GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION LAW 2001-155
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THAT AN AREA MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY THAT HAS ACCESS TO THE CRIMINAL RECORDS DATA BANK MAY OBTAIN THE REQUIRED CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK THROUGH THE DATA BANK.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 122C-80(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) Requirement. - An
offer of employment by an area authority licensed under this Chapter to an
applicant to fill a position that does not require the applicant to have an
occupational license is conditioned on consent to a State and national criminal
history record check of the applicant. If the applicant has been a resident of
this State for less than five years, then the offer of employment is
conditioned on consent to a State and national criminal history record check of
the applicant. The national criminal history record check shall include a check
of the applicant's fingerprints. If the applicant has been a resident of this
State for five years or more, then the offer is conditioned on consent to a
State criminal history record check of the applicant. An area authority shall
not employ an applicant who refuses to consent to a criminal history record
check required by this section. Within Except as otherwise provided
in this subsection, within five business days of making the conditional
offer of employment, an area authority shall submit a request to the Department
of Justice under G.S. 114-19.10 to conduct a criminal history record check
required by this section. A county that has adopted an appropriate local
ordinance and has access to the Division of Criminal Information data bank may
conduct on behalf of an area authority a State criminal history record check
required by this section without the area authority having to submit a request
to the Department of Justice. In such a case, the county shall commence with
the State criminal history record check required by this section within five
business days of the conditional offer of employment by the area authority.
All criminal history information received by the area authority is confidential
and may not be disclosed, except to the applicant as provided in subsection (c)
of this section."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 21st day of May, 2001.
s/ Marc Basnight
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
s/ James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 11:26 a.m. this 31st day of May, 2001