Bill Text: GA HB247 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Community Health, Department of; fingerprint and investigate emergency medical services personnel; require
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2012-07-01 - Effective Date [HB247 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-HB247-Introduced.html
12 HB 247/AP
House
Bill 247 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representatives Neal of the
1st,
Bearden of the
68th,
Talton of the
145th,
Parrish of the
156th,
Howard of the
121st,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to general provisions for firefighter standards and
training, so as to provide for the automatic termination of the certification of
a firefighter convicted of a felony; to amend Title 29 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to guardian and ward, so as to provide for matters
relevant to guardians generally; to provide for an exemption from liability for
persons who comply with a Physician Order for Life-sustaining Treatment; to
provide for criminal background checks for persons seeking to become a guardian
or conservator; to provide for a definition; to amend Article 3 of Chapter 11 of
Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to emergency
medical services personnel, so as to provide that the Department of Public
Health shall accept criminal history background checks of applicants for
certification from state and local law enforcement agencies; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
1 of Chapter 4 of Title 25 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to general provisions for firefighter standards and training, is amended by
revising subsection (b) and paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of Code Section
25-4-8, relating to qualifications of firefighters generally, as
follows:
"(b)
For the purposes
of
paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this
Code section, a person shall be deemed to have been convicted of a crime if such
person shall have pleaded guilty to a charge thereof before a court or federal
magistrate or shall have been found guilty thereof by the decision or judgment
of a court or federal magistrate or by the verdict of a jury, irrespective of
the pronouncement of sentence or the suspension thereof, unless such plea of
guilty or such decision, judgment, or verdict shall have been set aside,
reversed, or otherwise abrogated by lawful judicial process or unless the person
convicted of the crime shall have received a pardon therefor from the President
of the United States or the governor or other pardoning authority in the
jurisdiction where the conviction was had or shall have received a certificate
of good conduct granted by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles pursuant to
the provisions of law to remove a disability under law because of such
conviction.
Any person
convicted of a felony while he or she is a certified firefighter shall have his
or her certification revoked.
(c)(1)
For the purposes of making determinations relating to eligibility under
paragraph
(2) of subsection (a) of this Code
section, a local fire department shall provide information relative to
prospective employees to the local law enforcement agency and a state fire
department shall provide information relative to prospective employees to a
state law enforcement agency. Such local or state law enforcement agency shall
be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to such prospective
employees of a local or state fire department as authorized in this subsection.
The local or state law enforcement agency shall submit to the Georgia Crime
Information Center two complete sets of fingerprints of the applicant for
appointment or employment, the required records search fees, and such other
information as may be required. Upon receipt thereof, the Georgia Crime
Information Center shall promptly transmit one set of fingerprints to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of bureau records and an
appropriate report and shall retain the other set and promptly conduct a search
of its own records and records to which it has access. The Georgia Crime
Information Center shall notify the local or state law enforcement agency in
writing of any derogatory finding, including, but not limited to, any conviction
data regarding the fingerprint records check or if there is no such finding.
All conviction data received by the local or state law enforcement agency shall
not be a public record, shall be privileged, and shall not be disclosed to any
other person or agency except as provided in this subsection and except to any
person or agency which otherwise has a legal right to inspect the employment
file. All such records shall be maintained by the local or state law
enforcement agency pursuant to laws regarding such records and the rules and
regulations of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Crime
Information Center, as applicable. As used in this subsection, 'conviction
data' means a record of a finding or verdict of guilty or plea of guilty or plea
of nolo contendere with regard to any crime, regardless of whether an appeal of
the conviction has been sought."
SECTION
2.
Title 29 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guardian and ward, is amended by revising subsection (k) of Code Section 29-4-18, relating to definitions, requirements, and termination of temporary medical consent guardianship, by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
Title 29 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to guardian and ward, is amended by revising subsection (k) of Code Section 29-4-18, relating to definitions, requirements, and termination of temporary medical consent guardianship, by adding a new paragraph to read as follows:
"(3)
Any person who acts in good faith in accordance with a Physician Order for
Life-sustaining Treatment developed pursuant to subsection (l) of this Code
section shall have all of the immunity granted pursuant to Code Section
31-32-10."
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"29-9-19.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term 'criminal history record information'
means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals
consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions,
indictments, accusations, information, or other formal charges, and any
disposition arising therefrom, sentencing, correctional supervision, and
release.
(b)
The court may require a petitioner seeking to become a guardian or conservator,
or a nominated guardian or conservator if such person is different from the
petitioner, to submit to a criminal history records check. The petitioner or
nominee shall submit his or her fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information
Center with the appropriate fee. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall
promptly transmit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a
search of its records and shall obtain a report containing criminal history
record information. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall also promptly
conduct a search of its records and any records to which it has access. The
Georgia Crime Information Center shall provide a report of the petitioner's or
nominee's criminal history record information to the court for its consideration
in determining the suitability of the petitioner or nominee to serve as a
guardian or
conservator."
SECTION
4.
Article
3 of Chapter 11 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to emergency medical services personnel, is amended by revising subsections (d)
and (e) of Code Section 31-11-51, relating to certification and recertification
of emergency medical technicians, as follows:
"(d)
The department shall by rule or
regulation,
consistent with the requirements of this
paragraph, establish a procedure for
requesting a fingerprint based criminal history records check from the center
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fingerprints shall be in such form and
of such quality as prescribed by the center and under standards adopted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Fees may be charged as necessary to cover the
cost of the records search.
An applicant
may request that a criminal history records check be conducted by a state or
local law enforcement agency or by a private vendor approved by the department.
Fees for criminal history records checks shall be paid by the applicant
to
the entity processing the request at the time such request is made. The state
or local law enforcement agency or private vendor shall remit payment to the
center in such amount as required by the center for conducting a criminal
history records check. The department shall accept a criminal history records
check whether such request is made through a state or local law enforcement
agency or through a private vendor approved by the
department. Upon receipt
thereof
of an
authorized request, the center shall
promptly cause such criminal records search to be conducted. The center shall
notify the department in writing of any finding of disqualifying information,
including, but not limited to, any conviction data regarding the fingerprint
records check, or if there is no such finding.
(e)
Conviction data received by the department
or a state or
local law enforcement agency shall be
privileged and shall not be a public record or disclosed to any person.
Conviction data shall be maintained by the department
and the state
or local law enforcement pursuant to laws
regarding such records and the rules and regulations of the center and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Penalties for the unauthorized release or
disclosure of conviction data shall be as prescribed by law or rule or
regulation of the center or Federal Bureau of Investigation."
SECTION
5.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.