BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 465| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 465 Author: Bonilla (D) and Malenschein (D), et al. Amended: 6/18/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/13 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Youth sports: criminal background checks SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill specifically provides that a community youth athletic program can request state and federal level criminal history information from Department of Justice (DOJ) for a volunteer or paid coach. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Provides that the DOJ shall maintain state summary criminal history information and authorizes DOJ to furnish state summary criminal history information to statutorily authorized entities. CONTINUED AB 465 Page 2 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, employment, or volunteer position, in which he/she will have supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or any person under his/her care. DOJ shall furnish the information to the requesting employer and shall also send a copy of the information to the applicant. 3. 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. 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 where a specified request 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/her duties or tasks. 5. 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. 6. 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: A. Applying for a license, employment, or as a volunteer CONTINUED AB 465 Page 3 within the human services field that involves the care and security of children, the elderly, the handicapped, or the mentally impaired. B. Applying to be a volunteer who transports individuals impaired by drugs or alcohol. C. Applying to adopt a child or be a foster parent. 7. 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 DOJ if the applicant is not subsequently employed, or if the applicant is denied licensing certification, or approval. This bill provides that a community youth athletic program may request state and federal level criminal history information for a volunteer coach or hired coach candidate and provides for the ability to request subsequent arrest information. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/1/13) California Catholic Conference California Police Chiefs Association California State Sheriffs' Association Child Abuse Prevention Center Crime Victims United of California Solano County Sheriff's Office ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: Existing law requires anyone pursuing a position in a public school district, whether employed or working as a volunteer in a pupil activity program to submit fingerprints electronically to the Department of Justice. The Department performs the background check through the Automated Criminal History System (ACHS) - a centralized, automated system containing criminal history summary information on persons arrested and fingerprinted. The CONTINUED AB 465 Page 4 submission of scanned fingerprints ensures a complete and accurate background check. However, current law does not extend this requirement to private youth organizations, creating an unequal protection of our children. While the larger national youth sports organizations such as the American Youth Soccer Organization and Little League Baseball Inc. already require volunteers who work with minor children to undergo fingerprinted criminal background checks, other youth organizations only require coaches to self-report if they have a criminal history. In California schools, all volunteers who work with students in a pupil activity program are required to acquire an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate. Part of this process is a DOJ fingerprint background check. Such volunteers work with students in scholastic programs, interscholastic programs, and extracurricular activities. According to the California Interscholastic Federation, the following sports qualify as interscholastic athletic programs: basketball, cross country, football, golf, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, soccer, tennis, badminton, baseball, field hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, skiing, snowboarding, softball, swimming and diving, and water polo. Scholastic programs include activities like the debate team and chess team, among others. Coaches can either be hired by districts or act as volunteer coaches for school sponsored extra-curricular activities. These activities include scholastic and interscholastic programs, but also include other activities like cheer team, drill team, dance team, color guard and marching band. Studies show two thirds of sexually abused victims never tell an adult because of feeling shame or a fear of punishment. Coaches often serve as role models to children and are entrusted with authoritative duties. This can leave a child particularly vulnerable to abuse and manipulation. This bill would provide better oversight protection of individuals left alone with children by extending background checks to all youth sports organizations. In 2012, a Bay Area soccer coach pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a thirteen year old girl who was also a player on the team he coached. Had a thorough criminal background CONTINUED AB 465 Page 5 check been administered, a prior domestic violence charge would have been discovered on the individual's record. To provide consistency and ensure all minors are protected, it is necessary to require background checks on all volunteer coaches in youth sports organizations. The California Legislature has already established standards to prevent individuals with abusive and violent histories from being employed by school districts or involved with any sports teams that are administered by public schools. AB 465 clarifies that all community youth athletic programs in California are authorized to administer criminal background checks on volunteer coaches and also authorizes leagues to request subsequent arrest notification from the Department of Justice. This ensures that the most appropriate individuals work with our children and any new offenses that may influence hiring decisions are communicated to leagues. While not precluding these individuals from serving as coaches, AB 465 allows leagues to have access to this information when making hiring decisions. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy JG:d 7/1/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 465 Page 6 CONTINUED