HB3 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Greg Wren

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center Commission and the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, members, operation, powers, duties, fees, information relating to homeland security, crime of misuse of ACJIC information established, Statistical Analysis Center established, National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact ratified and implemented, Secs. 41-9-590, 41-9-591, 41-9-592, 41-9-594, 41-9-595, 41-9-597, 41-9-600, 41-9-601, 41-9-621, 41-9-622, 41-9-623, 41-9-625, 41-9-630 am'd.

Summary

HB3 would expand and govern the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) operations, create a new misuse crime for ACJIC data, establish a statewide statistics center, ratify a national compact for sharing criminal history for noncriminal purposes, and allow licensing bodies to require background checks with associated fees.

What This Bill Does

It expands the ACJIC Commission and Center to handle homeland security information and sets up a structure for data sharing with federal partners. It creates the crime of misusing ACJIC information and sets penalties. It establishes the Alabama Statistical Analysis Center to collect, analyze, and publish crime data (without identifying people) and to share it with state leaders and agencies. It ratifies the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, authorizes background checks by licensing boards, and sets fee schedules; it also strengthens privacy protections and provides funding-related provisions, with local-expenditure rules noted as exempt under exceptions.

Who It Affects

• Licensing and permitting agencies or boards, which may require criminal background checks for licensing or permitting.
• Colleges and universities (excluding the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa) and their job applicants, who may undergo ACJIC background checks and be charged a $25 fee per search.
• County and municipal governments and their agencies, which may contract with ACJIC to perform background checks for a $15 per check fee (with a credit toward other ACJIC services).
• Individuals and job applicants, who may be subject to background checks and data stored in ACJIC, with rules for viewing their own records and for privacy protections.
• Law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and other criminal justice and emergency response agencies, which will rely on ACJIC for data and will have access to information under defined safeguards.

Key Provisions

• Authorize ACJIC to charge fees for noncriminal background checks and to establish the Alabama Statistical Analysis Center for crime data collection and research.
• Create the crime of misuse of ACJIC information, with penalties including Class B felony status, fines up to $10,000, imprisonment up to five years, and per-record offenses.
• Ratify and implement the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact to permit interstate exchange of criminal history for noncriminal purposes and authorize licensing/permitting agencies to require criminal background checks.
• Designate the ACJIC Center as CJIS Systems Agency and implement data-sharing standards with the FBI CJIS Division and Nlets, including privacy and security safeguards and a Privacy and Security Committee.
• Provide fee schedules for background checks (e.g., $25 per search) and county-level checks ($15 per search), with funds deposited to the Criminal Justice Information System Automation Fund, and allow local governments a credit against other ACJIC fees.
• Require licensing and permitting agencies to conduct criminal background checks by rule; permit universities to request background checks; limit access to civil court records by ACJIC; set privacy protections and data-use restrictions.
• Include an Amendment 621 local-funding exemption note, indicating the bill would require new local expenditures but is exempt from the state’s local-funding approval requirements due to specified exceptions.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Criminal Justice Information Center