AN ACT authorizing criminal record checks for county governments.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 114‑19.14 reads as rewritten:
"§ 114‑19.14.  Criminal record checks for municipalities and county governments.
The Department of Justice may provide to a city or county from the State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories the criminal history of any person who applies for employment with the city or county. The city or county shall provide to the Department of Justice, along with the request, the fingerprints of the applicant, a form signed by the applicant consenting to the criminal record check and use of fingerprints and other identifying information required by the State and National Repositories, and any additional information required by the Department of Justice. The applicant's fingerprints shall be forwarded to the State Bureau of Investigation for a search of the State's criminal history record file, and the State Bureau of Investigation shall forward a set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. The city or county shall keep all information obtained pursuant to this section confidential. The Department of Justice may charge a fee to offset the cost incurred by it to conduct a criminal record check under this section. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of locating, editing, researching, and retrieving the information."
SECTION 2.  Article 5 of Chapter 153A of the General Statues is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 153A‑94.2.  Criminal history record checks of employees permitted.
The board of commissioners may adopt or provide for rules and regulations or ordinances concerning a requirement that any applicant for employment be subject to a criminal history record check of State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories conducted by the Department of Justice in accordance with G.S. 114‑19.14. The local or regional public employer may consider the results of these criminal history record checks in its hiring decisions."

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23rd day of August, 2005.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 1:46 p.m. this 7th day of September, 2005