This bill is part of the 2023 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.
SB 152 Background checks and fingerprinting: state employment, licensing, and contracting.
Note: SB 152 passed and was signed by the Governor. (See also related bill AB 152.)
(1) Existing law requires the Department of Justice to maintain state summary criminal history information, as defined, and to furnish this information to various state and local government officers, officials, and other prescribed entities, as specified. Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to transmit fingerprint images and related information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining a federal criminal history information check pursuant to a referencing statute. Existing law requires the department to review the information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and to compile and disseminate a response or a fitness determination to the agency or entity identified in the referencing statute.
This bill would require the Office of Youth and Community Restoration, the State Department of State Hospitals, the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, the California Horse Racing Board, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Department of Real Estate, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department of General Services, the California Conservation Corps, the Treasurer’s office, and the Controller’s office to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice for specified individuals, including employees, prospective employees, and contractors, as applicable.
This bill would also require the State Department of Public Health to require an applicant for a human prescription drug manufacturing license to submit fingerprint images, and related information as required, to the Department of Justice.
The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide a state- or federal-level response, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Real Estate and the Department of Housing and Community Development to require certain services contracts, interagency agreements, or public entity agreements to include a provision requiring the contractor to agree to perform criminal background checks on its employees and subcontractors who will have access to specified information.
(2) Existing law establishes the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation in the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, headed by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. Under existing law, the department has charge of the execution of specified laws relating to various financial institutions and financial services, including banks, trust companies, credit unions, finance lenders, and residential mortgage lenders. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies fingerprints taken of specified individuals, including, among others, an applicant for employment with the department.
This bill would require the department to require fingerprint images from any department employee, prospective employee or applicant seeking employment within the department, contractor, subcontractor, volunteer, or vendor who may have access to criminal offender record information. The bill would require the Department of Justice to forward a request for national-level criminal offender record information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate the information returned, as specified.
(3) Existing law requires the Department of FISCal to require fingerprint images and associated information from any employee, prospective employee, contractor, subcontractor, volunteer, vendor, or partner agency employee whose duties include, or would include, having access to confidential or sensitive information or data on the network or computing infrastructure, as provided.
This bill would instead require the Department of FISCal to require fingerprint images and associated related information from any department employee, prospective employee, contractor, subcontractor, volunteer, or partner staff, as defined, whose duties include, or would include, having access to confidential or sensitive information or production data on the network.
Existing law requires the Chief of Human Resources of the Department of FISCal to follow a written appeal process for an individual who is determined ineligible for employment because of the individual’s Department of Justice or Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal offender record, and requires the Chief of Human Resources to take evidence of rehabilitation under consideration when considering background information from the Department of Justice.
This bill would delete the above-described provisions regarding the duties of the Chief of Human Resources of the Department of FIScal.
(4) The Debt Collection Licensing Act prohibits a person from engaging in the business of debt collection in this state without first obtaining a license from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation pursuant to the act. The act requires the commissioner to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and related information required by the Department of Justice of every applicant, as specified, for purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and content of, among other things, a record of state or federal convictions and state or federal arrests.
This bill would repeal that provision and would, instead, require the commissioner to require a background investigation of each applicant by means of a Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record check and would require the submission of fingerprints for each applicant, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit an application for a license from being denied for, among other things, a criminal conviction if the convicted person has obtained a certain certificate of rehabilitation or has been granted clemency or a pardon by a state or federal executive.
Existing law requires the commissioner to, upon an application for licensure, investigate specified persons related to an applicant depending upon whether the applicant is a partnership or is a corporation, trust, limited liability company, or association, as specified, including, if the applicant is a partnership, the general partners.
This bill would revise and recast those provisions, including by requiring the commissioner to, with respect to an applicant that is a partnership, investigate the applicant’s managing partners and supervising partners, as defined in the partnership agreement.
This bill would, for purposes of the act, specify that “applicant” includes a natural person, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, trust, estate, cooperative, association, or other entity, who applies for a license.
(5) Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an initiative measure, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. MAUCRSA establishes the Department of Cannabis Control, under the supervision and control of a director, to administer and enforce its provisions.
MAUCRSA authorizes the director to employ and appoint all employees necessary to properly administer the work of the department, in accordance with civil service laws and regulations. MAUCRSA requires the director to designate the persons employed by the department for purposes of the administration and enforcement of MAUCRSA, and requires the director to ensure that a sufficient number of employees are qualified peace officers for purposes of enforcing MAUCRSA.
MAUCRSA requires the Department of Cannabis Control to submit to the Department of Justice fingerprint images and other related information for criminal history information checks of certain employees, prospective employees, contractors, and subcontractors, as specified. MAUCRSA requires the Department of Cannabis Control to request from the Department of Justice subsequent notification service for those individuals, as specified.
This bill would repeal the requirement that the Department of Cannabis Control request from the Department of Justice subsequent notification service. The bill would also define criminal offender record information and controlled substances for purposes of the criminal history information check provisions.
MAUCRSA authorizes the department to issue state cannabis licenses and specifies license classifications, including, among others, a Type 13—Cannabis event organizer license classification.
This bill would define a cannabis event organizer for purposes of the Type 13—Cannabis event organizer license classification as a person authorized to plan and organize temporary cannabis events. The bill would add a Type 14—Processor classification to the codified list of license classifications, and would define a processor for these purposes as a person authorized to engage in only trimming, drying, curing, grading, packaging, and labeling of cannabis and nonmanufactured cannabis products.
(6) This bill would appropriate the sum of $10,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Justice for purposes of implementing these provisions.
(7) AUMA authorizes the Legislature to amend its provisions with a 2/3 vote of both houses to further its purposes and intent, except as specified.
This bill would state that the bill furthers the purposes and intent of AUMA.
(8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.
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