BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          SB 512 (Hill) - Criminal History Information:  Health Services  
          Personnel
          
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |                                                                 |
          |                                                                 |
          |                                                                 |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |                                |                                |
          |Version: April 6, 2015          |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 4 - 2      |
          |                                |                                |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |                                |                                |
          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: Yes                    |
          |                                |                                |
          |--------------------------------+--------------------------------|
          |                                |                                |
          |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015      |Consultant: Jolie Onodera       |
          |                                |                                |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. 

          

          Bill  
          Summary:  SB 512 would require local criminal justice agencies  
          to furnish summary criminal history information to city, county,  
          and city and county health services personnel who are engaged in  
          efforts to identify and treat individuals who have alcohol  
          abuse, substance abuse, or mental health issues, as specified.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  Potentially significant state-reimbursable costs  
          (General Fund) for local criminal justice agencies to provide  
          local health services personnel with summary criminal history  
          information. Local criminal justice agencies are authorized to  
          charge a fee for the provision of criminal history information  
          for purposes of employment (hiring), licensing, or certification  
          purposes. However, to the extent agencies are not authorized to  
          charge a fee for the provision of criminal history information  
          for the purposes of "identification and treatment," local  
          agencies could potentially submit claims for reimbursement of  







          SB 512 (Hill)                                          Page 1 of  
          ?
          
          
          those costs (General Fund). 


          Background:  Existing law requires a local criminal justice agency to  
          record and store specified arrest and identification data, also  
          known as local summary criminal history information, regarding  
          persons arrested by the agency. 
          Existing law requires each local agency to furnish local summary  
          criminal history information to specified entities, including,  
          but not limited to, the courts of the state, peace officers,  
          district attorneys, probation officers, and parole officers,  
          when the information is needed in the course of their duties.  
          (Penal Code (PC) § 13300(b).)


          Under existing law, a local agency may furnish local summary  
          criminal history information, upon a showing of compelling need,  
          to specified entities, including but not limited to a public  
          utility, an animal control officer, and peace officers from  
          other states and countries, provided that when the information  
          is furnished to assist an agency, officer, or official, that a  
          specified provision of the Labor Code apply. (PC § 13300(c).)


          Existing law provides that whenever local summary criminal  
          history information furnished is to be used for employment,  
          licensing, or certification purposes, the local agency shall  
          charge the person or entity making the request a fee which it  
          determines to be sufficient to reimburse the local agency for  
          the cost of furnishing the information, provided that no fee  
          shall be charged to any public law enforcement agency for local  
          summary criminal history information furnished to assist it in  
          employing, licensing, or certifying a person who is applying for  
          employment with the agency as a peace officer or criminal  
          investigator. Any state agency required to pay a fee to the  
          local agency for information received under this section may  
          charge the applicant a fee sufficient to reimburse the agency  
          for the expense. (PC § 13300(f).)




          Proposed Law:  
            This bill would require local criminal justice agencies to  








          SB 512 (Hill)                                          Page 2 of  
          ?
          
          
          furnish summary criminal history information to city, county,  
          and city and county health services personnel who are engaged in  
          efforts to identify and treat individuals who have alcohol  
          abuse, substance abuse, or mental health issues, for the purpose  
          of providing assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, or other  
          health care to those individuals.


          Prior  
          Legislation:  AB1960 (Perea) Chapter 730/2014 requires the  
          Director of a state hospital or a clinician, as defined, to  
          obtain the state summary criminal history information for a  
          patient committed to the Department of State Hospitals, as  
          specified. 
          AB 1511 (Gaines) Chapter 449/2014 authorizes local criminal  
          justice agencies to provide local summary criminal history  
          information to an animal control officer for the purposes of  
          performing his or her official duties. The bill permits a local  
          agency to charge a reasonable fee sufficient to cover the costs  
          of providing that information. 


          AB 1136 (Huff) Chapter 222/2014 authorizes the Department of  
          Social Services and county child welfare agencies to share  
          information with respect to applicants, licensees, certificates,  
          or individuals who have been the subject of any administrative  
          action resulting in the denial, suspension, probation, or  
          revocation of a license, permit, or certificate, or in the  
          exclusion of a person from a facility who is subject to a  
          background check.




          Staff  
          Comments:  By requiring local criminal justice agencies to furnish  
          criminal history information to local agency health personnel,  
          this bill creates a state-mandated local program. Although local  
          criminal justice agencies are authorized to charge a fee for the  
          provision of criminal history information for purposes of  
          employment (hiring), licensing, or certification purposes, to  
          the extent local criminal justice agencies are not authorized  
          under existing law to charge a fee for the provision of criminal  
          history information for the purposes of "identification and  








          SB 512 (Hill)                                          Page 3 of  
          ?
          
          
          treatment" of individuals, the increased costs to local criminal  
          justice agencies could potentially qualify as a reimbursable  
          state mandate, requiring a subvention of funds from the State.  
          The magnitude of costs would be dependent on the volume of  
          requests from local health personnel statewide, which is unknown  
          at this time, but could be significant.


                                      -- END --