Bill > A956

Introduced Session

This bill establishes the Uniform Criminal Records Accuracy Act to ensure the integrity of the State's criminal history record information, which increasingly is being used for non-criminal justice purposes. Under the act, contributing justice agencies and the Division of State Police are required to create, store, and maintain a dissemination log for every request for criminal history record information. A criminal justice agency is defined in the act as a governmental entity of the State, any other state, or the federal government which performs functions pertaining to the administration of criminal justice pursuant to statute, ordinance, resolution, or regulation, and which allocates a substantial portion of its budget to the administration of criminal justice. Each dissemination log is to include: the name of the subject about whom the information is requested; the name and address of the person making the request; the name of the person disseminating the information; the date of the request; the date of dissemination; and a statement of whether the information was disseminated for a purpose other than the administration of criminal justice. Information is to be included in the log within 14 days of dissemination. The bill requires contributing justice agencies with control, authority, or jurisdiction over a person to conform to certain standards in collecting, storing, and maintaining criminal history record information for certain reportable events. A reportable event is defined in the bill as any of the following relating to a crime or offense: 1) an arrest resulting in a person being detained in a police station, lock up, or other place maintained by a municipality for the detention of offenders or the county jail or collection of biometric information; 2) disposition after an arrest without initiation of a criminal proceeding; 3) initiation of a criminal proceeding; 4) disposition of a criminal proceeding, including diversion, dismissal, indefinite postponement, acquittal, guilty plea, conviction, sentencing, and modification, reversal, and revocation of the disposition; 5) commitment to or release from a place of detention or custodial supervision; 6) commencement or conclusion of noncustodial supervision; 7) completion of a sentence; 8) expungement, sealing, or setting aside of criminal history record information; 9) grant of clemency, including pardon or commutation, or restoration of rights; and 10) finding of mental incompetence by a court at any stage of a criminal proceeding. The agency is required to submit information on a reportable event to the State Police within five days of collecting it and to otherwise conform to State Police guidelines concerning collection, storage, maintenance, submission, and dissemination of accurate criminal history record information, including biometric information, such as fingerprints. If an agency discovers inaccurate criminal history record information, it is required to correct its records, notify the State Police of the inaccuracy and correction, and within one year of discovery, notify each agency that received the information of the inaccuracy and correction. The State Police are required by the act to receive, store, maintain, and disseminate accurate criminal history record information in compliance with procedures adopted by the Attorney General. The State Police have 14 days after a person requests his or her criminal history record information to search its records and disseminate that information to the requester. The requester is to receive conspicuous notification that the information is provided for the requester's review only and may not be relied on or considered current for use by any other person. If one person authorizes another person to receive the person's criminal history record information, the State Police are to determine whether the information contains a disposition after an arrest without initiation of a criminal proceeding or a disposition of a criminal proceeding. If a disposition is not found, the State Police are to try to determine if there was a disposition and if so, include it in the relevant records. The State Police are to remove the notation of an arrest or initiation of criminal proceedings if 18 months have elapsed since the date of the arrest or initiation of criminal proceedings, whichever is later; no disposition has been identified; there is no outstanding warrant; and there is no pending proceeding that may result in a conviction. The State Police have five days to disseminate the information to the person and the requester and 14 days to correct inaccurate records. The bill also requires the State Police to inform the public of the existence and accessibility of criminal history record information collected, stored, maintained, and disseminated by contributing justice agencies and the superintendent and to provide agencies with appropriate training. The bill further requires the State Police to create and maintain a mistaken identity prevention registry consisting of information voluntarily provided by a victim of mistaken identity or a person whose name or other identifying characteristic is similar to that of another person who is the subject of criminal history record information. The purpose of the registry is to prevent inaccurate criminal history record information, inaccurate modification of criminal history record information, mistaken arrest, and confusion of one person with another person when criminal history record information is searched. The act sets forth procedures for a person to follow to have criminal history record information corrected by an agency or the State Police. The State Police are required to approve or deny a request for correction within 40 days. Upon approval of a request, the State Police have 14 days to correct its records and give notice of the inaccuracy. The person is to be provided a free certified, corrected copy of the accurate information. If the request is denied, the person has the right to appeal. The Attorney General is responsible under the bill to establish procedures to protect the confidentiality and security of criminal history record information and to conduct annual audits of a sample of contributing justice agencies and a triennial audit of the State Police. The Attorney General, the State Police, or a person may commence an action to compel compliance with or enjoin a violation of the provisions of the bill. Reasonable fees, attorneys' fees, and court costs may be awarded. Civil fines also may be imposed. According to the National Conference of Commissioners on State Laws, there have been numerous developments concerning criminal records over the past 20 years, including the creation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) in 1993, the establishment of criminal history repositories in all states, and the increasing use of criminal record checks in connection with eligibility for employment, professional and occupational licenses, credit worthiness, and other non-criminal justice purposes. Recent studies have demonstrated that criminal records accessed for these purposes may be inaccurate or incomplete which may be attributable to lack of information concerning dispositions after an arrest or other charge that has been entered in a database; data entry errors resulting in an incorrect listing of the offense; multiple listings of the same offense; attribution of an offense to a wrong person; criminal identity theft; and searches for criminal record information resulting in one person's criminal record information appearing in search results initiated for a different person. This bill is modeled on the conference's recommendations to improve the accuracy of criminal history record information.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Carol Murphy (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document