BILL REQ. #:  S-0071.1 

Read first time 01/17/2005.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to local law enforcement automatic fingerprint identification systems; amending RCW 43.43.570; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that new advances in technology and the development of industry standards now allow law enforcement agencies with different automatic fingerprint identification system manufacturers to be interoperable. Furthermore, the legislature recognizes that requiring all law enforcement agencies to purchase or lease automatic fingerprint identification system equipment from the same vendor utilized by the Washington state patrol creates a noncompetitive environment, which prevents local law enforcement agencies from negotiating lower prices. It is therefore the intent of this legislation to allow local law enforcement agencies to purchase or lease any automatic fingerprint identification system, provided that the system complies with national industry standards for interoperability as developed by the federal bureau of investigation and the national institute of standards and technology.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.43.570 and 1987 c 450 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) No local law enforcement agency may establish or operate an automatic fingerprint identification system unless:
     (a) Both the hardware and software of the local system are compatible with the state system under RCW 43.43.560; ((and)) or
     (b) The ((local)) system ((is equipped to receive and answer inquiries from the Washington state patrol automatic fingerprint identification system and transmit data to the Washington state patrol automatic fingerprint identification system)) complies with the national institute of standards and technology interchange of fingerprint data standard defined in ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000, and the federal bureau of investigation image quality standards and transaction format specifications as defined in the FBI criminal justice information services electronic fingerprint transmission specifications (CJIS-RS-0010).
     (2) A local law enforcement agency operating an automatic fingerprint identification system shall transmit data on fingerprint entries to the Washington state patrol electronically by computer. This requirement shall be in addition to those under RCW 10.98.050 and 43.43.740.
     (3) ((Counties or local agencies that purchased or signed a contract to purchase an automatic fingerprint identification system prior to January 1, 1987, are exempt from the requirements of this section. The Washington state patrol shall charge fees for processing latent fingerprints submitted to the patrol by counties or local jurisdictions exempted from the requirements of this section. The fees shall cover, as nearly as practicable, the direct and indirect costs to the patrol of processing such fingerprints.)) (a) No later than January 1, 2006, the Washington state patrol's automatic fingerprint identification system shall:
     (i) Be capable of instantly accepting electronic tenprint criminal arrest, tenprint applicant, and latent search records from any Washington state local law enforcement agency that operates an automatic fingerprint identification system; and
     (ii) Provide a gateway for Washington state local law enforcement agencies to submit electronic latent and tenprint fingerprint searches to the federal bureau of investigation's integrated automated fingerprint imaging system and receive results.
     (b) This subsection shall only apply to Washington state local law enforcement agencies that are in compliance with subsection (1) of this section.
     (c) Any personnel functions necessary to prepare fingerprints for searches under this subsection shall be the responsibility of the submitting agency.
     (4) The Washington state patrol shall adopt rules to implement this section.