Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Local Government & Housing Committee

SB 6288

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Authorizes local governments to require background investigations for certain license applicants and licensees.
Stipulates that background investigations must be processed through the Washington State Patrol Identification and Criminal History Section.
Requires local governments requesting background investigations to finance the investigation, unless alternately arranged

Background:

Local governments in Washington are authorized by statute to issue licenses and certificates for specified professions or occupations that are not otherwise issued by the state. Examples of such occupations include drivers of taxicabs or other for-hire vehicles, dealers of secondhand goods, peddlers, solicitors, and canvassers.

The Washington State Patrol Identification and Criminal History Section (WASIS) is the statewide repository for fingerprint-based Criminal History Record Information (CHRI). The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is authorized to disseminate conviction data within the WASIS database to local governments without restriction. The WASIS database is limited to CHRI for crimes committed in Washington.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the national repository for fingerprint-based CHRI. Pursuant to federal law, the FBI may only conduct national criminal record background investigations at the request of state and local government officials for licensing and employment purposes when language authorizing national criminal background investigations is expressly stated in state statute. Current state law authorizes certain state agencies to request national criminal background investigations from the FBI. There is no expressed statutory authorization for local governments to request national criminal background investigations.

Summary of Bill:

Local governments may, by ordinance, require a state and federal background investigation of license applicants or licensees in occupations for which the local government has licensing authority.

State background investigations must be processed through the WASIS, as provided for in statute, and may also include a fingerprint-based national background check through the FBI. The WSP must be the sole source for receipt of fingerprint submissions, as well as responses to the submissions, from the FBI. The WSP is also responsible for disseminating the results of the national background investigations to the requesting local government.

The local government requesting the background investigation is responsible for transmitting the appropriate fees for a state and national criminal history check to the WSP, unless alternately arranged.