34 U.S.C. § 40316 — National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact

submitted 28 years ago by Pub. L. 105-251 to r/title-34-CRIME-CONTROL-AND-LAW-ENFORCEMENT · 3,845 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This compact creates a system for the FBI and states to share criminal history records for background checks. It sets rules, a Compact Council, and steps for requesting, using, and protecting those records. States can join or leave the compact, and disputes go to the Council, then the courts.

Overview

(a) In general: This compact sets up an electronic system so the federal government and the states can trade criminal history records. It's for uses that aren't part of a criminal case -- things like background checks for a government job or license.

(b) Obligations of parties: Under the compact, the FBI and the states that join ("Party States") each keep detailed databases of criminal records -- arrests and what happened after, like convictions or releases. They must share those records with each other and the federal government when the request is allowed. The FBI also runs the central computer system that makes the network work.

Article I -- Definitions

This section defines the compact's key terms:

"Attorney General" means the U.S. Attorney General.
"Compact officer" is the person in charge of running the compact -- for the federal government, someone picked by the FBI Director; for a state, the head of that state's criminal records agency (or someone that person picks who works there full time).
"Council" means the Compact Council'set up under Article VI.
"Criminal history records" means information -- like arrests, charges, and what happened afterward (acquittal, sentence, supervision, release) -- tied to an identifiable person. It does not include fingerprints or similar ID information unless that information shows involvement with the criminal justice system.
"Criminal history record repository" is the state agency the governor, another top state official, or the state legislature puts in charge of keeping criminal records for the state.
"Criminal justice" covers catching, holding, charging, releasing, prosecuting, judging, supervising, or rehabilitating people accused or convicted of crimes. It includes fingerprinting people and collecting, storing, and sharing criminal records.
"Criminal justice agency" means courts, and any government agency (or part of one) that does criminal justice work under a law or executive order and spends a large share of its budget on that work. It also includes federal and state inspector general offices.
"Criminal justice services" means the FBI's work answering requests for information about a specific person, or updating information it already gave, for criminal justice reasons.
"Criterion offense" means any felony or misdemeanor that isn't on the FBI's published list of minor offenses.
"Direct access" means reaching the National Identification Index by computer without needing help from another agency.
"Executive order" means an order from the President or a state's top executive that has the force of law.
"FBI" means the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Interstate Identification System" (or "III System") is the joint federal-state network for trading criminal history records. It includes the National Identification Index, the National Fingerprint File, and -- to the extent they take part -- the states' own record repositories and the FBI.
"National Fingerprint File" is the FBI's database of fingerprints (or similar unique identifying information) used to confirm who's who in the III System.
"National Identification Index" is the FBI's index of names, ID numbers, and other descriptive information about people who have criminal history records in the III System.
"National indices" means the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File together.
"Nonparty State" is a state that hasn't joined the compact.
"Noncriminal justice purposes" means using criminal records for reasons other than criminal justice -- for example, deciding whether someone can be employed, licensed, allowed to immigrate, or given a national security clearance -- as long as federal or state law allows it.
"Party State" is a state that has joined the compact.
"Positive identification" means confirming, through fingerprints or an equally reliable method, that the person being searched for is the same person named in a record. Matching just on names or other non-unique details doesn't count as positive identification.
"Sealed record information" means, for adults, any part of a record that can't be used for criminal justice, isn't backed by fingerprints or similar proof of identity, or is restricted from noncriminal justice use by a court order or a state/federal law that requires action on a sealing request from that person. For juveniles, it's whatever each state's own law calls a sealed record.
"State" means any U.S. state, territory, or possession, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Article II -- Purposes

The compact exists to: give states and the federal government a legal framework to trade criminal history records for noncriminal justice uses; require the FBI to let each Party State use the National Identification Index and National Fingerprint File, and to send records to requesting states promptly, under Council rules; require Party States to feed their records into the national indices and share records with other states and the federal government promptly, under Council rules; set up the Council to watch over the III System and write its rules for noncriminal justice use; and require the FBI and Party States to follow the III System's standards for sharing records, response times, security, data quality, and accuracy and privacy protections.

Article III -- Responsibilities of Compact Parties

(a) FBI responsibilities: The FBI Director must appoint an FBI Compact officer, who runs the compact inside the Department of Justice and among other federal agencies that search through the FBI, makes sure they follow the compact and Council rules, and controls how those agencies use records the FBI passes along from Party States. The FBI must give federal agencies and state repositories the criminal records it holds for the noncriminal justice purposes in Article IV -- including records from Nonparty States, and records from Party States that the FBI has but the Party State can't provide through the III System. The FBI must also run the communications network and central facilities for the system, making sure criminal-justice requests get handled before noncriminal-justice ones. Finally, the FBI must update its agreements with Nonparty States to require them to follow the same request procedures as Party States (Article V).

(b) State responsibilities: Each Party State must appoint its own Compact officer to run the compact in that state, ensure compliance with Council rules, and control in-state use of records received through the III System. Each state must set up and run a records repository that feeds the national indices and provides the state's own III-indexed records for noncriminal justice purposes. States must also join the National Fingerprint File and maintain the communication links and equipment the compact needs.

(c) Compliance with III System standards: The FBI and each Party State must follow the Council's rules on sharing and using records, response times, data quality, security, accuracy, and privacy.

(d) Maintenance of record services: Using the III System for noncriminal justice purposes can't reduce the level of service for criminal justice purposes. And running the compact can't reduce the service level that existing noncriminal justice users had on the day the compact took effect.

Article IV -- Authorized Record Disclosures

(a) The FBI must give state record repositories criminal history records (not sealed ones) on request, to the extent the Privacy Act allows, for noncriminal justice purposes that federal law, a federal executive order, or an Attorney-General-approved state law allows -- as long as that state law authorizes checking the national indices.

(b) The FBI and state repositories must, in the same way, give criminal justice agencies and other government or private agencies criminal history records (not sealed ones) for noncriminal justice purposes allowed the same way.

(c) Procedures: A record obtained under the compact can be used only for the official purpose it was requested for. Each Compact officer must set up procedures -- following the compact and Council rules -- that protect the records' accuracy and privacy, and that: make sure only authorized officials use records for authorized purposes; require a fresh record check whenever new information is needed; and make sure any record entries that legally can't be used for a particular noncriminal justice purpose get deleted before the response goes out -- and if nothing usable is left, the requester gets told there's "no record."

Article V -- Record Request Procedures

(a) Positive identification: Every request for a criminal history check for noncriminal justice purposes must include fingerprints or another approved way to positively identify the subject.

(b) Submission of state requests: A request using the national indices under an approved state law must go through that state's own record repository. A state repository may only process another state's interstate request if it comes through that state's repository or the FBI.

(c) Submission of federal requests: A federal request using the national indices must go through the FBI, or -- if the relevant state repository agrees to handle fingerprints -- through that state's repository. No one besides the FBI and state repositories may directly access the National Identification Index for noncriminal justice purposes.

(d) Fees: A state repository or the FBI may charge a fee for handling a request that involves fingerprint processing, but may not charge a fee for an electronic request that doesn't involve fingerprints.

(e) Additional search: If a state repository can't positively identify the subject of a noncriminal justice request, it must forward the request and identifying information to the FBI to search the national indices. If the FBI then positively identifies the subject as having a record in the III System, it must tell the state repository, which can then get the rest of the record information from the FBI or other state repositories.

Article VI -- Establishment of Compact Council

(a) Establishment: The compact creates the "Compact Council," which can make rules for using the III System for noncriminal justice purposes -- but its rules can't conflict with how the FBI runs the system for criminal justice purposes. The Council exists as long as the compact does, is housed within the FBI for administrative purposes, and must hold its first meeting soon after the compact takes effect.

(b) Membership: The Attorney General appoints all 15 Council members: nine Compact officers of Party States (2-year terms), chosen based on other Compact officers' recommendations (if not enough Compact officers are available, Nonparty State record-repository heads can fill in temporarily); two at-large members picked by the FBI Director (3-year terms) -- one representing federal criminal justice agencies (not an FBI employee) and one representing federal noncriminal justice agencies; two at-large members picked by the Council Chairman once elected (3-year terms) -- one representing state/local criminal justice agencies and one representing state/local noncriminal justice agencies; one member (3-year term) who also sits on the FBI's criminal justice information advisory board, picked by that board; and one FBI employee (3-year term) picked by the FBI Director.

(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman: The Council elects a Chairman and Vice Chairman from its own members. Both must be Compact officers unless none is willing to serve, in which case an at-large member may be Chairman. Both serve 2-year terms and can be reelected only once more. The Vice Chairman fills in for the Chairman when the Chairman is absent.

(d) Meetings: The Council must meet at least once a year, called by the Chairman. Meetings are open to the public, and the Council must give advance public notice in the Federal Register of each meeting and what it will cover. A majority of the Council (or of a committee) is a quorum needed to conduct business; a smaller group can still hold hearings or take testimony without voting.

(e) Rules, procedures, and standards: The Council must make its rules available for public inspection and copying at its FBI office, and must publish them in the Federal Register.

(f) Assistance from FBI: The Council can ask the FBI for reports, studies, statistics, or other information it needs to do its job, and the FBI may provide it if the law allows.

(g) Committees: The Chairman can set up committees as needed and decide their membership, duties, and how long they last.

Article VII -- Ratification of Compact

The compact takes effect between the federal government and any two or more states once those states join. As more states join later, the compact also takes effect between them, the federal government, and every state that already joined. Once ratified, the compact has the full force of law in that state. Each state ratifies it however that state's own laws require.

Article VIII -- Miscellaneous Provisions

(a) The compact doesn't interfere with the FBI Director's control over the FBI's own collection and sharing of criminal records, or with the FBI's advisory policy board's role in anything except noncriminal justice matters.

(b) Nothing in the compact makes the FBI spend money Congress hasn't given it.

(c) The compact does not alter the duties, responsibilities, or authority of any State, whether it has joined the compact or not, or of any criminal history record repository or other subdivision or component of one, under the 1973 appropriations law known as Public Law 92-544, or regulations and guidelines issued under that law, including the Council.s rules and procedures on using and sharing criminal records.

Article IX -- Renunciation

(a) The compact binds each Party State unless that state renounces it.

(b) A state must renounce the compact the same way it ratified it, and the renunciation takes effect 180 days after the state gives written notice to every other Party State and the federal government.

Article X -- Severability

If a court finds any part of the compact unconstitutional -- under a state's constitution or the U.S. Constitution -- or invalid as applied to some government, agency, person, or situation, the rest of the compact still stands, both for everyone else and, as to its other provisions, for the affected state.

Article XI -- Adjudication of Disputes

(a) The Council decides, in the first instance, any dispute over how to interpret the compact, any Council rule, procedure, or standard established under Article V, or any dispute between parties to the compact. The Council must hold a hearing on the dispute at a regular meeting and decide by majority vote; it must publish its decision the same way as its other rules.

(b) Until the Council holds that hearing, the FBI must take whatever immediate action is needed to protect the III System's integrity, keep its policies and standards intact, protect records' accuracy and privacy, and prevent abuse.

(c) The FBI or a Party State can appeal a Council decision to the Attorney General, and after that, sue in the appropriate U.S. district court, which has original jurisdiction over compact disputes. A compact-related suit filed in state court gets moved to the right federal district court under the usual removal law.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

The Contracting Parties agree to the following:

Overview

(a) In general

This Compact organizes an electronic information sharing system among the Federal Government and the States to exchange criminal history records for noncriminal justice purposes authorized by Federal or State law, such as background checks for governmental licensing and employment.

(b) Obligations of parties

Under this Compact, the FBI and the Party States agree to maintain detailed databases of their respective criminal history records, including arrests and dispositions, and to make them available to the Federal Government and to Party States for authorized purposes. The FBI shall also manage the Federal data facilities that provide a significant part of the infrastructure for the system.

ARTICLE I—DEFINITIONS

In this Compact:

(1) Attorney General

The term “Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States.

(2) Compact officer

The term “Compact officer” means—

(A) with respect to the Federal Government, an official so designated by the Director of the FBI; and

(B) with respect to a Party State, the chief administrator of the State’s criminal history record repository or a designee of the chief administrator who is a regular full-time employee of the repository.

(3) Council

The term “Council” means the Compact Council established under Article VI.

(4) Criminal history records

The term “criminal history records”—

(A) means information collected by criminal justice agencies on individuals consisting of identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising therefrom, including acquittal, sentencing, correctional supervision, or release; and

(B) does not include identification information such as fingerprint records if such information does not indicate involvement of the individual with the criminal justice system.

(5) Criminal history record repository

The term “criminal history record repository” means the State agency designated by the Governor or other appropriate executive official or the legislature of a State to perform centralized recordkeeping functions for criminal history records and services in the State.

(6) Criminal justice

The term “criminal justice” includes activities relating to the detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision, or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders. The administration of criminal justice includes criminal identification activities and the collection, storage, and dissemination of criminal history records.

(7) Criminal justice agency

The term “criminal justice agency”—

(A) means—

(i) courts; and

(ii) a governmental agency or any subunit thereof that—

(I) performs the administration of criminal justice pursuant to a statute or Executive order; and

(II) allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice; and

(B) includes Federal and State inspectors general offices.

(8) Criminal justice services

The term “criminal justice services” means services provided by the FBI to criminal justice agencies in response to a request for information about a particular individual or as an update to information previously provided for criminal justice purposes.

(9) Criterion offense

The term “criterion offense” means any felony or misdemeanor offense not included on the list of nonserious offenses published periodically by the FBI.

(10) Direct access

The term “direct access” means access to the National Identification Index by computer terminal or other automated means not requiring the assistance of or intervention by any other party or agency.

(11) Executive order

The term “Executive order” means an order of the President of the United States or the chief executive officer of a State that has the force of law and that is promulgated in accordance with applicable law.

(12) FBI

The term “FBI” means the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(13) Interstate Identification System 1

The term “Interstate Identification Index System” or “III System”—

(A) means the cooperative Federal-State system for the exchange of criminal history records; and

(B) includes the National Identification Index, the National Fingerprint File and, to the extent of their participation in such system, the criminal history record repositories of the States and the FBI.

(14) National Fingerprint File

The term “National Fingerprint File” means a database of fingerprints, or other uniquely personal identifying information, relating to an arrested or charged individual maintained by the FBI to provide positive identification of record subjects indexed in the III System.

(15) National Identification Index

The term “National Identification Index” means an index maintained by the FBI consisting of names, identifying numbers, and other descriptive information relating to record subjects about whom there are criminal history records in the III System.

(16) National indices

The term “National indices” means the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File.

(17) Nonparty State

The term “Nonparty State” means a State that has not ratified this Compact.

(18) Noncriminal justice purposes

The term “noncriminal justice purposes” means uses of criminal history records for purposes authorized by Federal or State law other than purposes relating to criminal justice activities, including employment suitability, licensing determinations, immigration and naturalization matters, and national security clearances.

(19) Party State

The term “Party State” means a State that has ratified this Compact.

(20) Positive identification

The term “positive identification” means a determination, based upon a comparison of fingerprints or other equally reliable biometric identification techniques, that the subject of a record search is the same person as the subject of a criminal history record or records indexed in the III System. Identifications based solely upon a comparison of subjects’ names or other nonunique identification characteristics or numbers, or combinations thereof, shall not constitute positive identification.

(21) Sealed record information

The term “sealed record information” means—

(A) with respect to adults, that portion of a record that is—

(i) not available for criminal justice uses;

(ii) not supported by fingerprints or other accepted means of positive identification; or

(iii) subject to restrictions on dissemination for noncriminal justice purposes pursuant to a court order related to a particular subject or pursuant to a Federal or State statute that requires action on a sealing petition filed by a particular record subject; and

(B) with respect to juveniles, whatever each State determines is a sealed record under its own law and procedure.

(22) State

The term “State” means any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

ARTICLE II—PURPOSES

The purposes of this Compact are to—

(1) provide a legal framework for the establishment of a cooperative Federal-State system for the interstate and Federal-State exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal justice uses;

(2) require the FBI to permit use of the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File by each Party State, and to provide, in a timely fashion, Federal and State criminal history records to requesting States, in accordance with the terms of this Compact and with rules, procedures, and standards established by the Council under Article VI;

(3) require Party States to provide information and records for the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File and to provide criminal history records, in a timely fashion, to criminal history record repositories of other States and the Federal Government for noncriminal justice purposes, in accordance with the terms of this Compact and with rules, procedures, and standards established by the Council under Article VI;

(4) provide for the establishment of a Council to monitor III System operations and to prescribe system rules and procedures for the effective and proper operation of the III System for noncriminal justice purposes; and

(5) require the FBI and each Party State to adhere to III System standards concerning record dissemination and use, response times, system security, data quality, and other duly established standards, including those that enhance the accuracy and privacy of such records.

ARTICLE III—RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMPACT PARTIES

(a) FBI responsibilities

The Director of the FBI shall—

(1) appoint an FBI Compact officer who shall—

(A) administer this Compact within the Department of Justice and among Federal agencies and other agencies and organizations that submit search requests to the FBI pursuant to Article V(c);

(B) ensure that Compact provisions and rules, procedures, and standards prescribed by the Council under Article VI are complied with by the Department of Justice and the Federal agencies and other agencies and organizations referred to in Article III(1)(A); and

(C) regulate the use of records received by means of the III System from Party States when such records are supplied by the FBI directly to other Federal agencies;

(2) provide to Federal agencies and to State criminal history record repositories, criminal history records maintained in its database for the noncriminal justice purposes described in Article IV, including—

(A) information from Nonparty States; and

(B) information from Party States that is available from the FBI through the III System, but is not available from the Party State through the III System;

(3) provide a telecommunications network and maintain centralized facilities for the exchange of criminal history records for both criminal justice purposes and the noncriminal justice purposes described in Article IV, and ensure that the exchange of such records for criminal justice purposes has priority over exchange for noncriminal justice purposes; and

(4) modify or enter into user agreements with Nonparty State criminal history record repositories to require them to establish record request procedures conforming to those prescribed in Article V.

(b) State responsibilities

Each Party State shall—

(1) appoint a Compact officer who shall—

(A) administer this Compact within that State;

(B) ensure that Compact provisions and rules, procedures, and standards established by the Council under Article VI are complied with in the State; and

(2) establish and maintain a criminal history record repository, which shall provide—

(A) information and records for the National Identification Index and the National Fingerprint File; and

(B) the State’s III System-indexed criminal history records for noncriminal justice purposes described in Article IV;

(3) participate in the National Fingerprint File; and

(4) provide and maintain telecommunications links and related equipment necessary to support the services set forth in this Compact.

In carrying out their responsibilities under this Compact, the FBI and each Party State shall comply with III System rules, procedures, and standards duly established by the Council concerning record dissemination and use, response times, data quality, system security, accuracy, privacy protection, and other aspects of III System operation.

(d) Maintenance of record services

(1) Use of the III System for noncriminal justice purposes authorized in this Compact shall be managed so as not to diminish the level of services provided in support of criminal justice purposes.

(2) Administration of Compact provisions shall not reduce the level of service available to authorized noncriminal justice users on the effective date of this Compact.

ARTICLE IV—AUTHORIZED RECORD DISCLOSURES

(a) State criminal history record repositories

To the extent authorized by section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”), the FBI shall provide on request criminal history records (excluding sealed records) to State criminal history record repositories for noncriminal justice purposes allowed by Federal statute, Federal Executive order, or a State statute that has been approved by the Attorney General and that authorizes national indices checks.

(b) Criminal justice agencies and other governmental or nongovernmental agencies

The FBI, to the extent authorized by section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the “Privacy Act of 1974”), and State criminal history record repositories shall provide criminal history records (excluding sealed records) to criminal justice agencies and other governmental or nongovernmental agencies for noncriminal justice purposes allowed by Federal statute, Federal Executive order, or a State statute that has been approved by the Attorney General, that authorizes national indices checks.

Any record obtained under this Compact may be used only for the official purposes for which the record was requested. Each Compact officer shall establish procedures, consistent with this Compact, and with rules, procedures, and standards established by the Council under Article VI, which procedures shall protect the accuracy and privacy of the records, and shall—

(1) ensure that records obtained under this Compact are used only by authorized officials for authorized purposes;

(2) require that subsequent record checks are requested to obtain current information whenever a new need arises; and

(3) ensure that record entries that may not legally be used for a particular noncriminal justice purpose are deleted from the response and, if no information authorized for release remains, an appropriate “no record” response is communicated to the requesting official.

ARTICLE V—RECORD REQUEST PROCEDURES

(a) Positive identification

Subject fingerprints or other approved forms of positive identification shall be submitted with all requests for criminal history record checks for noncriminal justice purposes.

(b) Submission of State requests

Each request for a criminal history record check utilizing the national indices made under any approved State statute shall be submitted through that State’s criminal history record repository. A State criminal history record repository shall process an interstate request for noncriminal justice purposes through the national indices only if such request is transmitted through another State criminal history record repository or the FBI.

Each request for criminal history record checks utilizing the national indices made under Federal authority shall be submitted through the FBI or, if the State criminal history record repository consents to process fingerprint submissions, through the criminal history record repository in the State in which such request originated. Direct access to the National Identification Index by entities other than the FBI and State criminal history records repositories shall not be permitted for noncriminal justice purposes.

(d) Fees

A State criminal history record repository or the FBI—

(1) may charge a fee, in accordance with applicable law, for handling a request involving fingerprint processing for noncriminal justice purposes; and

(2) may not charge a fee for providing criminal history records in response to an electronic request for a record that does not involve a request to process fingerprints.

(e) Additional search

(1) If a State criminal history record repository cannot positively identify the subject of a record request made for noncriminal justice purposes, the request, together with fingerprints or other approved identifying information, shall be forwarded to the FBI for a search of the national indices.

(2) If, with respect to a request forwarded by a State criminal history record repository under paragraph (1), the FBI positively identifies the subject as having a III System-indexed record or records—

(A) the FBI shall so advise the State criminal history record repository; and

(B) the State criminal history record repository shall be entitled to obtain the additional criminal history record information from the FBI or other State criminal history record repositories.

ARTICLE VI—ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPACT COUNCIL

(a) Establishment

(1) In general

There is established a council to be known as the “Compact Council”, which shall have the authority to promulgate rules and procedures governing the use of the III System for noncriminal justice purposes, not to conflict with FBI administration of the III System for criminal justice purposes.

(2) Organization

The Council shall—

(A) continue in existence as long as this Compact remains in effect;

(B) be located, for administrative purposes, within the FBI; and

(b) Membership

The Council shall be composed of 15 members, each of whom shall be appointed by the Attorney General, as follows:

(1) Nine members, each of whom shall serve a 2-year term, who shall be selected from among the Compact officers of Party States based on the recommendation of the Compact officers of all Party States, except that, in the absence of the requisite number of Compact officers available to serve, the chief administrators of the criminal history record repositories of Nonparty States shall be eligible to serve on an interim basis.

(2) Two at-large members, nominated by the Director of the FBI, each of whom shall serve a 3-year term, of whom—

(A) 1 shall be a representative of the criminal justice agencies of the Federal Government and may not be an employee of the FBI; and

(B) 1 shall be a representative of the noncriminal justice agencies of the Federal Government.

(3) Two at-large members, nominated by the Chairman of the Council, once the Chairman is elected pursuant to Article VI(c), each of whom shall serve a 3-year term, of whom—

(A) 1 shall be a representative of State or local criminal justice agencies; and

(B) 1 shall be a representative of State or local noncriminal justice agencies.

(4) One member, who shall serve a 3-year term, and who shall simultaneously be a member of the FBI’s advisory policy board on criminal justice information services, nominated by the membership of that policy board.

(5) One member, nominated by the Director of the FBI, who shall serve a 3-year term, and who shall be an employee of the FBI.

(1) In general

From its membership, the Council shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairman of the Council, respectively. Both the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council—

(A) shall be a Compact officer, unless there is no Compact officer on the Council who is willing to serve, in which case the Chairman may be an at-large member; and

(B) shall serve a 2-year term and may be reelected to only 1 additional 2-year term.

(2) Duties of Vice Chairman

The Vice Chairman of the Council shall serve as the Chairman of the Council in the absence of the Chairman.

(d) Meetings

(1) In general

The Council shall meet at least once each year at the call of the Chairman. Each meeting of the Council shall be open to the public. The Council shall provide prior public notice in the Federal Register of each meeting of the Council, including the matters to be addressed at such meeting.

(2) Quorum

A majority of the Council or any committee of the Council shall constitute a quorum of the Council or of such committee, respectively, for the conduct of business. A lesser number may meet to hold hearings, take testimony, or conduct any business not requiring a vote.

(e) Rules, procedures, and standards

The Council shall make available for public inspection and copying at the Council office within the FBI, and shall publish in the Federal Register, any rules, procedures, or standards established by the Council.

(f) Assistance from FBI

The Council may request from the FBI such reports, studies, statistics, or other information or materials as the Council determines to be necessary to enable the Council to perform its duties under this Compact. The FBI, to the extent authorized by law, may provide such assistance or information upon such a request.

(g) Committees

The Chairman may establish committees as necessary to carry out this Compact and may prescribe their membership, responsibilities, and duration.

ARTICLE VII—RATIFICATION OF COMPACT

This Compact shall take effect upon being entered into by 2 or more States as between those States and the Federal Government. Upon subsequent entering into this Compact by additional States, it shall become effective among those States and the Federal Government and each Party State that has previously ratified it. When ratified, this Compact shall have the full force and effect of law within the ratifying jurisdictions. The form of ratification shall be in accordance with the laws of the executing State.

ARTICLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

(a) Relation of Compact to certain FBI activities

Administration of this Compact shall not interfere with the management and control of the Director of the FBI over the FBI’s collection and dissemination of criminal history records and the advisory function of the FBI’s advisory policy board chartered under chapter 10 of title 5 for all purposes other than noncriminal justice.

(b) No authority for nonappropriated expenditures

Nothing in this Compact shall require the FBI to obligate or expend funds beyond those appropriated to the FBI.

Nothing in this Compact shall diminish or lessen the obligations, responsibilities, and authorities of any State, whether a Party State or a Nonparty State, or of any criminal history record repository or other subdivision or component thereof, under the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 1973 (Public Law 92–544), or regulations and guidelines promulgated thereunder, including the rules and procedures promulgated by the Council under Article VI(a), regarding the use and dissemination of criminal history records and information.

ARTICLE IX—RENUNCIATION

(a) In general

This Compact shall bind each Party State until renounced by the Party State.

(b) Effect

Any renunciation of this Compact by a Party State shall—

(1) be effected in the same manner by which the Party State ratified this Compact; and

(2) become effective 180 days after written notice of renunciation is provided by the Party State to each other Party State and to the Federal Government.

ARTICLE X—SEVERABILITY

The provisions of this Compact shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this Compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any participating State, or to the Constitution of the United States, or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If a portion of this Compact is held contrary to the constitution of any Party State, all other portions of this Compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining Party States and in full force and effect as to the Party State affected, as to all other provisions.

ARTICLE XI—ADJUDICATION OF DISPUTES

(a) In general

The Council shall—

(1) have initial authority to make determinations with respect to any dispute regarding—

(A) interpretation of this Compact;

(B) any rule or standard established by the Council pursuant to Article V; and

(2) hold a hearing concerning any dispute described in paragraph (1) at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Council and only render a decision based upon a majority vote of the members of the Council. Such decision shall be published pursuant to the requirements of Article VI(e).

(b) Duties of FBI

The FBI shall exercise immediate and necessary action to preserve the integrity of the III System, maintain system policy and standards, protect the accuracy and privacy of records, and to prevent abuses, until the Council holds a hearing on such matters.

The FBI or a Party State may appeal any decision of the Council to the Attorney General, and thereafter may file suit in the appropriate district court of the United States, which shall have original jurisdiction of all cases or controversies arising under this Compact. Any suit arising under this Compact and initiated in a State court shall be removed to the appropriate district court of the United States in the manner provided by section 1446 of title 28, United States Code, or other statutory authority.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 105–251, title II, § 217, Oct. 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 1876; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(214), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4329.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1998Enacted · Pub. L. 105-251 · 112 Stat. 1876
2022Amended · Pub. L. 117-286 · 136 Stat. 4329

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 105-251 on 1998-10-09.

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