BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 971
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 971 (Garcia) - As Amended: April 18, 2013
SUMMARY : Authorizes a paratransit agency to receive criminal
history information with respect to contracted service providers
for the purpose of oversight and enforcement of the agency's
policies.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States legislative intent to improve transportation service
required by social service recipients by promoting the
consolidation of social service transportation services.
(Government Code Section 15951.)
2)Requires the transportation planning agencies and the county
transportation commissions to prepare and adopt an action plan
that describes in detail the steps required to accomplish the
consolidation of social service transportation services.
(Government Code Section 15957.)
3)States that an entity formed by the regional transportation
planning authority as a nonprofit public benefit corporation
charged with administering a countywide coordinated
paratransit plan adopted under federal law is a public entity.
[Government Code Section 19575(f).]
4)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain state
summary criminal history information. [Penal Code Section
11105(a).]
5)Authorizes DOJ to furnish state summary criminal history
information to the following specified entities [Penal Code
Section 11105(b)]:
a) The courts of California;
b) Peace officers, as defined;
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c) District attorneys of California;
d) Prosecuting city attorneys;
e) City attorneys pursuing civil gang injunctions or drug
abatement actions;
f) Probation officers of California;
g) Parole officers of California;
h) A public defender or attorney of record when
representing a person in proceedings upon a petition for a
certificate of rehabilitation and pardon;
i) A public defender or attorney of record when
representing a person in a criminal case, or a parole,
mandatory supervision, or postrelease community supervision
revocation or revocation extension proceeding, and if
authorized access by statutory or decisional law;
j) Any agency, officer, or official of the state if the
criminal history information is required to implement a
statute or regulation that expressly refers to specific
criminal conduct applicable to the subject person of the
state summary criminal history information, and contains
requirements or exclusions, or both, expressly based upon
that specified criminal conduct;
aa) Any city or county, city and county, district, or any
officer or official thereof if access is needed in order to
assist that agency, officer, or official in fulfilling
employment, certification, or licensing duties, and if the
access is specifically authorized by the city council,
board of supervisors, or governing board of the city,
county, or district if the criminal history information is
required to implement a statute, ordinance, or regulation
that expressly refers to specific criminal conduct
applicable to the subject person of the state summary
criminal history information, and contains requirements or
exclusions, or both, expressly based upon that specified
criminal conduct;
bb) The subject of the state summary criminal history
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information;
cc) Any person or entity when access is expressly authorized
by statute if the criminal history information is required
to implement a statute or regulation that expressly refers
to specific criminal conduct applicable to the subject
person of the state summary criminal history information,
and contains requirements or exclusions, or both, expressly
based upon that specified criminal conduct;
dd) Health officers of a city, county, city and county, or
district when in the performance of their official duties
preventing the spread of communicable diseases;
ee) Any managing or supervising correctional officer of a
county jail or other county correctional facility;
ff) Any humane society, or society for the prevention of
cruelty to animals for the appointment of humane officers;
gg) Local child support agencies;
hh) County child welfare agency personnel who have been
delegated the authority of county probation officers to
access state summary criminal history information for the
specified purposes;
ii) The court of a tribe, or court of a consortium of
tribes, that has entered into an agreement with the state
as specified;
jj) Child welfare agency personnel of a tribe or consortium
of tribes that has entered into an agreement with the state
as specified;
aaa) An officer providing conservatorship investigations;
bbb) A person authorized to conduct a guardianship
investigation; and,
ccc) A humane officer for the purposes of performing his or
her duties.
6)States that DOJ may furnish state summary criminal history
information, when specifically authorized, and federal-level
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criminal history information upon a showing of compelling need
to any of the specified agencies, provided that when
information is furnished to assist an agency, officer, or
official of state or local government, a public utility, or
any other entity in fulfilling employment, certification, or
licensing duties, the employer must follow restrictions listed
in the Labor Code. [Penal Code Section 11105(c).]
7)States, 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 or she would have
supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor or any person
under his or her care. Requires DOJ to furnish the
information to the requesting employer and also send a copy of
the information to the applicant. [Penal Code Section
11105.3(a).]
8)Authorizes any local criminal justice agency as defined to
compile local summary criminal history information and
requires the local criminal justice agency to furnish this
information to any of the specified entities. (Penal Code
Section 13300.)
9)Provides that no employer, whether a public agency or private
individual or corporation, shall ask an applicant for
employment to disclose, through any written form or verbally,
information concerning an arrest or detention that did not
result in conviction, or information concerning a referral to,
and participation in, any pretrial or posttrial diversion
program, nor shall any employer seek from any source
whatsoever, or utilize, as a factor in determining any
condition of employment including hiring, promotion,
termination, or any apprenticeship training program or any
other training program leading to employment, any record of
arrest or detention that did not result in conviction, or any
record regarding a referral to, and participation in, any
pretrial or posttrial diversion program. [Labor Code Section
432.7(a).]
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW : The Americans with Disability Act
requires comparable transportation service for individuals with
disabilities who are unable to use fixed route transportation
systems. [49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 37 (2007).]
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 971 amends
the Penal Code and Government Code to explicitly
permit/clarify Los Angeles County's public paratransit
provider, Access Services, to conduct background checks on the
drivers who transport its disabled customers."
2)Argument in Support : According to Access Services (the
sponsor of this bill), "Current law limits by time and type
the information that can be requested of applicants for
employment. However it creates exceptions to these rules where
health and safety are of primary concern or the person will be
working with particularly vulnerable individuals in connection
with the employment. Since Access Services facilitates
complementary ADA paratransit services in Los Angeles County
for persons with disabilities, it is imperative that the
agency unambiguously have the right to conduct background
checks on its drivers.
"While Access and its providers currently do background checks,
the existing statutes are ambiguous as to whether Access falls
within one of the exceptions. This minor change would
explicitly clarify Access' ability to conduct background
checks just like any other transit agency in California."
3)Related Legislation : AB 465 (Bonilla and Maienschein)
authorizes a community youth athletic program to request
state- and federal-level background checks for a volunteer
coach or hired coach candidate. AB 465 is pending hearing by
the Committee on Appropriations.
4)Prior Legislation :
a) 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
children on a regular basis to perform an enhanced
background check, as specified, on the employee, member,
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agent, licensee, or representative. AB 1628 failed passage
in the Committee on Appropriations.
b) AB 1593 (Blakeslee), of the 2007-08 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.
c) AB 126 (Jeffries), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session,
would have required the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection to conduct a state and federal level criminal
offender record information search through DOJ prior to
hiring an applicant for a position with the department or
the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection. AB 126
failed passage in the Committee on Natural Resources.
d) AB 428 (Fletcher), Chapter 441, Statutes of 2009, adds
any foreign government to the list of entities to which DOJ
is authorized to provide summary criminal history
information, if the information is requested by the
individual who is the subject of the record requested and
if that information is needed in conjunction with the
individual's application to adopt a minor child who is a
citizen of that foreign nation.
e) AB 507 (Daucher), of the 2005-06 Legislative Session,
would have required a health studio to obtain state and
federal summary criminal history information and request
subsequent arrest notification from DOJ for a person 18
years of age or older who applies to be employed by or
volunteer at the health studio and whose regular duties
would be to provide care for or supervision of a child. AB
507 failed passage in the Senate Committee on Public
Safety.
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.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Access Services (Sponsor)
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744