BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 230|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 230
Author: Maienschein (R)
Amended: 1/8/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/17/14
AYES: Hancock, De Le�n, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson, Knight
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 1/17/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Youth athletic programs: background checks
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill 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.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain state
summary criminal history information and to furnish state
summary criminal history information to statutorily
authorized entities under certain circumstances.
2. Authorizes a human resource agency or an employer to request
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from 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/she had supervisory or disciplinary power over a
minor or any person under his/her care.
3. Requires any request to DOJ for records to include the
applicant's fingerprints, and requires DOJ to forward
requests for federal level criminal offender record
information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 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 at least 10 days before the
prospective employee's or volunteer's start date if a request
reveals that he/she has been convicted of specified offenses
and has been hired.
5. States that any criminal history information obtained, as
specified, is confidential and a recipient shall not disclose
its contents other than for the purpose for which it was
acquired.
6. Prohibits a person who is required to register as a sex
offender because of a conviction for a crime in which the
victim was a minor under 16 years of age from being an
employer, employee, or independent contractor or acting as a
volunteer with any person, group or organization in a
capacity in which the registrant would be working directly
and in an unaccompanied setting with minor children on more
than an incidental and occasional basis or have supervision
or disciplinary power over minor children, and makes a
violation of this provision a misdemeanor.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Authorizes the program to request from DOJ subsequent arrest
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notification service, as specified, for a volunteer coach or
a hired coach candidate.
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:
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.
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5. Specifies that "written notice" may include posting the
information on the program's Internet Web site.
Background
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
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.
Comments
According to the author's office, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/18/14)
Alliance for Background Checks for Youth Sports
California Police Chiefs Association
California State PTA
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 1/17/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
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Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Conway, Cooley, Hall, Logue, Nazarian, Pan,
V. Manuel P�rez
JG:d 6/18/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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