Page 26 - NCISS Your Advocate September-Summer 2021

Legislative Update from NCISS Legislative Committee and Lobbyit

Legislative Updates from State Associations

➢ Arizona SB194 (previously HB2320) Criminal Records Expungement bill
(Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators – AALPI – Legislative Committee – Rich Robertson, CLI)
Until now, Arizona has not had expungement on its books. Criminal defendants could seek “set asides,” but the record
still exists for all to see and they still had to disclose their history when asked. That would change under SB194
(previously HB2320), a bipartisan effort to allow for certain court, police, jail, and prison records to be sealed after a
period of time. If their records are sealed, it would allow defendants to answer “no” to the have-you-ever-been-arrested
questions on employment or housing applications.

NCISS member, Rich Robertson CLI, on behalf of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI) was
involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations and he testified before legislative committees. Problems remain from an
investigative perspective, but the sponsor agreed to roll back some of the provisions including making sure criminal
defendants would receive full background disclosures about accusers and witnesses against them.

➢ California Updates – DMV Access and SB 731 Sealing Criminal Histories
(California Association of Licensed Investigators – CALI – Legislative Committee – Francie Koehler, CLI and NCISS Past
President)
CALI continues to work with NCISS and other state associations while advocating to preserve the newly-achieved
statutory authorization for licensed private investigators to hire the services of another licensed private investigator
without that person being considered an employee, to prevent legislation providing an exemption from the PI Act for
human resource consultant businesses, to ensure the implementation of the state’s landmark California Consumer
Privacy Act (CCPA) do not negatively impact the information critical to investigations, to protect the availability of public
records including DMV information for investigations, and to object to proposals that would - prospectively and
retroactively - seal conviction and arrest records.

SB 731 is drafted to completely close off access to all criminal records including felonies except sex offenses two years
after legal procedures are complete. Only Law enforcement and prosecutors will have access. The measure is so broad
that it is quite foreseeable that the provisions would endanger public safety. This information must also be available to
both sides in a criminal proceeding. In both criminal and civil litigation, this information is important. There are
numerous situations where the information an individual has been convicted of a crime can be of vital importance to the
protection of others.

➢ Colorado Legislative News
The biggest news from Colorado is effective 08/31/2021 the Private Investigator Licensing Program is fully repealed. This
law was passed with the support of the Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado (PPIAC) in 2015, with a
sunset in 2020. A bill to continue the program supported by PPIAC passed both chambers with over 75% legislator
support. Sent to the governor, he vetoed the bill in July 2020, after the legislative session and no chance for a veto
override. He cited several false and misleading factors in his veto letter. By Colorado statute, the program ended 1 year
after the 08/31/2020 sunset date. PPIAC continued to closely monitor pending and introduced legislation in the 2021
legislative session. Colorado has seen multiple bills introduced, which impact our profession and clients.
• FAILED - Prohibit the bulk sale of state data, including DMV records – In testimony the bill sponsor stated this arose
from harassing car warranty calls and this data coming from vehicle sales records. Other testimony corrected this
data is not from DMV records, and prohibiting these records would greatly impact important investigations, such as
child support enforcement. The bill sponsor agreed to revisit the issue if the bill made it out of committee – it did
not.
• FAILED - Require state and local governments to remove all personal data from all records, and notify consumers
every 90 days to request removal. This bill was pulled by the sponsor after a $2 BILLION price tag to implement was
attached, requiring 6,500 new employees, and annual costs not much better.

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