17 March 2010

[Federal Register: March 17, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 51)]
[Notices]               
[Page 12803-12804]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17mr10-107]                         

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NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION AND PRIVACY COMPACT COUNCIL

 
Fingerprint Submission Requirements Rule

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 14616.

AGENCY: National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice of the Compact Council's establishment of a process for 
initiating noncriminal justice criminal history record checks during 
times of emergencies and disasters under the authority of the 
Fingerprint Submission Requirements Rule, title 28 Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), part 901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary S. Barron, FBI CJIS Division, 
1000 Custer Hollow Road, Module D3, Clarksburg, WV 26306; telephone 
(304) 625-2803; email gbarron@leo.gov; fax number (304) 625-2539.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice provides the process that a 
state or federal agency may utilize to request Compact Council approval 
to conduct federal noncriminal justice criminal history record checks 
of individuals who, during an existing or impending emergency or 
disaster, will have access to children, the elderly, or disabled 
persons (vulnerable populations). The Compact Council has approved 
similar requests pursuant to the Fingerprint Submission Requirements 
Rule (28 CFR, part 901) when health or safety of vulnerable populations 
is at issue and time is of the essence. Health or safety issues will be 
present during evacuation and relocation efforts.
    As a prerequisite to receiving approval to initiate noncriminal 
justice criminal history record checks under the exigent circumstances 
described above, the President or authorized state executive officer(s) 
must have declared a state of emergency or major disaster in the 
jurisdiction from which individuals are being displaced, or to which 
the individuals are being relocated. States eligible to make such 
requests include the state or states in which the disaster has been 
declared and the state(s) to which evacuees are relocated. The 
appropriate federal or state official may submit the request to the FBI 
Compact Officer, FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) 
Division, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306. The 
appropriate federal/state officials authorized to make such requests 
are: Federal/state CJIS Systems Officers (CSO), State Compact Officers 
(SCO), State Identification Bureau (SIB) Chiefs, or an official who is 
superior in the federal/state official's chain of command. The 
authorized federal or state official may make initial contact by 
telephone, agreeing to restrict dissemination of the results of exigent 
name-based criminal history record checks to the receiving governmental 
department or related governmental agency and to submit fingerprints 
within 15 days of each name-based check, which must be part of a 
follow-up e-mail or letter to the FBI Compact Officer.
    The FBI Compact Officer will determine whether to approve the 
request, consulting with the Compact Council if necessary. Upon 
approval of the request, the FBI Compact Office will coordinate FBI 
CJIS Division procedures and communicate detailed information to the 
requesting official regarding operational procedures to be followed, 
which may include: the issuance of a unique Originating Agency 
Identifier (ORI) for use in conducting name-based checks of the 
Interstate Identification Index (III) system and/or submission of the 
follow-up fingerprints; a specific time frame that such exigent 
criminal history record checks may be conducted; other requirements and 
information needed for the CJIS Division to process the criminal 
history record checks; and any additional guidance established by the 
Compact Council or the CJIS Division.
    Prior to conducting the exigent federal criminal history record 
checks, a state statute authorizing fingerprint submissions to the FBI 
for individuals

[[Page 12804]]

having unsupervised contact with children (or other vulnerable 
population) would ideally have been submitted to the FBI and approved 
pursuant to Public Law 92-544. However, in the absence of such approved 
state statute, the FBI Compact Officer may determine that the National 
Child Protection Act (NCPA)/Volunteers for Children Act (VCA) may be 
used as authorization to access FBI-maintained criminal history record 
information during emergencies and disasters. Authorized federal or 
state officials must ensure, within reason, that a system is maintained 
to track the name-based criminal history record checks of the III 
system and the required follow-up fingerprint submissions during the 
emergency period and to ensure name-based check results are 
disseminated solely to government officials to be used for official 
purposes.

    Dated: February 23, 2010.
Liane M. Moriyama,
Compact Council Chairman.
[FR Doc. 2010-5708 Filed 3-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-02-P