2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 15:587 — Duty to provide information; processing fees; louisiana bureau of criminal identification and information

§587.  Duty to provide information; processing fees; Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information

A.(1)(a)  The bureau shall make available upon request, or at such other times as the deputy secretary shall designate, to any eligible criminal justice agency and the Department of Health and Hospitals, the state fire marshal when reviewing applications for licensure, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Insurance, the Louisiana State Racing Commission, the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, the secretary of the Department of Labor or his designee, the Board of River Port Pilot Commissioners, the Office of Financial Institutions in the office of the governor, the office of the disciplinary counsel of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Louisiana State Bar Association; however, as to any licensed attorney such information shall be provided only after the issuance of a formal charge against the attorney, the municipal or parish department or personnel responsible for reviewing applications for alcoholic beverage outlet permits and the legislative auditor any information contained in the criminal history record and identification files of the bureau.  The Department of Social Services may provide information secured pursuant to this Subsection to all federal and state agencies providing child support enforcement services.

(b)  The Louisiana State Board of Private Security Examiners shall be entitled to the criminal history record and identification files of the bureau on those persons seeking to be licensed as private security guards as a means of performing background checks on those individuals.  A fee of twenty-six dollars shall be charged for furnishing said records.

(c)  The Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners shall be entitled to the criminal history record and identification files of the bureau on those persons seeking to be licensed or relicensed as private investigators as a means of performing background checks on those individuals.  A fee of twenty-six dollars shall be charged for furnishing said records.  The bureau shall, upon request and after receipt of fingerprint cards or other identifying information from the Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners, make available to the board information contained in the bureau's criminal history record and identification files, which pertains to an applicant of the board.  In addition, in order to determine an applicant's eligibility or suitability for licensure under the provisions of the Private Investigators Law (R.S. 37:3501 et seq.), each applicant shall be fingerprinted and the fingerprints shall be forwarded by the bureau to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check.

(d)  The office of state police shall be entitled to the criminal history record and identification files of the bureau on those persons seeking a medical or security exemption from the window tinting regulations of motor vehicles as provided for in R.S. 32:361.2.  Prior to the release of such information by the bureau, the office of state police shall present a written consent on a form approved by the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information and signed by the applicant authorizing the release of such information.

(e)  The office of motor vehicles shall be entitled to the criminal history record and identification files of the bureau of any person who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to R.S. 15:542 et seq., and who is seeking a driver's license or required to obtain a special identification card pursuant to R.S. 40:1321(J).

(2)(a)  The bureau, in accordance with its powers to regulate and to enforce provisions herein, may further restrict those agencies eligible to receive information.  However, the bureau shall make available to the Department of Social Services, office of community services, all criminal history record information as defined in R.S. 15:576 related to foster and adoptive parent applicants and adult members of foster and adoptive parent households, parents of children who have been removed from their custody, parents or caretakers involved in investigations of abuse or neglect, and potential caretakers of a child who is either in the custody of the department or is the subject of an investigation of abuse or neglect.  For the purposes in this Section, the bureau shall employ such methods and procedures and shall observe such duty hours as to provide information upon request within forty-eight hours from its receipt.

(b)  The bureau shall facilitate national criminal history record checks of prospective foster and adoptive parent applicants and adult members of foster and adoptive parent households, parents of children who have been removed from their custody, parents or caretakers involved in investigations of abuse or neglect, and potential caretakers of a child who is either in the custody of the department or is the subject of an investigation of abuse or neglect by receiving and forwarding fingerprint cards to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The Department of Social Services, office of community services, is authorized to receive and screen the results of the state and national criminal history record checks in order to determine foster or adoptive parent applicants' eligibility for certification or recertification as a placement resource for children, to assist in the determination of the appropriateness of a parent or potential caregiver as a placement resource for a child, and to assess the situation for safety issues and risks to the child and worker.  The department shall maintain the confidentiality of criminal history information received in accordance with applicable federal or state law.

(c)  During an emergency situation when a child must be removed from his home due to exigent circumstances and placed in the home of an individual, the department may request that a criminal justice agency perform a national name-based criminal history record check of each adult residing in that home.  The results of the name-based criminal history record check may be provided to the department, which shall then provide a complete set of each adult resident's fingerprints to the bureau for the immediate submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation within twelve  calendar days from the date the name-based criminal history record check search was conducted.  The bureau shall either positively identify the fingerprint subject or forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation within fifteen  calendar days from the date the name-based criminal history record check search was conducted.  The child shall be removed from the home immediately if any adult resident fails to provide such fingerprints or written permission to perform a federal criminal history record check when requested to do so.  As used in this Section, the emergency placement of a child is limited to those instances when the department is placing a child in the home of private individuals, including but not limited to neighbors, friends, or relatives, as a result of a situation where the child's removal is necessary to secure the child's protection, or the sudden unavailability or incapacity  of the child's primary caretaker to care for the child.

(d)  When placement of a child in a home is denied as a result of a name-based criminal history record check of a resident and the resident contests that denial, each such resident shall, within five business days, submit to the department a complete set of the resident's fingerprints with written permission allowing the department to forward the fingerprints to the bureau for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

B.(1)  The bureau may charge a processing fee of twenty-six dollars for information provided to any agency or entity statutorily eligible to receive this information, except another state or local law enforcement agency, pursuant to a request to assist the agency in performing a screening function as part of any regulatory or licensing scheme.  Payment of the processing fee shall accompany the request for such information and shall be deposited by the bureau immediately upon receipt into the Criminal Identification and Information Fund.

(2)  The bureau may charge a processing fee of ten dollars for fingerprinting of any individual. Payment of the processing fee shall accompany the request for fingerprinting and shall be deposited by the bureau immediately upon receipt into the Criminal Identification and Information Fund.

C.  The bureau shall, upon request and after receipt of fingerprint cards or other identifying information from the state police, make available to the state police gaming division, the Louisiana Riverboat Gaming Commission1, and the Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation, information contained in the bureau's criminal history record and identification files, which pertains to an applicant or prospective employee of any of them.  In addition, in order to determine an applicant's suitability for a gaming or employee license under the provisions of the Louisiana Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law (R.S. 27:301 et seq.), the Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Control Act (R.S. 27:41 et seq.), the Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation Act (R.S. 27:201 et seq.), the Louisiana Regulation of Gaming Equipment Law (R.S. 47:7001 et seq.), and the Regulation of Charitable Gaming Law (R.S. 40:1485.1 et seq.), each applicant shall be fingerprinted and the fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check.

D.  Any local law enforcement agency may conduct any screening function conducted by the bureau, except  those screening functions conducted for entities regulated by any office of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and also may charge a reasonable processing fee of not more than fifteen dollars per inquiry for information provided.  The provisions of this Subsection shall  also apply to any screening function provided for in R.S. 15:587.1.

E.  An employer or his representative shall be entitled to obtain conviction records of an applicant seeking employment, directly from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information in order to further qualify the applicant for the position being sought, if the applicant has signed a consent form authorizing the employer to obtain such conviction records.  Upon written request and upon presentation of a consent form prepared by the bureau and executed by the applicant, the bureau shall provide any conviction records of the applicant to the employer or his representative in a timely manner.  For the purposes of this Subsection "conviction records" shall include only those records which are electronically maintained by the bureau, and are records of a finding of guilty, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, including those which have been set aside or dismissed pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 893 or 894, or for which an individual has received an automatic first offender pardon.  It shall not include those records which have been ordered expunged pursuant to R.S. 44:9.  The provisions of R.S. 15:587(B) shall apply to any request made pursuant to this Subsection.  The bureau shall not be liable civilly or criminally for the release of information released pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection.

F.  Pursuant to approval of the local housing authority's board of commissioners, acting through one or more of its commissioners or other designees, a local housing authority may obtain criminal history record and identification file of any person applying for public housing if the applicant has signed a consent form authorizing the release of such criminal history records and identification.  Upon written request and upon presentation of a signed consent form executed by the applicant, the bureau shall provide the criminal history record of and identification file information of the applicant to the requestor in a timely manner.  For the purposes of this Subsection "conviction records" shall include only those records which are electronically maintained by the bureau, and are records of a finding of guilty, a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, including those which have been set aside or dismissed pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 893 or 894, or for which an individual has received an automatic first offender pardon.  It shall not include those records which have been ordered expunged pursuant to R.S. 44:9.  The provisions of R.S. 15:587(B) shall apply to any request made pursuant to this Subsection.

Acts 1981, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1981; Acts 1985, No. 941, §1, eff. July 23, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 651, §1; Acts 1987, No. 312, §1; Acts 1987, No. 810, §1; Acts 1990, No. 56, §1, eff. June 26, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 576, §1; Acts 1992, No. 984, §18; Acts 1993, No. 676, §1, eff. June 21, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 678, §1, eff. June 21, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 717, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1171, §1; Acts 1997, No. 334, §1; Acts 1997, No. 901, §1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1067, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1172, §3, eff. June 30, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1349, §1; Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 137, §1, eff. May 5, 1998; Acts 2001, No. 8, §5, eff. July 1, 2001; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 118, §1, eff. April 23, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 796, §1; Acts 2003, No. 896, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1083, §1, eff. July 2, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 103, §1, eff. May 28, 2004; Acts 2004, No. 911, §1; Acts 2004, No. 922, §2, eff. July 12, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 238, §1; Acts 2006, No. 663, §1.

1Abolished May 1, 1996.  See R.S. 27:31(A)(2)

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