BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 230
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 230 (Maienschein)
As Amended January 8, 2014
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Bonilla, Jones, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Campos, | | |
| |Dickinson, Eggman, | | |
| |Gordon, Hagman, Holden, | | |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | | |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires a community youth athletic program, beginning
January 1, 2016, to provide written notice of its criminal
background check policy to the parent or guardian of any youth
participating in the program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, commencing January 1, 2016, a community youth
athletic program to provide to the parent or guardian of any
youth participating in the program written notice that states
whether or not the program obtains criminal background checks
for hired or volunteer coaches, or both.
2)Requires, if the program obtains criminal background checks,
that the written notice include the following information:
a) A statement as to whether or not the criminal background
check includes state and federal criminal history
information and if the program obtains subsequent arrest
notification for those individuals; and,
b) Contact information regarding where a parent or guardian
can obtain additional information about the program's
background check policy, such as the entity providing the
criminal background check obtained by the program or the
nature of the types of offenses the program looks for.
3)Defines a "community youth athletic program" as an
organization that meets both of the following requirements:
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a) Its primary purpose is the promotion or provision of
athletic activities for youth under 18 years of age; and,
b) It has adult employees who have supervisory or
disciplinary power over a child.
4)States that nothing in this bill shall require or authorize a
community youth athletic program to disclose confidential
criminal history information, as specified.
5)Specifies that "written notice" may include posting the
information on the program's Internet Web site.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a human resource agency or an employer, as defined,
to request from the California Department of Justice (DOJ)
records of all convictions or any arrest pending adjudication
involving specified offenses of a person who applies for a
license, employment, or a volunteer position in which he or
she would have supervisory or disciplinary power over a minor
or any person under his or her care. (Penal Code (PC) Section
11105.3(a))
2)Authorizes a community youth athletic program, as defined, to
request state- and federal-level criminal history information
for a volunteer coach or hired coach candidate. (PC Section
11105.3(j))
3)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. (PC
Section 11105.3(i))
4)Defines "employer" as any nonprofit corporation or other
organization specified by the Attorney General that employs or
uses the services of volunteers in positions in which the
volunteer or employee has supervisory or disciplinary power
over a child or children. (PC Section 11105.3(f))
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
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Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . This bill would require community youth
athletic programs to provide written notice regarding the
program's criminal background check policy in order to better
inform parents and guardians of participants in those
programs. This bill is author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, this bill is
intended "to inform parents of the background check policies
or lack thereof for community youth sports programs, giving
parents the tools they need to make informed decisions about
the activities in which they place their children."
3)Current fingerprinting practices . AB 465 (Bonilla and
Maienschein), Chapter 146, Statutes of 2013, authorized
community youth athletic programs to request state- and
federal-level background checks from the DOJ for both hired
and volunteer coaches.
According to the DOJ, the cost of a state-level background check
is $32, although the fee may be waived for a volunteer of a
non-profit organization. The cost of a federal-level
background check is $15 for a youth organization volunteer.
Facilities that offer fingerprinting services commonly charge
an additional "finger-print rolling fee," which generally
ranges from $10 to $35.
4)Background check policies for youth sports organizations .
Many national sports organizations, including the American
Youth Soccer Organization and Little League International,
require volunteers who work with children to undergo specified
criminal background checks. Other groups, like the National
Alliance for Youth Sports (which partners with parks and
recreation departments, Boys and Girls Clubs, Police Athletic
Leagues, and other community-based organizations) recommend
that organizations conduct criminal background checks on all
volunteers and make available a written screening policy.
In addition to conducting criminal background checks through the
DOJ, there are also private companies that provide, for a fee,
background check services and access to national criminal
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database and sex offender information using names or social
security numbers, although background checks using just names
and birthdates are not as accurate. For example, Little
League International contracts with a company to provide its
members with access to national criminal and sex offender
registry records using a person's social security number.
Analysis Prepared by : Eunie Linden / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0002961