BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 465
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2013
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 465 (Bonilla and Maienschein) - As Amended: April 18, 2013
SUMMARY : Authorizes a community youth athletic program to
request state- and federal-level background checks for a
volunteer coach or hired coach candidate. Specifically, this
bill :
1)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.
2)Specifies that a community youth athletics program may request
state- and federal-level criminal history information for a
volunteer coach or hired coach candidate.
3)States that the director of the community youth athletic
program shall be the custodian of records.
4)States that the community youth athletic program may request
from the Department of Justice (DOJ) subsequent arrest
notification service for a volunteer coach or a hired coach
candidate.
5)States that compliance with this provision does not remove or
limit the liability of a mandated reporter.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that DOJ shall maintain state summary criminal
history information and authorizes DOJ to furnish state
summary criminal history information to statutorily authorized
entities. (Penal Code Section 11105.6.)
2)States that, notwithstanding any other law, a human resource
agency or an employer may request from DOJ records of all
convictions or any arrest pending adjudication involving the
offenses specified of a person who applies for a license,
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employment, or volunteer position, in which he or she would
have supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or any
person under his or her care. DOJ shall furnish the
information to the requesting employer and shall also send a
copy of the information to the applicant. [Penal Code Section
11105.3(a).]
a) Provides that a request for these records shall include
the applicant's fingerprints, which may be taken by the
requester, and any other data specified by DOJ. The
request shall be on a form approved by DOJ, and DOJ may
charge a fee to be paid by the employer, human resource
agency, or applicant for the actual cost of processing the
request. However, no fee shall be charged to a nonprofit
organization. Requests received by DOJ for federal level
criminal offender record information shall be forwarded to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by DOJ to be
searched for any record of arrests or convictions. [Penal
Code Section 11105.3(b).]
b) 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 where a request
pursuant to this section reveals that a prospective
employee or volunteer has been convicted of specified
offenses, and the agency or employer hires the prospective
employee or volunteer. The notice shall be given to the
parents or guardians with whom the child resides, and shall
be given at least 10 days prior to the day that the
employee or volunteer begins his or her duties or tasks.
[Penal Code Section 11105.3(c)(1).]
c) States that the above notification requirement shall not
apply to a misdemeanor conviction for unlawful sexual
intercourse with a minor, or to a conviction for spousal
rape or domestic violence. [Penal Code Section
11105.3(c)(2).]
d) Defines a "human resource agency" as a public or private
entity, excluding any agency responsible for licensing of
specified facilities, responsible for determining the
character and fitness of a person who is [Penal Code
Section 11105.3(g)]:
i) Applying for a license, employment, or as a
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volunteer within the human services field that involves
the care and security of children, the elderly, the
handicapped, or the mentally impaired.
ii) Applying to be a volunteer who transports
individuals impaired by drugs or alcohol.
iii) Applying to adopt a child or be a foster parent.
e) States that any criminal history information obtained
pursuant to this section is confidential and no recipient
shall disclose its contents other than for the purpose for
which it was acquired, except as specified. [Penal Code
Section 11105.3(h).]
3)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
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. Nothing in this section shall
authorize the notification of a subsequent disposition
pertaining to a disposition that does not result in a
conviction, unless DOJ has previously received notification of
the arrest and has previously lawfully notified a receiving
entity of the pending status of that arrest. When DOJ
supplies subsequent arrest or disposition notification to a
receiving entity, the entity shall, at the same time,
expeditiously furnish a copy of the information to the person
to whom it relates if the information is a basis for an
adverse employment, licensing, or certification decision. When
furnished other than in person, the copy shall be delivered to
the last contact information provided by the applicant.
[Penal Code Section 11105.2(a).]
4)Provides that 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 shall immediately notify the department if the
applicant is not subsequently employed, or if the applicant is
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denied licensing certification, or approval. [Penal Code
Section 11105.2(f).]
5)States that no person who is required to register as a sex
offender because of a conviction for a crime where the victim
was a minor under 16 years of age shall be an employer,
employee, independent contractor, or act 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. [Penal Code Section 290.95(c).]
a) Includes, but does not limit, within the definition of
"working directly in an unaccompanied setting," providing
goods or services to minors. [Penal Code Section
290.95(d).]
b) Provides that a violation of this section is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for
a period not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding
$1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine, and
specifies that a violation of this section shall not
constitute a continuing offense. [Penal Code Section
290.95(e).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Currently in
California, sports coaches working in public schools are
required to go through a background check process - however,
this same safety requirement does not apply to youth sports
leagues outside of a school setting. But as many of you with
children know, most of our kids also join private youth sports
leagues in the community such as soccer, or traveling club
teams when they get older. These coaches often spend more time
with kids by driving them to tournaments, taking them home
after practice, or waiting with them for their parents to pick
them up. This access to children has the potential to draw
predators to seek jobs in coaching.
"Requiring all youth sports leagues to conduct background checks
on the coaches they hire is an important step in protecting
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our children. The US Department of Health and Human Services
reported that in 2011, there were 4,890 children in California
who were victims of sexual abuse. However, according to the
group Darkness to Light, 73% of child victims do not tell
anyone about the abuse for at least a year, meaning that the
number of children in this state sexually abused in 2011 could
be upward of 18,000. Finally, it is estimated that 90% of
children who are sexually abused know their perpetrator-often
times family members, family friends, or authority figures
such as teachers and coaches. Any measure that would help
keep predators away from our children should and must be
taken.
"As a coach myself, I know that most of us want to do all we can
to provide a positive, fun, and safe experience to the kids on
our team. But more importantly, as a father, I know our
children are the most vulnerable members of our communities.
We worry about them every time they are away from us at a
friend's house, school, or practice, and we will do anything
it takes to make sure they are safe. AB 465 would create a
consistent background check policy for all youth sports
leagues, while assuring parents that extensive steps are being
taken to protect their children."
2)Chilling Effect on Volunteers : Youth sports leagues rely
heavily on volunteers, many being parents of minors
participating in the league. This bill authorizes a youth
sports league to require both hired coaches and volunteer
coaches to undergo a state- and federal-level background
check. According to DOJ, the current cost of the state-level
background check is $32 for a for-profit organization, and may
be waived for a non-profit organization. The federal-level
background check is $17 for employees, and $15 for volunteers.
[.) In addition, there is a "rolling fee" that each
applicant must pay for having his or her fingerprints rolled
or scanned. The rolling fee varies, generally from $10 to
$35, with some locations requiring fees of $45 or more.
[ (as
of Apr. 17, 2013).] While these fees may not pose a huge
burden on families with middle to high incomes, it may be
difficult for many families to afford these fees, in addition
to all of the existing fees for participating in the league
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such as registration fees and the cost of uniforms.
Criminal background checks for volunteers may also
disincentivize people who have any convictions in their
record, regardless of how remote or whether the nature of the
crime was related to violence or sexual abuse of minors. The
fear that others in the community may learn of an old driving
under the influence or theft conviction may be enough to steer
people away from participating as volunteers in these leagues.
In addition, the subsequent arrest notification service may
also cause some organizations to remove a coach from one of
its leagues for an arrest without a conviction.
3)Electronic Fingerprinting : While the law requires applicant
fingerprints to be captured and submitted electronically via
Live Scan, DOJ does have limited statutory authority to issue
an exemption to this mandate if an electronic transmission
site is regionally unavailable or internal processing
procedures dictate a need. If an individual cannot submit his
or her fingerprints electronically, the individual (not the
employing or regulatory entity) must submit a separate form to
DOJ along with a fingerprint card. [See DOJ's Web site
(as of April 4,
2013).]
4)Arguments in Support : The California State Sheriffs'
Association states, "California already has established
standards to prevent individuals with a criminal background
from being employed by school districts, or from being
involved with any sports teams that are administered by
schools. Unfortunately, this requirement does not extend to
all private youth sports organizations, and the lack of
consistency in performing and obtaining accurate background
checks jeopardizes the safety of our children."
5)Arguments in Opposition : The California Public Defenders
Association writes, "This bill would expose a person's summary
criminal history to his or her friends and neighbors with no
stated limitation. It would permit one neighbor to know that
another one had a prior drunk driving or petty theft
conviction that is maybe years old. This seems guaranteed to
discourage local parents from participation, for fear that
their friends and neighbors will become aware with no
limitations, of their past criminal record, no matter how
remote or how minor.
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"Youth sports are heavily dependent on parent coaches. Parents
play a critical role as head coach, assistance coach, team
parent, referee, and linespersons. Without such volunteers,
the volunteer based youth sports organizations would be
decimated. Volunteer applicants are currently subjected to
scrutiny requiring volunteers to provide a great deal of
personal identifying information. Volunteer parents, many of
whom are employed full-time, take scarce time out of their own
schedules to lead practices during the week and then sacrifice
their weekends in order to help their child's team have a
fulfilling athletic experience. Implementation of this
measure will likely have the unintended chilling effect of
immediately decreasing parent participation."
6)Related Legislation : AB 1027 (Bonilla) authorizes a community
youth athletics program to require volunteers or hired coach
candidates to submit to a state- and federal-level background
check prior to contact with youths. AB 1027 is not scheduled
to be heard by this Committee.
7)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 1435 (Dickinson), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2012,
makes athletic coaches, athletic administrators, and
athletic directors employed by any public or private school
that provides any combination of instruction for
kindergarten, or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, mandated
reporters for the purposes of the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act (CANRA).
b) AB 1564 (Lara), of the 2011-12 Legislative Session,
would have made volunteers of public and private
organizations, including non-profits, mandated reporters
under CANRA, and would have revoked a non-profit's tax
exempt status if an employee or volunteer failed to report
an instance of known or suspected child abuse. AB 1564 was
never heard by this Committee.
c) AB 1628 (Beall), of the 2011-12 Legislative Session,
among other provisions, 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
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children on a regular basis to perform an enhanced
background check, as specified, on the employee, member,
agent, licensee, or representative. AB 1628 failed passage
in the Committee on Appropriations.
d) AB 1025 (Conway), Chapter 379, Statues of 2009, requires
a non-certificated candidate, commencing on July 1, 2010,
prior to assuming a paid or volunteer position to
supervise, direct, or coach a pupil activity program
sponsored by, or affiliated with, a school district, to
obtain from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing an
Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate issued by the
commission upon verification of the candidate's personal
identification and verification that he or she meets
specified requirements. 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.
e) AB 1593 (Blakeslee), of the 2008-09 Legislative Session,
would have required school districts that use nonteaching
volunteer aides to adopt a screening policy for those
volunteers and would have required, as a minimum criminal
background check, that districts utilize the DOJ's "Megan's
Law" Web site, which tracks registered sex offenders in
California. AB 1593 was held in the Senate Committee on
Appropriations' Suspense File.
f) SB 2161 (Schiff), Chapter 421, Statutes of 2000,
requires DOJ and local criminal justice agencies to furnish
the state summary criminal history information to county
child welfare agency personnel who have been delegated the
authority of county probation officers pursuant to these
provisions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United
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Opposition
California Public Defenders Association
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744