[Journal of the House of Representatives, 1994]
[Wednesday, April 20, 1994 (36), Para 36.27 Recorded Vote]
[Pages 672-674]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
Para. 36.27 recorded vote
A recorded vote by electronic device was ordered in the Committee of
the Whole on the following amendment submitted by Mr. MARTINEZ:
At the end of title X, add the following:
Subtitle ____--Private Security Officers
SEC. ____1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Private Security
Officers Quality Assurance Act of 1994''.
SEC. ____2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Employment of private security officers in the United
States is growing rapidly.
(2) The private security industry provides numerous
opportunities for entry-level job applicants, including
individuals suffering from unemployment due to economic
conditions or dislocations.
(3) The American public is more likely to have contact with
private security officers in the course of a day than with
law enforcement officers.
(4) Juveniles in the United States, including those at risk
of delinquency, are most likely to have their earliest
contact with private security officers because of the
significant presence of such officers in schools, shopping
malls, and retail establishments.
(5) The American public demands the employment of
qualified, well-trained private security officers.
(6) The States and employers should be required to
determine the qualifications of applicants for employment as
private security officers.
(7) Employers should be required to ensure at least minimum
training for newly hired private security officers and
refresher training for experienced private security officers,
based on State-imposed standards.
(8) State requirements, if any, for screening and training
private security officers vary widely.
(9) Public safety would be improved if all States required
appropriate screening and training of private security
officers.
(10) States should enact laws imposing minimum standards
that are uniform nationwide for the screening and training of
private security officers.
(11) State law applicable to private security officers
should apply to all private security personnel.
SEC. ____3. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this subtitle:
(1) The term ``employee'' includes an applicant for
employment.
(2) The term ``employer'' means any person that--
(A) employs one or more private security officers, or
(B) provides, as an independent contractor for
consideration, the services of one or more private security
officers (including oneself).
(3) The term ``felony'' means an offense for which a term
of imprisonment exceeding 1 year may be imposed.
(4) The term ``misdemeanor'' means an offense for which a
maximum term of imprisonment of 1 year or less may be
imposed.
(5) The term ``person'' shall have the meaning given it in
section 1 of title 1 of the United States Code.
(6) The term ``private security officer'' means--
(A) an individual (other than an individual while on active
duty as a member of the military service or while performing
official duties as a law enforcement officer) who performs
security services, full time or part time, for consideration
as an independent contractor or an employee, whether armed or
unarmed and in uniform or plain clothes,
(B) an individual who is the immediate supervisor of an
individual described in subparagraph (A), or
(C) an individual who--
(i) is employed by an electronic alarm company and whose
duties include servicing or installing alarm systems, or
(ii) monitors electronic alarm systems from a location in
the State in which such systems are situated.
(7) The term ``registration permit'' means a license,
permit, certificate, registration card, or other formal
written permission, to provide security services.
(8) The term ``security services'' means the performance of
one or more of the following:
(A) The observation and reporting of intrusion, larceny,
vandalism, fire, or trespass.
(B) The prevention of theft or misappropriation of any
goods, money, or other item of value.
(C) The observation or reporting of any unlawful activity.
(D) The protection of individuals or property, including
proprietary information, from harm or misappropriation.
(E) The control of access to premises being protected.
(F) The secure movement of prisoners.
(G) The maintenance of order and safety at athletic,
entertainment, or other public activities.
(H) Providing canine services for guarding premises or for
the detection of any unlawful device or substance.
(I) The transportation of money or other valuables by
armored vehicle.
[[Page 673]]
(9) The term ``State'' means any of the several States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, or the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(10) The term ``State regulatory agency'' means an
appropriate State regulatory entity.
SEC. 4. STUDY, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRED.
The Attorney General of each State shall report the
provisions of the State's program to the Attorney General of
the United States on or before December 31, 1996. If a State
fails to report that it has established a program in
accordance with the provisions of this Act, the Attorney
General shall: (1) notify the Judiciary Committee of the
Senate and the Judiciary Committee of the House of
Representatives of such failure, and (2) notify the Chief
Executive Officer of the State of such failure and propose
appropriate action to encourage or compel the State to comply
with this Act. If no further action is taken by the State
within 1 year of the issuance of such notice by the Attorney
General may reduce the State's share of funding appropriated
for the fiscal year in which such determination of failure to
comply is made under the provisions of title I of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. In no evernt
shall such reduction exceed 10 percent of such appropriated
funding.
SEC. ____5. ISSUANCE OF STATE LICENSES TO EMPLOYERS;
REGULATION OF PRIVATE SECURITY SERVICES.
(a) Requirements.--A State shall have in effect
requirements and procedures for issuing licenses to, and
reviewing security services of, employers. A State may
require that an employer name an individual to serve as the
designated holder of the license issued under this
subsection.
(b) Limitation on Fees for Issuance of Licenses.--A State
may not impose on an employer a license issuance fee in
excess of the prorated direct costs of administering the
requirements and procedures described in subsection (a).
(c) Assignment of Private Security Officers.--(1) Except as
provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), and subject to section
____9, the requirements and procedures described in
subsection (a) shall provide, at a minimum, that an employer
may not permanently assign an employee to duty as a private
security officer until such employee obtains a security
officer's registration permit as provided in section
____8(a).
(2) An employer may assign an employee to duty as an
unarmed private security officer pending the results of the
preassignment check of records described in section ____6 and
the issuance of such permit if, before the assignment--
(A) such employer--
(i) submitted an application as required by section
____6(a)(1), and
(ii) verified the employee's personal references and the 5-
year employment history as required by section ____6(a)(2),
and
(B) such employee completed the classroom training required
by section ____7(a)(1).
(3) An employer may assign an employee to duty as an armed
private security officer pending the results of the
preassignment check of records described in section ____6 and
the issuance of a security officer's registration permit if,
before the assignment--
(A) such employer--
(i) submits an application as required by section
____6(a)(1), and
(ii) verifies the employee's personal references and the 5-
year employment history as required by section ____7(a), and
(B) such employee--
(i) completes the training required by section ____7(a),
and
(ii) has been issued a valid firearm permit or license to a
criminal justice agency in the State in which such individual
is assigned, following a national criminal history record
check.
(3) If an individual is employed by an employer in a State
with respect to which such individual holds a valid private
security officer's registration permit, then such employer
may assign such individual to duty as a private security
officer (including an armed private security officer) for a
period not to exceed 90 days in a State with respect to which
such individual does not hold a valid private security
officer's registration permit if such individual satisfies
the training requirements, and complies with the restrictions
on the type of weapon such individual uses, in effect in the
State to which such individual is so assigned.
SEC. 6. PREASSIGNMENT SCREENING.
Each State shall have in effect a program for issuing
registration permits to private security officers that
requires at a minimum, and except as provided in section
____5(c) and subject to section ____9, that an employer not
permanently assign an employee to duty as a private security
officer until--
(1) such employer submits to the State regulatory agency--
(A) the employee's application for employment, including a
history of employment and military service, personal
references, and a description of such employee's criminal
history,
(B) a certification that such employer verified--
(i) such employee's employment history for the 5-year
period ending on the date of application for employment, and
(ii) such personal references, and
(2) the State regulatory agency obtains the results of a
fingerprint check of criminal history records conducted
through the Federal Bureau of Investigation pursuant to a
State law conforming to Public Law 92-544. An association of
employers of security officers, designated for the purpose of
this section by the Attorney General of the United States,
may submit fingerprints to the Attorney General on behalf of
any applicant for a state private security officer
registration permit. In response to such a submission, the
Attorney General may, to the extent provided by law, exchange
for permit and employment purposes, identification and
criminal history records with the state regulatory agency to
which such applicant has applied. Such review shall be
conducted, and the results of the search shall be handled in
accordance with the procedures in Public Law 103-209.
SEC. ____7. PRIVATE SECURITY OFFICER TRAINING.
(a) Training.--Each State shall have in effect training
requirements for private security officers that consist of
the following, at a minimum:
(1) For unarmed private security officers, the following:
(A) Eight hours of basic classroom instruction, successful
completion of a written examination, and 4 hours of on-the-
job training.
(B) Such classroom instruction shall include the following:
(i) The legal powers and limitations of a private security
officer, including instruction in the law of arrest, search,
and seizure, and the use of force as related to security
services.
(ii) Safety and fire detection and reporting.
(iii) When and how to notify public authorities.
(iv) The techniques of observation and reporting of
incidents and how to prepare an incident report.
(v) The fundamentals of patrolling.
(vi) Deportment and ethics.
(2) For armored car personnel and electronic alarm company
personnel, the State shall have in effect classroom training
and testing that appropriately reflects the nature of their
duties rather than the classroom instruction required by
paragraph (1).
(2) For armed private security officers, in addition to the
training required by paragraph (1) or (2), the following:
(A) Fifteen hours of weapons instruction (including
marksmanship described in subparagraph (B)) and successful
completion of a written examination on--
(i) the legal limitations on the use of weapons,
(ii) weapons handling, and
(iii) safety and maintenance.
(B) A minimum marksmanship qualification of 70 percent
attained on any silhouette target course approved by the
State regulatory agency.
(b) Annual Training.--Each State shall have in effect
requirements, at a minimum, that--
(1) unarmed private security officers complete annually a
4-hour refresher course in the subjects listed in clauses (i)
through (vi) of subsection (a)(1)(B), and
(2) armed private security officers annually, in addition
to satisfying the requirement described in paragraph (1)--
(A) complete a refresher course in the subjects listed in
clauses (i) through (iii) of subsection (a)(2)(A), and
(B) be requalified in the use of weapons as described in
subsection (a)(2)(B).
(c) Certification.--Each State shall have in effect
requirements that a private security officer, or such
officer's employer (if any), certify to the State regulatory
agency completion of the training required by subsections (a)
and (b).
(d) Instructional and Range-Training Program.--Each State
shall have in effect a program that requires that all
instruction and range training required by this section be
administered by an instructor whose qualifications meet
standards established by the State regulatory agency.
SEC. ____8. STATE ISSUANCE OF REGISTRATION PERMITS TO PRIVATE
SECURITY OFFICERS.
(a) Requirements for Issuance of Registration Permits.--A
State shall have in effect requirements for issuing and
renewing, upon application, a private security officer's
registration permit for a 2-year period. Such requirements
shall include--
(1) methods for a private security officer, or such
officer's employer (if any) to comply with sections ____6 and
____7,
(2) a requirement that the certification required by
section ____7(c) be included in the application for the
issuance or renewal of such permit, and
(3) a requirement that an individual not be issued a
private security officer's registration permit, or assigned
by an employer to duty, as a private security officer if,
within the 10-year period ending on the date of application
for such permit or the date of such assignment, as the case
may be, such individual was--
(A) convicted of a felony,
(B) incarcerated, placed on probation, or paroled as a
result of conviction of a felony, or
(C) convicted of a misdemeanor that, in the discretion of
the State regulatory agency, bears such a relationship to the
performance of security services as to constitute a
disqualification for a private security officer's
registration permit.
(b) Limitation on Fees for Issuance of Registration
Permits.--A State may not impose on private security officers
a registration permit issuance fee in excess of the -
[[Page 674]]
prorated direct costs of administering the requirements
described in subsection (a).
(c) Denial of Registration Permit.--If a State denies, for
any reason, an application for the issuance or renewal of a
private security officer's registration permit, then, not
later than 10 days after denial of such application, the
State regulatory agency shall give written notice to the
applicant and the applicant's employer (if any) specifying
the reasons for denial.
SEC. ____9. WAIVER.
On the request of an employer, a State shall waive the
preassignment screening requirements described in section
____6(a), and the training requirements described in section
____7(a), with respect to a private security officer if--
(1)(A) such officer holds a valid security officer's
registration permit issued or renewed by the State in which
such officer will perform security services for such
employer, and
(B) the immediately preceding employer of such officer
satisfied all such requirements with respect to the most
recent application for the issuance or renewal of such
permit, or
(2) such officer is a law enforcement officer employed by a
governmental entity that allows such law enforcement officer
to serve off-duty as a private security officer.
SEC. ____0. GRACE PERIOD FOR ISSUANCE OF NEW REGISTRATION
PERMITS TO PRIVATE SECURITY OFFICERS WHO HOLD
CURRENT PERMITS.
Until--
(1) January 1, 1997, or
(2) the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the
date a State initially puts into effect a program that
satisfies the requirements of sections ____6, ____7, and
____8,
whichever is later, such sections shall not apply with
respect to the issuance of a registration permit to a private
security officer who holds a private security officer's
registration permit that is valid without regard to the
operation of this subtitle.
SEC. ____1. EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.
A State shall have in effect a law that makes invalid and
unenforceable any limitation imposed by an employer on the
right of an employee to seek or obtain subsequent employment
as a private security officer after voluntary or involuntary
termination of employment by such employer.
SEC. ____2. NOTICE OF CRIMINAL CHARGE.
A State shall have in effect requirements regarding
criminal charges made against a private security officer,
including the following, at a minimum:
(1) If a private security officer is charged with a felony
or misdemeanor, such officer shall notify such officer's
employer (if any) not later than 48 hours after the charge is
made.
(2) An employer who has knowledge that its employee has
been so charged shall report the fact of such charge to the
State regulatory agency not later than 2 business days after
acquiring such knowledge.
(3) The registration permit of such officer may be
suspended by such agency pending disposition of the charge.
(4) Upon conviction of a felony, the State shall revoke the
registration permit of such officer.
(5) Upon conviction of such misdemeanor, such State may
revoke such permit.
SEC. ____3. PENALTIES.
A State shall have in effect a law that authorizes the
imposition of a penalty for each violation of the requirement
imposed by the State to satisfy a condition of eligibility
specified in section ____4(a), including the following, at a
minimum:
(1) After notice, and a public hearing if requested by an
employer charged with such violation, a daily monetary
penalty for each day on which violation continues.
(2) If such violation continues after imposition of a
monetary penalty described in paragraph (1), and after notice
and a hearing described in such paragraph, suspension or
revocation of a registration permit issued as described in
section ____5(a).
(3) Prosecution of an individual of a misdemeanor for
submitting an application for employment as a private
security officer, for the issuance of a private security
officer's registration permit, or for renewal of such permit,
if such individual knowingly included false information in
such application.
(4) After notice, and a public hearing if requested by a
private security officer, suspension or revocation of such
officer's registration permit issued or renewed as a result
of application if such officer knowingly included false
information in such application.
(5) Administrative or judicial review of each penalty
imposed under paragraphs (1) through (4).
SEC. ____4. MORE STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS.
This subtitle shall not preclude or limit the authority of
a State to establish or maintain requirements that are more
stringent than the requirements described in this subtitle.
It was decided in the
Yeas
80
<3-line {>
negative
Nays
340