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History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
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Directs the division of criminal justice services to publish a brochure directing the public on how to gather criminal background information
In Senate Committee · Finance · Sponsor Andrew Hevesi
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5735
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to directing the division of criminal justice services to publish a brochure describing the resources available to the general public for gathering criminal background information on an individual
Purpose or general idea of the bill
To give youth services organizations and the general public a comprehensive overview of the resources available to them for the purposes of gathering criminal background information on an individual.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one directs the division of criminal justice services to publish, in writing and on its website, a brochure describing the resources available to the general public for the purpose of gathering criminal background information on an individual. It also provides that the division shall distribute the brochure at no cost to youth services organizations. Section two provides for an effective date.
Justification
The purpose of youth service organizations, such as little leagues and camps, is to provide adult supervised activities and match children with positive adult role models in order to enhance their development. When an individual chooses to work in an environment that will put them in constant contact with children, they should be subject to a number of criminal background checks to ensure they are fit to work with children.
As an example, in February of this year, the coach of a Queens little league team was charged with first and second degree criminal sexual acts, including the use of a child in a sexual performance, second degree sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child. According to law enforcement, in 1989, this same person had been brought up on charges of sodomy. promoting sexual performance by a child under 16, and promoting obscene sexual performance by a child under 16. While this particular individual would not have shown up on a background check because he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense, a class A misdemeanor, it highlights the fact that a large number of people are working with children on a regular basis, and organizations have no way of knowing whether their past behavior indicates a threat to children's safety.
There are many resources available to the general public for the purposes of investigating a person's criminal history. Unfortunately, many people and organizations are not aware of the extensive databases available or have questions about using them. This bill would direct the division to create a brochure that would describe the available databases, give directions for their use, and provide a contact for any questions about using them. This brochure will empower people and organizations
by giving them tools and knowledge they need to better inform themselves.
Prior legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect ninety days after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.