BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    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.

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          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  

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                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  

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             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  

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             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

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