Peace Officer Standards and Training Agency Information Access Clarification Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Peace Officer Standards and Training Agency Information Access Clarification Act amends 28 U.S.C. 534 so the FBI may exchange identification, criminal identification, crime, and other records with authorized officials including state sentencing commissions and peace officer standards and training agencies. It defines a peace officer standards and training agency as a state agency with statutory authority to set standards for hiring, training, ethical conduct, and retention of law enforcement officers through certification, licensing, or similar qualification. It also defines state to include the states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and other territories or possessions. The Attorney General must amend 28 CFR part 20 within 180 days to carry out the Act.
Who Benefits and How
Peace officer standards and training agencies benefit because the bill clarifies access to FBI records for certification, licensing, ethics, and retention decisions. State law enforcement certification boards benefit from clearer authority to use criminal history information. Police departments benefit if state POST agencies can identify officers with disqualifying records or conduct. Public safety watchdogs benefit from stronger information access for officer standards systems.
Who Bears the Burden and How
FBI criminal justice information staff must exchange records with newly clarified POST agency users. Attorney General regulatory staff must amend 28 CFR part 20 within 180 days. Peace officer applicants may face more complete criminal-record review during certification or licensing. State POST agency administrators must handle federal records under official-use and privacy requirements.
Key Provisions
- Expands FBI record exchange authority to state peace officer standards and training agencies.
- Defines POST agencies by authority over law enforcement hiring, training, ethical conduct, certification, licensing, and retention.
- Defines state to include territories and possessions as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
- Requires the Attorney General to amend 28 CFR part 20 within 180 days.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Clarifies that FBI criminal identification records may be exchanged with state peace officer standards and training agencies for official use and requires the Attorney General to amend 28 CFR part 20 within 180 days.
Key Policy Areas
Law Enforcement, Criminal Records, Police Standards
Primary Purpose
Clarifies that FBI criminal identification records may be exchanged with state peace officer standards and training agencies for official use and requires the Attorney General to amend 28 CFR part 20 within 180 days.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Peace officer standards and training agencies
- State law enforcement certification boards
- Police departments
- Public safety watchdogs
Identified Costs
- FBI criminal justice information staff
- Attorney General regulatory staff
- Peace officer applicants
- State POST agency administrators
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Schmidt introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Peace officer applicants, Peace officer standards and training agencies, Police departments
Positive-direction: Peace officer standards and training agencies, Police departments
Negative-direction: Peace officer applicants
State law enforcement certification boards
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology