[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1319 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1319

  To direct the Attorney General to establish a system of background 
 checks for employers and employees of the electronic life safety and 
  security system installation and monitoring industry, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 30, 2011

  Mr. Schumer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Attorney General to establish a system of background 
 checks for employers and employees of the electronic life safety and 
  security system installation and monitoring industry, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Life Safety and Security 
Systems Federal Background Check Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The electronic life safety and security systems 
        industry performs critical security installation and protection 
        for much of the infrastructure in the United States and 
        provides commercial buildings, public agencies and residences 
        with alarm and security systems that are an important part of 
        homeland security and anti-crime and terrorist prevention.
            (2) The electronic life safety and security systems 
        industry includes central monitoring stations and individual 
        employer-owned companies and other private sector businesses 
        that install alarm and security systems in infrastructure of 
        the United States.
            (3) Some States do not provide for any licensing or 
        regulation requirement that includes a State or Federal 
        background check on employers and employees of the companies 
        involved in the electronic life safety and security systems 
        industry.
            (4) Many employers and employees in the electronic life 
        safety and security systems industry travel across State lines 
        to install systems and may or may not be required to undergo 
        Federal background checks as a condition of employment and in 
        some cases there may be background check requirements at the 
        State level or duplicated background checks at the county or 
        city levels.
            (5) Many employers and employees in the electronic life 
        safety and security systems industry have access to public and 
        private structures and should undergo a Federal background 
        check in order to protect lives and property.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``electronic life safety and security systems 
industry'' means businesses that provide installation and central 
monitoring of fire and burglar alarm systems to public or private 
entities, including fire alarms, burglar alarms, closed-circuit TV, 
biometric systems, access control systems, personal emergency response 
systems, and other crime prevention systems.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BACKGROUND CHECK.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a method to 
permit employers in the electronic life safety and security systems 
installation and monitoring industry to request State and Federal 
fingerprint-based background checks, in accordance with the information 
contained in appropriate records acquired under section 534 of title 
28, United States Code, and to provide any resulting relevant criminal 
history record information in accordance with the goals and standards 
described in this Act.
    (b) Requirements.--The method for background checks established 
under subsection (a)--
            (1) shall allow--
                    (A) employers to discover if employees or 
                prospective employees have been convicted of a felony 
                or of an offense involving dishonesty or false 
                statement or the use of force against the person of 
                another during the 10-year period before the background 
                check is conducted; and
                    (B) employers to obtain a background check of State 
                and Federal criminal history record information by 
                submitting fingerprints--
                            (i) to the Attorney General through the 
                        State criminal history record repository of the 
                        State in which the employer is located; or
                            (ii) if a State declines to allow access to 
                        the criminal history record repository of the 
                        State, in a manner determined by the Attorney 
                        General; and
            (2) shall not duplicate access by an employer regarding an 
        employee working only within 1 State where the State licensing 
        and regulation of that employee already requires a Federal 
        background check.
    (c) Fees.--The Attorney General may set reasonable fees to be 
charged in connection with the method for background checks established 
under subsection (a).
    (d) Privacy Protections.--The Attorney General, in establishing the 
method for background checks under subsection (a), shall give due 
consideration to privacy protections and employee rights. Each employee 
for whom a background check is provided under this section should have 
an effective means provided to seek a correction or dispute the outcome 
of the background check.
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