Federal

SHARE Act

Source: Congress.gov · 926 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill allows the FBI to share criminal background information with state licensing boards so they can check the criminal histories of people applying for professional licenses. The bill also creates rules about how states can use and protect this criminal background information.

Who It Affects

State licensing authorities (government agencies that grant licenses to professionals), the FBI, state law enforcement agencies, state identification bureaus, people applying for professional licenses, and interstate compacts (agreements between two or more states).

Key Provisions

• The FBI Director must provide criminal background information to state licensing authorities when needed under an interstate compact agreement, so they can conduct background checks on people applying for professional licenses (Sec. 2, Section 6404(a)) • State licensing authorities can only use criminal background information for checking applicants for licenses and cannot share it with the compact's commission, other state agencies, or the public (Sec. 2, Section 6404(b)) • State licensing authorities are allowed to tell the interstate compact commission whether a background check was completed and whether it was satisfactory, without sharing the actual background information (Sec. 2, Section 6404(c))

What Changes

The bill adds a new section to federal law that sets up how the FBI shares criminal records with states for professional licensing purposes and establishes restrictions on how states can use and share that information.

Important Definitions

Criminal history record information: Facts collected by law enforcement about arrests, detentions, charges, and outcomes including convictions, sentencing, and release, but not fingerprints alone. License: Permission from a state agency for someone to practice an occupation or profession. Privilege: Authority granted through an interstate compact to let a licensed person practice in another compact member state. State licensing authority: A state board, commission, department, or other agency that grants licenses to professionals.

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1310 To authorize the use of FBI criminal history record information for administration of interstate compacts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 1, 2023 Mr. MANN (for himself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. BICE, Mr. MOYLAN, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. BACON, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. MCCAUL, Mrs. BOEBERT, and Ms. BUDZINSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addi- tion to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the use of FBI criminal history record informa- tion for administration of interstate compacts, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘States Handling Ac- 4 cess to Reciprocity for Employment Act’’ or the ‘‘SHARE 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1310.IH H1310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1310 IH SEC. 2. INFORMATION SHARING. 1 Subtitle E of title IV of the Intelligence Reform and 2 Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 41106 et 3 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘SEC. 6404. SHARING AND USE OF CRIMINAL HISTORY 5 RECORD INFORMATION. 6 ‘‘(a) FBI PROVIDING CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD 7 INFORMATION TO STATE LICENSING AUTHORITIES.—The 8 Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall fur- 9 nish or otherwise make available to a State licensing au- 10 thority, through an agreement with a State law enforce- 11 ment agency or State identification bureau, criminal his- 12 tory record information to the extent required by a inter- 13 state compact, or the regulations duly promulgated there- 14 under, for the purpose of conducting a criminal history 15 background check of individuals seeking a license or privi- 16 lege to practice an occupation or profession in a compact 17 member State. 18 ‘‘(b) STATE LICENSING AUTHORITY USE OF CRIMI- 19 NAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION.—A State licensing 20 authority that is a member of an interstate compact that 21 requires completion of a criminal history background 22 check for an individual for the purpose of acting upon a 23 license or privilege application of that individual to prac- 24 tice an occupation or profession in a State shall use such 25 information solely for that purpose and may not share 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1310.IH H1310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1310 IH criminal history record information or any part thereof 1 with the compact’s Commission, any other State entity or 2 licensing authority, or the public. 3 ‘‘(c) SHARING THE FACT OF COMPLETION OF THE 4 CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK EXPRESSLY 5 PERMITTED.—For the purpose of subsection (b), a State 6 licensing authority informing a compact Commission of 7 the completion of the criminal history background check, 8 including a binary determination of whether or not the 9 criminal history background check of an applicant was 10 satisfactory, is expressly permitted by this Act and shall 11 not constitute the sharing of criminal history record infor- 12 mation. 13 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 ‘‘(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 15 means a joint governmental entity, established under 16 an agreement of 2 or more States participating in 17 an interstate compact. 18 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMA- 19 TION.—The term ‘criminal history record informa- 20 tion’ means information collected by law enforce- 21 ment agencies on individuals consisting of identifi- 22 able descriptions and notations of arrests, deten- 23 tions, indictments, informations, or other formal 24 criminal charges, and any disposition arising there- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1310.IH H1310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1310 IH from, including acquittal, sentencing, correctional 1 supervision, and release. The term does not include 2 identification information such as fingerprint records 3 if such information does not indicate the individual’s 4 involvement with the criminal justice system. 5 ‘‘(3) LICENSE.—The term ‘license’ means a li- 6 cense or certification by which a State licensing au- 7 thority authorizes an individual to practice an occu- 8 pation or profession in that State. 9 ‘‘(4) PRIVILEGE.—The term ‘privilege’ means a 10 grant of authority issued pursuant to an interstate 11 compact to a license holder that permits the license 12 holder to practice in a compact member State. 13 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 14 State, territory, or possession of the United States, 15 and the District of Columbia. 16 ‘‘(6) STATE IDENTIFICATION BUREAU.—The 17 term ‘State identification bureau’ has the meaning 18 given such term in section 6402. 19 ‘‘(7) STATE LICENSING AUTHORITY.—The term 20 ‘State licensing authority’ means a State licensing 21 board, commission, department, or other entity that 22 is empowered under the law of that State to grant 23 a license to practice an occupation or profession.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Mar 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1310.IH H1310 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.