This bill revises provisions governing background checks, as follows:
(1) Under present law, the governor, speaker of the senate, speaker of the house, and chief justice may request the director of the Tennessee bureau of investigation (TBI) to conduct a background investigation concerning any person who has asked or agreed to be considered by the governor, speaker of the senate, speaker of the house, or chief justice for appointment to a position of trust and responsibility. This bill adds that the TBI may contract with the FBI, another law enforcement agency, or another legally authorized entity to assist in the investigation.
(2) Present law, under the Fire Department Recognition Act, requires fire protection personnel to, among other things, supply a fingerprint sample and submit to a criminal history records check to be conducted by the TBI, the FBI, other law enforcement agency, or any legally authorized entity. This bill specifies that the fingerprint sample has to be supplied "when seeking employment with a public fire agency."
(3) Under the present law provisions governing criminal history records check for certain persons residing in child care agencies, the check must be completed "prior to the granting of any license that is not the renewal of an existing license to the childcare agency in which the person resides at the time of initial application." This bill revises this provision to instead provide that the check must be completed "prior to the granting of a license to the childcare agency in which the person resides at the time of initial application."
(4) Present law requires that the results of an inquiry to the TBI must be documented in the records of the childcare agency for the person for whom the background check is sought. This bill revises this requirement to instead require the childcare agency to document in its records the clearance or exclusion letter regarding the person's ability to assume a position for which a background review is required.
(5) Under present law, a child care agency, a child care program, the department of children's services, the department of education, the department of human services, the department of mental health and substance abuse services, the department of intellectual and developmental disabilities and any other state agency or any person or entity that contracts with the state may require certain persons (e.g., those applying to work as paid employees and those applying to be foster parents) to undergo a background or records review, to complete a disclosure form stating the person's criminal and juvenile records history and agree to release all records involving the person relating to the criminal, juvenile and perpetrator records history of the person to the entities, and, if further required by the requesting entity, to supply a fingerprint sample and submit to a fingerprint-based review of criminal and juvenile records available to the TBI to be conducted by the TBI. This bill revises various provisions relating to these checks to clarify when the department of children's services must maintain the records of various persons on whom a background check is completed, instead of the childcare agency or entity requesting the background check.
(6) Under present law, as a supplemental method of criminal and juvenile background history review for any applicants for employment, for license or operator status, or for substitute or volunteer status with childcare agencies or childcare programs, or with the state agencies or their contractors, or with the entities that the state agencies may regulate, or for residents of new childcare agencies, or for current employees, licensees, operators, substitutes or volunteers of childcare agencies or for current residents of childcare agencies, those entities described above in (5) that have an agreement for access to the TBI's criminal and available juvenile history database may require such persons to submit a disclosure form, a copy of which is maintained with the requesting entity's records, and agree to release all records involving the person relating to the criminal and available juvenile history of the person. This bill rewrites this provision to instead provide that the department of children's services or appropriate state agency described above in (5) may require the applicable persons to submit a disclosure form, a copy of which the department must maintain in the department's records as a supplemental method of criminal and juvenile background history review, and agree to release all records involving the following persons relating to the criminal and available juvenile history of the persons:
(A) For an applicant for employment, for license or operator status, or for substitute or volunteer status with childcare agencies or childcare programs, or with the state agencies or their contractors, as described above, or with the entities that the state agencies may regulate;
(B) For residents of new childcare agencies;
(C) For current employees, licensees, operators, substitutes, or volunteers of childcare agencies; or
(D) For current residents of childcare agencies.
This bill clarifies that the above records will be maintained in the records of the department and will be subject to review by the entities regulating the department.

Statutes affected:
Current Version: 38-6-106(b), 38-6-106, 38-6-106(g), 68-102-308, 71-3-507(a)(2)(B)(i), 71-3-507, 71-3-507(b)(3), 71-3-507(b)(5)(B), 71-3-507(c)(3), 71-3-507(g)(1)(A), 71-3-507(g)(4)(A), 71-3-507(g)(4)(B), 71-3-507(g)(4)(D), 71-3-507(h)