09 SB102/CSFA/2
Senate
Bill 102
By:
Senators Hamrick of the 30th and Mullis of the 53rd
AS
PASSED SENATE
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 35-3-33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the powers and duties of the center generally, so as to require the Georgia
Crime Information Center to make certain reports relating to the status of the
center; to amend Code Section 35-3-34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to disclosure and dissemination of criminal records to private persons
and businesses, resulting responsibility and liability of issuing center, and
provision of certain information to the FBI in conjunction with the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System, so as to provide for charging
reasonable fees for disseminating records; to amend Code Section 35-3-35 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to disclosure and dissemination of
records to public agencies and political subdivisions, so as to provide for
charging reasonable fees for disseminating records; to amend Code Section
35-3-37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the inspection of
criminal records, purging, modifying, or supplementing of records, so as to
clarify the process for collecting expungement fees; to amend Code Section
35-3-151 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to responsibilities
of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, so as to require a report from the
Division of Forensic Sciences for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation relating
to the status of the division's ability to timely and effectively perform the
mandated and suggested statutory duties; to provide for related matters; to
provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 35-3-33 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
powers and duties of the center generally, is revised in subsection (a) by
striking "and" at the end of paragraph (14), by striking the period and
inserting "; and" at the end of paragraph (15), and by adding a new paragraph to
read as follows:
"(16)
Submit a report annually no later than September 30 of each year to the
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives which provides information and data relating to the status of
the center's ability to timely and effectively perform statutorily imposed
duties required by this chapter. Such report shall include information and data
regarding the need, if any, for additional equipment or personnel. The report
shall also include the number of requests for and the amount of all funds
collected by the center for fees charged for the dissemination, inspection,
purging, modifying, or supplementing of criminal
records."
SECTION
2.
Code
Section 35-3-34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
disclosure and dissemination of criminal records to private persons and
businesses, resulting responsibility and liability of issuing center, and
provision of certain information to the FBI in conjunction with the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System, is amended by revising subsection (a)
as follows:
"(a)
The center shall be authorized to:
(1)
Make criminal history records maintained by the center available to private
persons and businesses under the following conditions:
(A)
Private individuals and businesses requesting criminal history records shall, at
the time of the request, provide the fingerprints of the person whose records
are requested or provide a signed consent of the person whose records are
requested on a form prescribed by the center which shall include such person's
full name, address, social security number, and date of birth;
(B)
The center may not provide records of arrests, charges, and sentences for crimes
relating to first offenders pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 in
cases where offenders have been exonerated and discharged without court
adjudications of guilt, except as specifically authorized by Code Section
35-3-34.1 or other law; and
(C)
When the identifying information provided is sufficient to identify persons
whose records are requested electronically, the center may disseminate
electronically criminal history records of in-state felony convictions, pleas,
and sentences without:
(i)
Fingerprint comparison; or
(ii)
Consent of the person whose records are requested; or
(2)
Make criminal history records of the defendant or witnesses in a criminal action
available to counsel for the defendant upon receipt of a written request from
the defendant's counsel under the following conditions:
(A)
Such request shall contain the style of the case and the name and identifying
information for each person whose records are requested. Such request shall be
submitted to the center;
(B)
In cases where the court has determined the defendant to be indigent, any fees
authorized by law shall be waived; and
(C)
Disclosure of criminal history information to the defendant's counsel as
provided in this paragraph shall be solely in such counsel's capacity as an
officer of the court. Any use of such information in a manner not authorized by
law or the court in which such action is pending where the records were
disclosed shall constitute a violation of Code Section 35-3-38; and
(3)
Charge
reasonable
fees for disseminating records pursuant to this Code section
which will
raise an amount of revenue which approximates, as nearly as practicable, the
direct and indirect costs to the state for providing such
disseminations."
SECTION
2A.
Said
Code section is further amended by revising subsections (d.2) and (d.3) as
follows:
"(d.2)
When identifying information provided is sufficient to identify persons whose
records are requested, local criminal justice agencies may disseminate criminal
history records of in-state felony convictions, pleas, and sentences
without:
(1)
Fingerprint comparison;
(2)
Prior contact with the center; or
(3)
Consent of the person whose records are requested.
Such
information may be disseminated to private individuals and businesses under the
conditions specified in subparagraph (a)(1)(B) of this Code section upon payment
of the fee for the request and when the request is made upon a form prescribed
by the center. Such agencies may charge and retain fees as needed to reimburse
such agencies for the direct and indirect costs of providing such information
and shall have the same immunity therefor as provided in subsection (c) of this
Code section.
(d.3)
No fee charged pursuant to this
Code
section
subsection
may exceed $20.00 per person whose criminal history record is requested or be
charged to any person or entity authorized prior to January 1, 1995, to obtain
information pursuant to this
Code
section
subsection
without payment of such fee.
(d.3)
Reserved."
SECTION
3.
Code
Section 35-3-35 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
disclosure and dissemination of records to public agencies and political
subdivisions, and the responsibility and liability of issuing center, is amended
by revising subsection (a) as follows:
"(a)
The center shall be authorized to:
(1)
Make criminal history records maintained by the center available to public
agencies, political subdivisions, authorities, and instrumentalities, including
state or federal licensing and regulatory agencies or their designated
representatives, under the following conditions:
(A)
Public agencies or political subdivisions shall, at the time of the request,
provide the fingerprints of the person whose records are requested in such
manner prescribed by the center, which may include the electronic imaging of a
person's fingerprints, or provide a signed consent of the person whose records
are requested on a form prescribed by the center which shall include such
person's full name, address, social security number, and date of birth;
provided, however, that the provisions of this paragraph shall supersede any
other provision relating to the submission of fingerprints to the
center;
(B)
The center may not provide records of arrests, charges, or sentences for crimes
relating to first offenders pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 8 of Title 42 in
cases where offenders have been exonerated and discharged without court
adjudications of guilt, except as specifically authorized by Code Section
35-3-34.1 or other law; and
(C)
When the identifying information provided is sufficient to identify persons
whose records are requested electronically, the center may disseminate
electronically criminal history records of in-state felony convictions, pleas,
and sentences without:
(i)
Fingerprint comparison; or
(ii)
Consent of the person whose records are requested;
(1.1)
Make criminal history records maintained by the center available to any county
board of registrars or county board of registration and election. The making of
an application for voter registration shall be deemed to be consent of the
person making the application to release such records to the county board of
registrars or county board of registration and election. Such records shall be
requested for the sole purpose of verification of information provided on voter
registration cards by registration applicants;
(1.2)
Make criminal history records maintained by the center and national criminal
history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, obtained by
the center, available to the governing authority of any county or municipality,
for any applicant or licensee in a specified occupation for which such local
governing authority has adopted an ordinance or resolution requiring such
applicants or licensees in a particular occupation or profession regulated by
the governing authority to be fingerprinted as a condition of submitting an
application or obtaining or renewing a license. The center shall establish a
uniform method of obtaining criminal history records required under this
paragraph. Such uniform method shall require the submission to the center of
two complete sets of fingerprints and the records search fee. Upon receipt
thereof, the 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. After receiving the
fingerprints and fee, the center shall notify the requesting local government
authority in writing of any derogatory finding, including, but not limited to,
any criminal record data regarding the fingerprint records check or if there is
no such finding. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the local governing
authority from obtaining national criminal history records directly from the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, if an ordinance or resolution requiring the
fingerprints of an applicant or licensee of a particular occupation or
profession regulated by the local governing authority has been adopted by such
governing authority of the county or municipality; and
(2)
Charge
reasonable
fees for disseminating records pursuant to this Code section which will raise an
amount of revenue
which
approximates, as nearly as practicable, the direct and indirect costs to the
state for providing such
disseminations."
SECTION
4.
Code
Section 35-3-37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
inspection of criminal records, purging, modifying, or supplementing of records,
is amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (d) as follows:
"(d)(1)
An individual who was:
(A)
Arrested for an offense under the laws of this state but subsequent to such
arrest is released by the arresting agency without such offense being referred
to the prosecuting attorney for prosecution; or
(B)
After such offense referred to the proper prosecuting attorney, and the
prosecuting attorney dismisses the charges without seeking an indictment or
filing an accusation may request the original agency in writing to expunge the
records of such arrest, including any fingerprints or photographs of the
individual taken in conjunction with such arrest, from the agency files. Such
request shall be in such form as the center shall prescribe.
Reasonable
fees shall be charged by the original agency and the center for the actual costs
of the
A reasonable
fee shall be charged for the purging of
such records, provided that such
fees
fee
shall not exceed $50.00.
The fee amount
shall be established and collected by the original agency. Of the fee charged
for purging such records, 50 percent shall be retained by the original agency
and 50 percent shall be forwarded by the original agency to the center. The fee
shall be sent by the original agency to the center at the time the request for
expungement is forwarded by the original agency to the
center."
SECTION
5.
Code
Section 35-3-151 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
responsibilities of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, is revised by striking
"and" at the end of paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting "; and"
at the end of paragraph (7), and by adding a new paragraph to read as
follows:
"(8)
Shall provide a report annually no later than September 30 of each year to the
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives which provides information and data related to the status of the
division's ability to timely and effectively perform the mandated and suggested
duties provided by this Code section. Such report shall include information and
data regarding the need, if any, for additional equipment or personnel, the
timeliness of responses to agency requests for forensic services, the ability of
the division to provide testimony, and any recommended statutory changes or
budgetary needs that would assist the division in meeting statutorily imposed
obligations or providing other essential public safety
services."
SECTION
6.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
7.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.