[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2999 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2999

   To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for procedures 
   ensuring accuracy in employment-related exchanges of records and 
                  information, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 2013

    Mr. Ellison (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Scott of 
  Virginia, and Mr. Thompson of Mississippi) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for procedures 
   ensuring accuracy in employment-related exchanges of records and 
                  information, 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 ``Accurate Background Check Act of 
2013'' or as the ``ABC Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT-RELATED EXCHANGES OF RECORDS 
              AND INFORMATION.

    Section 534 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Employment With Federal Government or Federal Contractor.--
            ``(1) Procedures to ensure accuracy of records.--The 
        Attorney General shall by rule provide for procedures to ensure 
        that any records and information exchanged under this section 
        for purposes of employment background checks are as accurate 
        and complete as is reasonably possible.
            ``(2) Necessary elements of procedures.--The procedure 
        under paragraph (1) shall ensure that, if a record or 
        information is determined to be inaccurate or incomplete, then 
        not later than 10 days after a request for an exchange of the 
        record or information is made and prior to releasing the record 
        or information to the requesting entity, the Attorney General 
        shall correct or, if appropriate, delete or amend that 
        information, and--
                    ``(A) conduct research in whatever State and local 
                recordkeeping systems are available in order to obtain 
                complete data;
                    ``(B) maintain a disposition document database that 
                contains information obtained pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A) that cannot otherwise be posted or maintained and 
                searched in other databases;
                    ``(C) search the disposition document database 
                established pursuant to subparagraph (B) and any other 
                Federal databases that contain relevant disposition 
                information; and
                    ``(D) notify each appropriate reporting 
                jurisdiction of any updated information obtained 
                pursuant to this paragraph.
            ``(3) Completeness of record or information.--For purposes 
        of this subsection, a record or information is incomplete if 
        that record or information indicates that an arrest was made 
        and does not include the disposition of that arrest.
            ``(4) Opportunity to review records or information.--In 
        connection with an exchange of a record or information under 
        this section for purposes of employment background checks, the 
        Attorney General shall, prior to the exchange--
                    ``(A) obtain a statement of consent signed by the 
                subject of such record or information authorizing the 
                exchange of a record or information;
                    ``(B) provide the applicant an opportunity to 
                obtain a copy of the record or information upon request 
                and to challenge the accuracy and completeness of that 
                record or information;
                    ``(C) promptly notify the requesting entity of any 
                such challenge;
                    ``(D) not later than 30 days after the challenge is 
                made, complete an investigation of the challenge;
                    ``(E) provide to the applicant the specific 
                findings and results of that investigation; and
                    ``(F) enter such findings in the disposition 
                document database established pursuant to paragraph 
                (2)(B).
            ``(5) Report of attorney general.--Not later than 2 years 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
        shall submit a report to Congress that includes--
                    ``(A) the number of requests for information made 
                under this section;
                    ``(B) appropriate statistical information to 
                determine whether the exchange of records or 
                information about arrests that did not result in 
                convictions is affecting the employment opportunities 
                of applicants to whom those records or information 
                pertain;
                    ``(C) any prolonged failure of a reporting 
                jurisdiction to comply with a request by the Attorney 
                General for information about dispositions of arrests;
                    ``(D) the percentage of missing arrest dispositions 
                located within the time limit required by this Act; and
                    ``(E) the number of successful and unsuccessful 
                challenges to the accuracy and completeness of records 
                or information.
            ``(6) Certain other parties included as authorized 
        officials for exchanges under this subsection.--For purposes of 
        exchanges under this subsection, the term `employment 
        background checks' includes background investigations 
        authorized by Executive Order 10450, background investigations 
        authorized by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, and 
        any exchanges made pursuant to section 70105(d) of title 46, 
        United States Code.''.
                                 <all>