BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 230
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 230 (Maienschein) - As Amended: January 8, 2014
SUBJECT : Youth athletic programs: background checks.
SUMMARY : Requires a community youth athletic program, beginning
January 1, 2016, to provide written notice of its criminal
background check policy to the parent or guardian of any youth
participating in the program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, commencing January 1, 2016, a community youth
athletic program to provide to the parent or guardian of any
youth participating in the program written notice that states
whether or not the program obtains criminal background checks
for hired or volunteer coaches, or both.
2)Requires, if the program obtains criminal background checks,
that the written notice include the following information:
a) A statement as to whether or not the criminal
background check includes state and federal criminal
history information and if the program obtains subsequent
arrest notification for those individuals; and,
b) Contact information regarding where a parent or
guardian can obtain additional information about the
program's background check policy, such as the entity
providing the criminal background check obtained by the
program or the nature of the types of offenses the
program looks for.
1)Defines a "community youth athletic program" as an
organization that meets both of the following requirements:
a) Its primary purpose is the promotion or provision of
athletic activities for youth under 18 years of age; and,
a) It has adult employees who have supervisory or
disciplinary power over a child.
1)States that nothing in this bill shall require or authorize a
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community youth athletic program to disclose confidential
criminal history information, as specified.
2)Specifies that "written notice" may include posting the
information on the program's Internet Web site.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to
maintain state summary criminal history information and to
furnish state summary criminal history information to
statutorily authorized entities under certain circumstances.
(Penal Code Section (PC) 11105(a),(b))
2)Authorizes a human resource agency or an employer to request
from DOJ records of all convictions or any arrest pending
adjudication involving specified offenses of a person who
applies for a license, employment, or a volunteer position in
which he or she would have supervisory or disciplinary power
over a minor or any person under his or her care. (PC
11105.3(a))
3)Requires any request to DOJ for records to include the
applicant's fingerprints, and requires DOJ to forward requests
for federal level criminal offender record information to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to be searched for any
record of arrests or convictions. (PC 11105.3(b))
4)Requires the agency or employer to notify the parents or
guardians of any minor who will be supervised or disciplined
by the employee or volunteer at least 10 days before the
prospective employee's or volunteer's start date if a request
reveals that he or she has been convicted of specified
offenses and has been hired. (PC 11105.3(c))
5)States that any criminal history information obtained, as
specified, is confidential and a recipient shall not disclose
its contents other than for the purpose for which it was
acquired. (PC 11105.3(h))
6)Authorizes DOJ to provide subsequent state or federal arrest
or disposition notification to any entity authorized by state
or federal law to receive state or federal summary criminal
history information to assist in fulfilling employment,
licensing, certification duties, or the duties of approving
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relative caregivers and nonrelative extended family members,
upon the arrest or disposition of any person whose
fingerprints are maintained on file at DOJ or the FBI as the
result of an application for licensing, employment,
certification, or approval. (PC 11105.2(a))
7)Requires any entity that submits the fingerprints of an
applicant for employment, licensing, certification, or
approval to DOJ for the purpose of establishing a record at
DOJ or the FBI to receive notification of subsequent arrest or
disposition to immediately notify the department if the
applicant is not subsequently employed, or if the applicant is
denied licensing certification, or approval. (PC 11105.2(f))
8)Prohibits a person who is required to register as a sex
offender because of a conviction for a crime in which the
victim was a minor under 16 years of age from being an
employer, employee, or independent contractor or acting as a
volunteer with any person, group or organization in a capacity
in which the registrant would be working directly and in an
unaccompanied setting with minor children on more than an
incidental and occasional basis or have supervision or
disciplinary power over minor children, and makes a violation
of this provision a misdemeanor. (PC 290.95(c),(e))
9)Authorizes a community youth athletic program, as defined, to
request state- and federal-level criminal history information
for a volunteer coach or hired coach candidate. (PC
11105.3(j))
10)Defines a "community youth athletic program" as an employer
having as its primary purpose the promotion or provision of
athletic activities for youth under 18 years of age. (PC
11105.3(i))
11)Defines "employer" as any nonprofit corporation or other
organization specified by the Attorney General that employs or
uses the services of volunteers in positions in which the
volunteer or employee has supervisory or disciplinary power
over a child or children. (PC 11105.3(f))
12)Requires the director of the program to be the custodian of
records. (PC 11105.3(j))
13)Authorizes the program to request from DOJ subsequent arrest
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notification service, as specified, for a volunteer coach or a
hired coach candidate. (PC 11105.3(k))
14)States that compliance with these provisions does not remove
or limit the liability of a mandated reporter. (PC
11105.3(l))
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would require community youth
athletic programs to provide written notice regarding the
program's criminal background check policy in order to better
inform parents and guardians of participants in those
programs. This bill is author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, this bill is
intended "to inform parents of the background check policies
or lack thereof for community youth sports programs, giving
parents the tools they need to make informed decisions about
the activities in which they place their children."
3)Current fingerprinting practices . AB 465 (Bonilla and
Maienschein), Chapter 146, Statutes of 2013, authorized
community youth athletic programs to request state- and
federal-level background checks from DOJ for both hired and
volunteer coaches.
According to DOJ, the cost of a state-level background check is
$32, although the fee may be waived for a volunteer of a
non-profit organization. The cost of a federal-level
background check is $15 for a youth organization volunteer.
Facilities that offer fingerprinting services commonly charge
an additional "finger-print rolling fee," which generally
ranges from $10 to $35.
4)Background check policies for youth sports organizations .
Many national sports organizations, including the American
Youth Soccer Organization and Little League International,
require volunteers who work with children to undergo specified
criminal background checks. Other groups, like the National
Alliance for Youth Sports (which partners with parks and
recreation departments, Boys and Girls Clubs, Police Athletic
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Leagues, and other community-based organizations) recommend
that organizations conduct criminal background checks on all
volunteers and make available a written screening policy.
In addition to conducting criminal background checks through the
DOJ, there are also private companies that provide, for a fee,
background check services and access to national criminal
database and sex offender information using names or social
security numbers, although background checks using just names
and birthdates are not as accurate. For example, Little
League International contracts with a company to provide its
members with access to national criminal and sex offender
registry records using a person's social security number.
5)Related legislation . AB 1027 (Bonilla) requires DOJ to
provide state summary criminal history information to the
director of a community youth athletic program, or his or her
designee, for purposes of screening volunteers or employees
who are left alone with minors. This bill is not scheduled to
be heard by the Committee.
6)Previous legislation .
AB 465 (Bonilla and Maienschein), Chapter 146, Statutes of
2013, authorizes a community youth athletic program to request
state- and federal-level background checks for a volunteer
coach or hired coach candidate.
AB 1628 (Beall) of 2012, would have required a private entity
doing business in the state that rents, leases, or uses public
property and has an employee, member, agent, licensee, or
representative who will access the property and who has duties
involving close interaction with children on a regular basis
to perform an enhanced background check, as specified, on the
employee, member, agent, licensee, or representative.
AB 1025 (Conway), Chapter 379, Statues of 2009, requires a
non-certificated candidate for a paid or volunteer position to
supervise, direct, or coach a pupil activity program that is
sponsored by, or affiliated with, a school district to obtain
from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing an Activity
Supervisor Clearance Certificate. AB 1025 requires the
commission to submit information relating to applicants to DOJ
to obtain state and federal criminal history information prior
to the issuance of a certificate.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support :
None on file.
Opposition :
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Eunie Linden / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301