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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
criminal history; required disclosure; limitations
Purpose
Prohibits an employer, state agency or landlord from requiring the disclosure of a criminal conviction record (record) prior to a conditional offer of employment or conditional offer of tenancy being.
Background
The Director of the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) is required to contract with or assist other agencies of the state, local and federal governments in the furtherance of ADOA's purposes, objectives and programs (A.R.S. § 41-703). Governor Douglas A. Ducey issued an Executive Order on November 6, 2017, directing ADOA to establish hiring procedures to be used by all state agencies to ensure that during the initial stage of an application process, state job applications will not ask whether an applicant has a record and a record will not disqualify an applicant from receiving an interview (Executive Order 2017-07).
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) is responsible for the effective operation of the central state repository for the purposes of collecting, storing, and disseminating complete and accurate Arizona criminal history records. In conjunction with this responsibility, DPS is also required to procure fingerprints from all criminal justice agencies in the state for the purposes of issuing fingerprint clearance cards (FPCC) (A.R.S. § 41-1750).
The Landlord Tenant Act (Act) regulates landlord-tenant relationships and is the statutory system that governs most persons who reside in rental housing in Arizona (A.R.S. § 33-1301). The Act establishes: 1) landlord obligations, including restrictions on security deposits and prohibited provisions in rental agreements; and 2) remedies for noncompliance by either the landlord or the tenant (A.R.S. § 33-1322).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Prohibits an employer or state agency from inquiring about, considering or requiring the disclosure of the record of an applicant for employment during the hiring process, unless:
a) the inquiry about, consideration of or requirement of disclosure of the record takes place after the applicant has received a conditional offer of employment;
b) the inquiry about, consideration of or requirement of disclosure of the record is for the five years preceding the date of the conditional offer; and
c) the record directly relates to the employment position.
2. Prohibits a landlord form inquiring about, considering or requiring disclosure of the record of an applicant for tenancy during the leasing process, unless:
a) the inquiry about, consideration of or requirement of disclosure of the record takes place after the applicant has received a conditional offer of tenancy;
b) the inquiry about, consideration of or requirement of disclosure of the record is for the five years preceding the date of the conditional offer; and
c) the record directly relates to the tenancy.
3. Excludes employment positions that require an FPCC from record check prohibitions.
4. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 19, 2019
MG/gs