Directs the division of criminal justice services to provide criminal background checks to nonprofit mentoring programs free of charge.

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S2522-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
• Jan 24, 2011: REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

S2522-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S2522

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the social services law and the executive law, in relation to
the provision of criminal history background checks free of charge to
mentoring programs operated by not-for-profit corporations

PURPOSE:
To direct the Division of Criminal Justice Services to provide
criminal background checks to not-for-profit mentoring programs free
of charge.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends Subdivision 4 of section 390-e of the
social services law to provide that there shall be no processing fee
for criminal background checks requested by not-for-profit mentoring
programs.

Section 2 amends subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law
to provide that the Division of Criminal Justice Services shall not
request or accept any fee for conducting criminal background checks
for not-for-profit mentoring programs.

Section 3 provides the effective date.

EXISTING LAW:
Not-for-profit mentoring programs are currently assessed a fee for
criminal background checks.

JUSTIFICATION:
Youth mentoring programs provide a needed service in our communities.
They match troubled or at risk youth with positive adult role models
in long-term mentoring friendships for the purpose of guiding them
through difficult life decisions and circumstances. However,
not-far-profit mentoring programs have very limited resources and the
cost of criminal background checks can be prohibitive.
This bill would allow a not-far-profit mentoring program to avoid the
fee associated with a background check, thus allowing the
organization to dedicate its scarce resources to providing service to
the community.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010: S.8046 - Referred to Children and Families

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S2522-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    2522

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 24, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens. JOHNSON, DeFRANCISCO, GOLDEN, LARKIN -- read twice
    and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
    on Children and Families

  AN ACT to amend the social  services  law  and  the  executive  law,  in
    relation  to  the provision of criminal history background checks free
    of charge to mentoring  programs  operated  by  not-for-profit  corpo-
    rations

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 390-e of the social services  law,
  as  added  by  chapter  459  of  the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
  follows:

    4. Every mentoring program that chooses to apply for a criminal histo-
  ry background check with the division of criminal justice services shall
  obtain a set of fingerprints from each individual for  whom  a  criminal
  background  check  is  to  be completed and such other information as is
  required by the office and the division of  criminal  justice  services.
  For  each  prospective employee or mentor for whom the mentoring program
  completes a criminal  background  check,  the  mentoring  program  shall
  provide  the applicant with blank fingerprint cards and a description of
  how the completed fingerprint card will be used upon submission  to  the
  mentoring  program.  The  mentoring program shall promptly transmit such
  fingerprint card and the processing fee to the office; PROVIDED,  HOWEV-
  ER,  IF  THE  MENTORING  PROGRAM  IS OPERATED BY A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPO-
  RATION, NO PROCESSING FEE SHALL BE IMPOSED  FOR  A  CRIMINAL  BACKGROUND
  CHECK.  The  office  shall  promptly submit the fingerprint card and the
  processing fee, IF imposed pursuant to subdivision  eight-a  of  section
  eight  hundred  thirty-seven  of  the  executive law, to the division of
  criminal justice services for its full search and retain processing.
    S 2. Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law,  as  amended
  by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:


   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD07257-01-1

 S. 2522                             2

    8-a.  Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of the
  division, it conducts a search  of  its  criminal  history  records  and
  returns  a  report thereon in connection with an application for employ-
  ment or for a license or permit. The division shall adopt and may,  from
  time  to  time,  amend a schedule of such fees which shall be in amounts
  determined by the division to be  reasonably  related  to  the  cost  of
  conducting such searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event,
  shall  any  such  fee  exceed  twenty-five  dollars  and  an  additional
  surcharge of fifty dollars. The  comptroller  is  hereby  authorized  to
  deposit  such  fees  into  the general fund, provided, however, that the
  monies received by the division of criminal justice services for payment
  of the additional surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts  to  the
  general  fund  and  to  the  fingerprint  identification  and technology
  account. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the division shall  not  request
  or  accept  any  fee  for searching its records and supplying a criminal
  history report pursuant to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the gener-
  al business law relating to participating in flight instruction  at  any
  aeronautical  facility, flight school or institution of higher learning,
  OR PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY-E OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW
  WHEN THE DIVISION IS SUPPLYING A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT TO A  MENTORING
  PROGRAM OPERATED BY A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.