[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 107 (Monday, June 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32849-32850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11147]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[Docket No. OLP 100]


Criminal History Background Checks; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 6403 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism 
Prevention Act of 2004, Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638, 3758-60 (2004) 
requires the Attorney General to report to Congress on statutorily 
required criminal history record checks conducted by the Department of 
Justice. As part of this report, the Attorney General is required to 
make certain recommendations to Congress for improving, standardizing, 
and consolidating the existing statutory authorizations, programs, and 
procedures for the conduct of criminal history record checks for non-
criminal justice purposes, such as licensing and employment. In 
developing this report, the Attorney General must consult with 
representatives of state criminal history repositories, the National 
Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council, appropriate 
representatives of private industry, and representatives of labor. 
Therefore, to provide a means of input to these named parties, and to 
allow for broader public input on the issues that will be addressed in 
the report, the Department of Justice is publishing this notice seeking 
public comment on the development of the required report.

DATES: All comments must be received no later than August 5, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Richard A. Hertling, Deputy 
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy, 4234 Robert F. 
Kennedy Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530. 
To ensure proper handling, please reference OLP Docket No. 100 on your 
correspondence. You also may comment via the Internet to the Justice 
Department's Office of Legal Policy (OLP) at [email protected]. When 
submitting comments electronically, you must include ``OLP Docket No. 
100'' as the sole heading in the subject box.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 17, 2004, the President signed 
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
(hereinafter the ``Act''), Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638 (2004). 
Section 6403 of the Act requires the Attorney General to report to 
Congress on a number of matters associated with record checks using 
Department of Justice-maintained criminal history information. For 
example, the Act requires the Department of Justice to provide 
information regarding the number of criminal history record checks 
requested, the type of information requested, the usage of different 
terms and definitions regarding criminal history information, and the 
variation in fees charged for such information and who pays such fees.
    In addition, the Department of Justice also is required to ``make 
recommendations to Congress for improving, standardizing, and 
consolidating the existing statutory authorizations, programs, and 
procedures for the conduct of criminal history record checks for non-
criminal justice purposes.'' Section 6403(d), 118 Stat. 3638, 3759 
(2004). Pursuant to section 6403(d) of the Act, the Department of 
Justice is to consider the following fifteen factors in making the 
recommendations:
    (1) The effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing commercially 
available databases as a supplement to IAFIS [the Integrated Automated 
Fingerprint Identification System] criminal history information checks;
    (2) Any security concerns created by the existence of these 
commercially available databases concerning their ability to provide 
sensitive information that is not readily available about law 
enforcement or intelligence officials, including their identity, 
residence, and financial status;
    (3) The effectiveness of utilizing State databases;
    (4) Any feasibility studies by the Department of Justice of the 
resources and structure of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 
establish a system to provide criminal history information;
    (5) Privacy rights and other employee protections, including--
    (A) Employee consent;
    (B) Access to the records used if employment was denied;
    (C) The disposition of the fingerprint submissions after the 
records are searched;
    (D) An appeal mechanism; and
    (E) Penalties for misuse of the information;
    (6) The scope and means of processing background checks for private 
employers utilizing data maintained by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation that the Attorney General should be allowed to authorize 
in cases where the authority for such checks is not available at the 
State level;
    (7) Any restrictions that should be placed on the ability of an 
employer to charge an employee or prospective employee for the cost 
associated with the background check;
    (8) Which requirements should apply to the handling of incomplete 
records;
    (9) The circumstances under which the criminal history information 
should be disseminated to the employer;
    (10) The type of restrictions that should be prescribed for the 
handling of criminal history information by an employer;

[[Page 32850]]

    (11) The range of Federal and State fees that might apply to such 
background check requests;
    (12) Any requirements that should be imposed concerning the time 
for responding to such background check requests;
    (13) Any infrastructure that may need to be developed to support 
the processing of such checks, including--
    (A) The means by which information is collected and submitted in 
support of the checks; and
    (B) The system capacity needed to process such checks at the 
Federal and State level;
    (14) The role that States should play; and
    (15) Any other factors that the Attorney General determines to be 
relevant to the subject of the report.
    Congress has instructed the Department of Justice to consult with 
certain parties in developing the report. In accordance with section 
6403(e) of the Act, the Department of Justice must consult with 
representatives of State criminal history record repositories, the 
National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council, appropriate 
representatives of private industry, and representatives of labor, as 
determined appropriate by the Attorney General.

Comments Sought

    The Department of Justice seeks public comment on all of the 
reporting requirements described in section 6403 of the Act. In 
particular, the Department is seeking comments responsive to the 
fifteen factors it must consider when making recommendations to 
Congress. The Department welcomes comments not just from the specific 
parties identified in section 6403(e) of the Act, but from any person 
who may be able to provide responsive information that the Department 
may consider when drafting the report.

    Dated: May 31, 2005.
Rachel Brand,
Acting Assistant Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 05-11147 Filed 6-3-05; 8:45 am]
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