compact may diminish or lessen the
obligations, responsibilities, and authorities of any state,
whether a party state or a nonparty state, or of any criminal
history record repository or other subdivision or component
thereof, under the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce,
the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1973
(Public Law 92-544), or regulations and guidelines promulgated
thereunder, including the rules and procedures promulgated by
the council under Article VI(1), regarding the use and
dissemination of criminal history records and information.
Article IX. Renunciation
(1) This compact shall bind each party state until renounced
by the party state.
(2) Any renunciation of this compact by a party state must:
(a) be effected in the same manner by which the party state
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ratified this compact; and
(b) become effective 180 days after written notice of
renunciation is provided by the party state to each other party
state and to the federal government.
Article X. Severability
The provisions of this compact must be severable. If any
phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this compact is
declared to be contrary to the constitution of any participating
state or to the Constitution of the United States or if the
applicability of any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of
this compact to any government, agency, person, or circumstance
is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact
and the applicability of the remainder of the compact to any
government, agency, person, or circumstance may not be affected
by the severability. If a portion of this compact is held
contrary to the constitution of any party state, all other
portions of this compact must remain in full force and effect as
to the remaining party states and in full force and effect as to
the party state affected, as to all other provisions.
Article XI. Adjudication of Disputes
(1) The council:
(a) has initial authority to make determinations with
respect to any dispute regarding:
(i) interpretation of this compact:
(ii) any rule or standard established by the council
pursuant to Article VI; and
(iii) any dispute or controversy between any parties to this
compact; and
(b) shall hold a hearing concerning any dispute described in
subsection (1)(a) at a regularly scheduled meeting of the
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council and only render a decision based upon a majority vote of
the members of the council. The decision must be published
pursuant to the requirements of Article VI(5).
(2) The FBI shall exercise immediate and necessary action to
preserve the integrity of the III system, to maintain system
policy and standards, to protect the accuracy and privacy of
records, and to prevent abuses until the council holds a hearing
on the matters.
(3) The FBI or a party state may appeal any decision of the
council to the attorney general and after that appeal may file
suit in the appropriate district court of the United States that
has original jurisdiction of all cases or controversies arising
under this compact. Any suit arising under this compact and
initiated in a state court must be removed to the appropriate
district court of the United States in the manner provided by
section 1446 of Title 28, United States Code, or other statutory
authority.
Section 4. Appointment of compact officer.
The Attorney General shall appoint a compact officer for the
purpose of complying with Article III(2)(a) of the National
Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact.
Section 10. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
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