2556-S AMH OBRI H5031.1

SHB 2556 - H AMD 825

By Representative O'Brien

WITHDRAWN 02/13/2004

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) A joint task force on criminal background check processes is established. The joint task force shall consist of the following members:

(a) Two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate; at least one member from each caucus shall be a member of the senate children and family services and corrections committee;

(b) Two members from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; at least one member from each caucus shall be a member of the house criminal justice and corrections committee;

(d) The secretary of the department of social and health services, or the secretary's designee;

(e) The state superintendent of public instruction, or the superintendent's designee;

(f) An elected sheriff or police chief, selected by the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs; and

(g) The following seven members, jointly appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate:

(i) A representative from a nonprofit service organization that serves primarily children under sixteen years of age;

(ii) A health care provider as defined in RCW 7.70.020;

(iii) A representative from a business or organization that serves primarily developmentally disabled persons or vulnerable adults;

(iv) A representative from a local youth athletic association;

(v) A representative from the insurance industry; and

(vi) Two representatives from a local parks and recreation program; one member shall be selected by the association of Washington cities and one member shall be selected by the Washington association of counties.

(2) The task force shall choose two cochairs from among its membership.

(3) The task force shall review and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor regarding the criminal background check process. In preparing the recommendations, the committee shall, at a minimum, review the following issues:

(a) What state and federal statutes require regarding criminal background checks;

(b) What criminal offenses are currently reportable through the criminal background check program;

(c) What information is available through the Washington state patrol and the federal bureau of investigation criminal background check systems;

(d) What are the best practices among organizations for obtaining criminal background checks on their employees and volunteers;

(e) What is the response time for obtaining criminal history information back from the Washington state patrol and the federal bureau of investigation;

(f) What are the costs associated with requesting criminal background checks from the Washington state patrol and the federal bureau of investigation;

(g) What is the feasibility and costs for businesses and organizations to do periodic background checks; and

(h) What is the feasibility of requiring all businesses and organizations, including nonprofit entities, to conduct criminal background checks for all employees, contractors, agents, and volunteers who have regularly scheduled supervised or unsupervised access to children, developmentally disabled persons, or vulnerable adults.

(4) The task force, where feasible, may consult with individuals from the public and private sector.

(5) The task force shall use legislative facilities and staff from senate committee services and the house office of program research.

(6) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 31, 2004.

(7) This section expires January 31, 2005."

Correct the title.

EFFECT: Instead of requiring the WASPC and the WSP to conduct a study on how to improve the criminal background check process, this amendment creates a joint task force to study the issue. The task force will consist of House and Senate members, state and local agency designees that use criminal background check information on a regular basis, as well as other representatives from organizations that serve primarily children and vulnerable adults. The task force will review current statutes, costs, and response times for criminal background checks. In addition, the task force must determine what the best practices are among organizations for obtaining criminal background checks on their employees and volunteers, and determine the feasibility of requiring all businesses and organizations, including nonprofit entities, to conduct criminal background checks for all employees and volunteers who have regularly scheduled supervised or unsupervised access to children, developmentally disabled persons, or vulnerable adults.

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