HB513ENGROSSED
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HB513
KHZN655-2
By Representative Brinyark
RFD: Public Safety and Homeland Security
First Read: 03-Apr-25
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First Read: 03-Apr-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to the Alabama Justice Information Commission;
to amend Sections 41-9-590, 41-9-594, 41-9-625, and 41-9-650,
Code of Alabama 1975, to mandate the collection and
dissemination of biometric identifiers by certain entities; to
authorize the use of certain approved biometric identification
devices by law enforcement officers to identify individuals;
to establish and provide for the operation of the Alabama
Background Check Service; to add Sections 41-9-650.1,
41-9-650.2, 41-9-650.3, 41-9-650.4, and 41-9-650.5 to the Code
of Alabama 1975, to authorize ALEA to perform authorized
background checks for noncriminal justice purposes; to provide
for approved types and uses of background checks for
noncriminal justice purposes; to authorize ALEA and its
Secretary to establish and collect fees for background checks
for noncriminal justice purposes; to establish the Alabama Rap
Back Program; to provide penalties for the misuse of a
background check report; to make conforming changes to update
terminology; to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to
update the existing code language to current style; and to
repeal Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 32, Code of Alabama
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repeal Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 32, Code of Alabama
1975, regarding criminal history information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 41-9-590, 41-9-594, 41-9-625, and
41-9-650, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as
follows:
"§41-9-590
When used in this article, the following terms shall
have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context
clearly indicates a different meaning:
(1) AJIC or COMMISSION. The Alabama Justice Information
Commission.
(2) ALEA. The Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(3) ALEA CJIS. The Criminal Justice Information
Services Division of the ALEA State Bureau of Investigations.
(4) BACKGROUND CHECK. A report produced by one or more
information systems within ALEA that identifies a specific
person's criminal history record within the state criminal
history repository. The report may also include criminal
history record information from the national criminal history
repository maintained by the FBI or other public
safety-related information maintained or accessed through the
authority of ALEA.
(5) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION. Information
collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals
consisting of identifiable descriptions including fingerprints
and other biometric information, and notations of arrests,
detentions, indictments, or other formal charges, and any
disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal,
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disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal,
sentencing, correctional induction, supervision, or release.
The term does not include identification information such as
fingerprint records if such information does not indicate the
individual's involvement with the criminal justice system.
(3)(6) CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES. Federal, state,
local, and tribal public agencies that perform substantial
activities or planning for activities relating to the
identification, apprehension, prosecution, adjudication, or
rehabilitation of civil, traffic, and criminal offenders.
(4)(7) CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION. Data necessary for
criminal justice Information based upon data under the
authority of ALEA or AJIC necessary for criminal justice and
public safety agencies to perform their duties and enforce
existing law missions. This term includes , but is not limited
to, biometrics, business, biometric, identity history, person,
organization, and property, when accompanied by any personally
identifiable information, bond conditions and provisions,
case/incident case or incident history data reports, and any
other data deemed criminal justice information by the FBI CJIS
Security Policy. The term also includes ALEA-provided or FBI
CJIS-provided data necessary to make hiring decisions. In
addition, the term may refer to the ALEA CJIS-provided or FBI
CJIS-provided data necessary for civil agencies to perform
their missions, including, but not limited to, data used to
make hiring decisions.
(5)(8) CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION
or FBI CJIS. The division of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation that equips law enforcement, national security,
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Investigation that equips law enforcement, national security,
and intelligence community partners with needed criminal
justice information FBI that is responsible for the
collection, warehousing, and timely dissemination of relevant
criminal justice information to the FBI and to qualified law
enforcement, criminal justice, civilian, academic, employment,
and licensing agencies .
(9) FBI. The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(6)(10) INFORMATION SYSTEM. A system of people, data,
and processes, whether manual or automated, established for
the purpose of managing information.
(7)(11) NLETS. Network provider The national
organization that provides for exchange of criminal justice
and public safety information among multiple between state,
federal, and international criminal justice agencies.
(8)(12) NLETS SYSTEM AGENCY or NSA. The state agency
responsible for the administration of the NLETS network
information provided by NLETS to criminal justice and public
safety agencies within this state and represents the state on
the governing board for NLETS .
(13) NONCRIMINAL JUSTICE PURPOSE. The uses of criminal
history records for purposes authorized by federal or state
law other than purposes relating to the administration of
criminal justice, including employment suitability, licensing
determinations, immigration and naturalization matters, and
national security clearances.
(9)(14) OFFENSE. Any act that is a felony, misdemeanor,
state violation, municipal ordinance violation, or violation,
or an act of delinquency.
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or an act of delinquency.
(15) RAP BACK. A system that enables authorized
entities to receive ongoing status notifications of any
criminal history reported by ALEA or the FBI on individuals
whose fingerprints are registered in the ALEA CJIS biometric
identity repository or the FBI CJIS national fingerprint file.
(10)(16) SECRETARY. The Secretary of the Alabama State
Law Enforcement Agency.
(11)(17) SBI. The State Bureau of Investigation
Investigations.
(12)(18) USER AGENCY. Any agency or entity that
subscribes to, accesses, or views any ALEA information system
or service provided under the authority of this article."
"§41-9-594
(a) The commission shall establish its own rules and
policies for the performance of the responsibilities charged
to it in under this article. Unless otherwise stated, the
rules of the commission are subject to the Administrative
Procedure Act, Chapter 22 of Title 41. ALEA may establish
procedures to implement the rules and policies of the
commission or as otherwise stated in state law.
(b) The commission shall establish adopt rules and
policies that will restrict the information obtained under
authority of this article to the items germane to the
implementation of this article and restrict the use of
information only to authorized persons and agencies.
(c) The chair of the commission shall appoint a Privacy
and Security Committee from the membership of the commission
who are elected officials, or their designees, consisting of a
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who are elected officials, or their designees, consisting of a
chair and three members, to study the privacy and security
implications of sharing criminal justice information and to
formulate rule or policy recommendations for consideration by
the commission concerning the collection, storage,
dissemination, or usage of criminal justice information.
(d) The commission may adopt rules and policies
regarding the collection, storage, and dissemination of
criminal justice information that conform to the policies of
the FBI CJIS. The commission may adopt rules and policies that
permit ALEA to perform background checks for noncriminal
justice purposes and may provide for the procedure for
obtaining the records including, but not limited to, charging
a fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) for securing
records through ALEA. All fees shall be deposited into the
State Treasury to the credit of the Public Safety Fund and
shall be used to cover the expenses for improving criminal
history records and the state repository at ALEA.
(e) Any rule or policy of the commission to the
contrary notwithstanding, the police department of any college
or university in this state which offers medical, nursing, and
health care education, or which operates a hospital may
request from ALEA a criminal background check on any person
who applies for employment with the college or university, and
ALEA may charge a background search fee of up to twenty-five
dollars ($25) from each applicant for each search conducted on
the applicant. All fee proceeds from the background check fee
shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the
Public Safety Fund and shall be used to cover expenses for
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Public Safety Fund and shall be used to cover expenses for
improving criminal history records and the state repository at
ALEA.
(f) The commission may establish a fee schedule for any
services rendered by ALEA under the authority of this article.
All fees shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the
credit of the Public Safety Fund and shall be used to support,
develop, maintain, and promote operations as authorized in
this article."
"§41-9-625
(a) All persons in this state in charge of law
enforcement and correctional agencies shall obtain biometric
identifiers, which may include fingerprints, photographs, palm
prints, retina scans, or other identifiers specified by the
FBI, according to the biometric identification system at ALEA
and the rules established by the commission of all persons
arrested or taken into custody as fugitives from justice, and
of all unidentified human corpses in their jurisdictions. All
biometric identifiers collected according to this section
shall be provided to ALEA according to the rules of the
commission.
(b) If any person arrested or taken into custody is
subsequently released without charge or cleared of the offense
through criminal justice proceedings, the disposition shall be
reported by all state, county, and municipal criminal justice
agencies to ALEA within 30 days of such action, and all of the
information shall be eliminated and removed.
(a) When an individual is arrested for a criminal
offense, the arresting agency shall obtain biometric
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offense, the arresting agency shall obtain biometric
identifiers, which may include fingerprints, photographs, palm
prints, iris scans, or other identifiers specified by rule of
AJIC, and provide this information to ALEA according to the
procedures established by ALEA CJIS for inclusion in the state
biometric identification repository.
(b) When an individual is detained or taken into
custody as a fugitive from justice, the agency with custody
over the individual may obtain biometric identifiers, which
may include fingerprints, photographs, palm prints, iris
scans, or other identifiers specified by AJIC by rule and
provide the information according to the procedures
established by ALEA CJIS. If the individual is subsequently
released without charge, released to the jurisdiction of the
underlying arrest, or otherwise cleared of the offense through
criminal justice proceedings, the involved agency shall notify
ALEA CJIS of such disposition within 30 days. Upon receiving
notification, ALEA shall remove all information regarding the
detainment or custodial event from all ALEA CJIS information
systems.
(c) All agencies that recover an unidentified human
corpse shall obtain biometric identifiers and provide this
information and other recovery event-related information to
ALEA according to the rules established by the commission and
procedures established by ALEA CJIS for inclusion in the state
biometric identification repository.
(d) A law enforcement officer may use a biometric
identification device with access to the state and federal
biometric identification repositories to identify an
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biometric identification repositories to identify an
individual to the extent allowed by state law in situations
that provide the officer authority to request or otherwise
take action to identify an individual. The device must meet
FBI or AJIC standards to compare the captured identifier to
the state or federal biometric identification repositories. "
"§41-9-650
In addition to any other requirements, any agency,
board, or commission in this state that issues a permit or
license, by rule, may require a criminal background check
through ALEA as part of its licensing or permitting
requirements. Any agency, board, or commission adopting a rule
requiring a background check shall be subject to rules and
procedures of the commission for the use of the background
check.
(a) ALEA shall establish and operate a service, to be
called the Alabama Background Check Service, that allows
authorized persons and entities to obtain background checks on
individuals for noncriminal justice purposes.
(b) AJIC shall adopt rules for the governance of the
Alabama Background Check Service. ALEA shall establish
procedures for the operation of the service that are
consistent with the commission's rules.
(c) ALEA may contract with one or more vendors or other
third-party entities to facilitate any or all functions of the
service on behalf of ALEA. "
Section 2. Sections 41-9-650.1, 41-9-650.2, 41-9-650.3,
41-9-650.4, and 41-9-650.5 are added to the Code of Alabama
1975, to read as follows:
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1975, to read as follows:
§41-9-650.1
(a) For the noncriminal justice purposes specified
herein, ALEA may provide a background check to any of the
following persons or entities:
(1) Any public or private employer, to screen a
prospective employee or contractor or for other employment
purposes.
(2) Any government agency, board, or commission with
legal authority to issue a license, permit, or certification,
to screen an applicant for the issuance or renewal of the
license, permit, or certification.
(3) Any nonprofit or volunteer organization, to screen
a prospective or current volunteer of the organization.
(4) Any housing authority or lessor of rental property,
to screen a prospective or current resident.
(5) Any educational entity, for the purpose of
screening student applicants, prospective or current
volunteers involved with entity-related activities, or other
individuals directly related to the operations or events of
the entity and subject to the entity's authority.
(6) Any agency or organization established by federal
or state law, for an official purpose of the agency or
organization.
(7) Any person or entity authorized by the rules of the
commission to obtain a background check for noncriminal
justice purposes.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by law, an individual
that is the subject of a background check for noncriminal
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that is the subject of a background check for noncriminal
justice purposes shall provide written permission for the
release of information to the authorized person or entity
requesting the check prior to ALEA's dissemination of
background check information. The subject's written permission
shall be maintained, physically or digitally, by the
requesting person or entity for a period of three years or for
the term of the subject's association with the requester,
whichever is longer.
(c) A background check will not be provided on any
individual under 18 years of age without parental consent.
(d) Any person or entity that is authorized by state
law to perform a background check or allowed by law to adopt
rules requiring a background check is subject to the AJIC
rules and ALEA procedures described in Section 41-9-650.
(e) The commission may require a person or entity to
develop background check guidelines for the commission's
review and approval prior to allowing the release of
background check information to that person or entity.
(f) Background check information may only be
disseminated for the specific purposes listed in this section.
No person or entity that has received background check
information from ALEA shall subsequently disseminate the
background check information to any other person or entity.
(g) Any recipient of a background check record may be
subject to an audit by ALEA CJIS.
§41-9-650.2
(a) The Alabama Background Check Service may be
provided through a biometric-based or a name-based search for
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provided through a biometric-based or a name-based search for
a background check record.
(b) A name-based search shall be initiated by
submitting an individual's name to ALEA through an Internet
web portal or other commission-approved mechanism, which shall
allow for the electronic transfer of records and shall only
return state information results.
(c) The response to a biometric-based search shall only
be provided upon the receipt of biometric information by ALEA
or a commission-approved third-party entity acting on behalf
of ALEA that meets all FBI standards for biometric
identification collection. This search shall provide state
information results as well as other state and federal
information as allowed by law.
(d) An applicant for a license, permit, or
certification shall provide the issuing government agency,
board, or commission with his or her name, date of birth,
Social Security Number, and written permission for the release
of information on a form sworn by the applicant. This
information shall be digitally provided to ALEA. If a
biometric-based check is requested, the applicant shall submit
fingerprints or other biometrics in accordance with rules of
ALEA and AJIC. If a national record check is required, ALEA
shall forward or process the applicant's prints or other
biometrics to the FBI for a national criminal background check
in a manner consistent with federal law.
§41-9-650.3
(a) The secretary may establish reasonable record fees
for the provision of a background check report, not to exceed
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for the provision of a background check report, not to exceed
thirty dollars ($30). The record fee may be waived at the
discretion of the secretary.
(b) Additional costs may be assessed to a person or
entity requesting a background check for any of the following:
(1) The cost for a national criminal background check,
as determined by the FBI.
(2) Financial transaction fees.
(3) A reasonable one-time account registration fee.
(c) ALEA may enter into an agreement with one or more
vendors or other third-party entities to perform background
check services for ALEA on the basis of fee sharing or by
adding an additional convenience fee for third-party services.
(d) Requests for background checks made by the Alabama
Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission or by any
criminal justice agency are exempt from fees established
pursuant to this section, if the request is made for criminal
justice purposes or for the purpose of making an employment
suitability decision.
(e) All monies received for background checks shall be
deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Public
Safety Fund. Such monies shall be used for the purposes of
ALEA CJIS and for other ALEA expenses as determined by the
secretary.
§41-9-650.4
(a) As part of the Alabama Background Check Service,
ALEA may establish the Alabama Rap Back Program. If
established, ALEA shall participate in the FBI's Next
Generation Identification (NGI) Rap Back Service. The purpose
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Generation Identification (NGI) Rap Back Service. The purpose
of the rap back service is to allow ALEA to notify
participating entities when an enrolled individual is the
subject of a rap back notification event, including, but not
limited to, being arrested for or convicted of a criminal
offense.
(b) As used in this section, the following words have
the following meanings:
(1) INDIVIDUAL. Any person who has undergone a
fingerprint-based background check in order to care for
children, the disabled, or the elderly, or to be licensed,
certified, or perform volunteer service, or for any other FBI
or federally authorized purpose with a participating entity
and who has been enrolled by that participating entity in the
Alabama Rap Back Program.
(2) PARTICIPATING ENTITY. An entity with statutory
authority to require an individual to undergo a
fingerprint-based background check as a condition to care for
children, the disabled, or the elderly, or to be licensed,
certified, or perform volunteer service, or for any other FBI
or federally authorized purpose and has elected to enroll
those individuals in the Alabama Rap Back Program.
(c) ALEA may submit fingerprints and accompanying
records to the FBI to be retained in and advised through the
FBI's NGI Rap Back Service when an enrolled individual is
arrested for or convicted of a criminal offense. Fingerprints
submitted to the FBI may be used for future searches,
including latent searches.
(d) ALEA shall ensure that notification is made to the
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(d) ALEA shall ensure that notification is made to the
participating entity that enrolls an individual in the Alabama
Rap Back Program when an FBI Rap Back report notification is
received. The information contained in the notification shall
be used by the participating entity for purposes of
determining the eligibility of the continued service of the
individual and shall not be further disseminated.
(e) No liability shall be imposed upon any law
enforcement official who disseminates information, or does not
disseminate information, in a good faith attempt to comply
with the requirements of this section. Nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to grant immunity for gross
negligence or willful misconduct.
(f) ALEA shall adopt rules governing the operation and
maintenance of the Alabama Rap Back Program and the removal
and destruction of records on individuals who are deceased or
who are no longer individuals as defined in this section. Such
rules shall provide that a participating entity shall
disenroll any individual who is deceased or is no longer an
individual as defined in this section within five business
days of death or such event that no longer requires the
individual to be enrolled in the Alabama Rap Back Program to
ensure the prompt removal and destruction of records from the
Alabama Rap Back Program.
(g) ALEA may assess an annual fee not to exceed twelve
dollars ($12) per individual enrolled in the Alabama Rap Back
Program. The fee shall be paid by the participating entity
enrolling an individual in the Alabama Rap Back Program. When
more than one participating entity enrolls the same individual
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more than one participating entity enrolls the same individual
in the Alabama Rap Back Program, both participating entities
shall be responsible for paying the full cost for maintenance
and notification. Any fees collected shall be deposited in the
State Treasury to the credit of the Public Safety Fund. Such
monies shall be used for the purposes of ALEA CJIS and for
other ALEA expenses as determined by the secretary.
(h) No participating entity authorized to submit
fingerprints shall be considered negligent per se in a civil
action solely because the entity elected not to enroll an
individual in the Alabama Rap Back Program pursuant to this
section.
(i) ALEA may establish an in-state rap back service for
any person or entity that does not qualify to receive
information from the FBI Rap Back Service but that has
authority to require a state-only background check.
§41-9-650.5
(a) An individual commits the crime of misuse of a
background check report if he or she does any of the
following:
(1) Knowingly receives, disseminates, or otherwise uses
a background check contrary to the purposes allowed by this
article or otherwise allowed in law.
(2) Performs a background check on an individual
without first receiving a release, when required, from the
subject of the report.
(3) Willfully uses information submitted to the Alabama
Rap Back Program for purposes not authorized in this article
with the intent to harass or intimidate another individual.
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with the intent to harass or intimidate another individual.
(b) Misuse of a background check report is a Class B
misdemeanor.
Section 3. Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 32, Code of
Alabama 1975, relating to the release of criminal history
information, is repealed.
Section 4. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2025.
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1, 2025.
House of Representatives
Read for the first time and referred
to the House of Representatives
committee on Public Safety and
Homeland Security
................03-Apr-25
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
1 amendment
................09-Apr-25
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 97
Nays 0
Abstains 2
................10-Apr-25
John Treadwell
Clerk
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