HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda 10-21-2025; 8-f - Authorization for County Manager to Sign the State Bureau of Investigation Non-Criminal Justice Access Agreement 1
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: October 21, 2025
Action Agenda
Item No. 8-f
SUBJECT: Authorization for County Manager to Sign the State Bureau of Investigation
Non-Criminal Justice Access Agreement
DEPARTMENT: Human Resources
ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT:
State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Non- Brenda Bartholomew, Human Resources
Criminal Justice Access Agreement Director, (919) 245-2552
PURPOSE: To authorize the County Manager to execute the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)
Non-Criminal Justice Access Agreement, enabling compliance with new statutory hiring
requirements.
BACKGROUND: The North Carolina General Assembly enacted Session Law 2025-16 (House
Bill 216), which impacts hiring practices across all local government entities. Effective October 1,
2025, new statutory language under North Carolina General Statute (NCGS) §153A-94.2(b)
mandates that counties must require criminal history record checks, including fingerprinting, for
all applicants offered positions requiring the job responsibility of working with children in any
capacity. Prior statutory language allowed but did not require a criminal background check as a
hiring requirement. Counties had the discretion to conduct criminal background checks. Under
the new law, background checks and fingerprinting are mandatory for positions requiring the job
responsibility of working with children in any capacity. Currently, Orange County conducts
background checks for designated classifications and fingerprinting is not currently a requirement.
Effective October 1, 2025, Session Law 2025-16, SECTION 4.1. NCGS 153A-94.2 reads as
rewritten:
"§153A-94.2. Criminal history record checks of employees permitted.
Lal The board of commissioners may adopt or provide for rules and regulations or ordinances
concerning a requirement that any applicant for employment be subject to a criminal history record check
of State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation in
accordance with G.S. 143B ,209.25 G S. 143E_1209 76 G.S. 143B-1209.26. The local or regional public
employer may consider the results of these criminal history record checks in its hiring decisions.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if the position being filled
requires an applicant for employment to work with children in any capacity, the board of commissioners
shall require the applicant, if offered the position, be subject to a criminal history record check conducted
by the State Bureau of Investigation in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26. The local or regional public
employer must extend a conditional offer of the position pending the results of a criminal history record
check required by this section."
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Further, all counties and cities must require an applicant, if offered the position, to be subject to a
criminal history record check conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in accordance
with NCGS §143B-1209.26. To comply with these new legal requirements and to facilitate the
process, counties must enter into a Non-Criminal Justice Access Agreement with the SBI to
access fingerprint-based background checks through the State and National Repositories of
Criminal Histories, enabling them to submit fingerprints and receive criminal history information
for hiring purposes.
§ 143B-1209.26. Criminal record checks for municipalities and county governments. The State Bureau of
Investigation may provide to a city or county from the State and National Repositories of Criminal Histories
the criminal history of any person who applies for employment with the city or county. The city or county
shall provide to the Bureau, along with the request, the fingerprints of the applicant, a form signed by the
applicant consenting to the criminal record check and use of fingerprints and other identifying information
required by the State and National Repositories, and any additional information required by the Bureau.
The applicant's fingerprints shall be used for a search of the State's criminal history record file, and the
Bureau shall forward a set of fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal
history record check. The city or county shall keep all information obtained pursuant to this section
confidential. The Bureau may charge a fee to offset the cost incurred by it to conduct a criminal record
check under this section. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of locating, editing, researching, and
retrieving the information. (2003-214, s. 4; 2005-358, s. 1; 2014-100, s. 17.1(m), (o); recodified from N.C.
Gen. Stat. 143E-945 by 2023-134, s. 19F.4(i), 6).)
The purpose of the SBI Non-Criminal Justice Access Agreement is to outline the responsibilities
of the NCSBI and the County regarding the proper care, custody, and control of all criminal history
record information received by the County from the NCSBI as authorized by NCGS 14313-945.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact related to the signing of the agreement. All
responsibilities associated with these provisions will be managed by the Human Resources
Department.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports:
• GOAL 2: HEALTHY COMMUNITY
OBJECTIVE 5. Invest in, support, train and retain our community safety, health, and
emergency services employees and direct care workforce.
• GOAL 6: DIVERSE AND VIBRANT ECONOMY
OBJECTIVE 6. Provide workforce and business development resources to enhance the
skills of our workforce.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board authorize the County
Manager to sign the required agreement with the SBI and any amendments or renewals thereof,
ensuring statutory compliance in the hiring process for positions required to work with children in
any capacity.
v5fnln NORTH CAROLINA d 3
MAfw r,y sI
STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
, 3320 GARNER ROAD •'
P.O.BOX 29500
RALEIGH,NC 27626-0500
ROY COOPER R.E."CHIP"HAWLEY
GOVERNOR (919) ,582-8G00 DIRECTOR
STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
NON-CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACCESS AGREEMENT
North Carolina General Statute ( CGS): 143E-945 (City/County Government Employment�
This Agreement made and entered into by and between the North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation (hereafter referred to as "NCSBI") and the Agency named below
Orange County Government
(hereafter referred to as "AGENCY") for the purpose and consideration hereafter set out:
I. Purpose:
The purpose of this Agreement is to outline the responsibilities of the NCSBI and the
AGENCY regarding the proper care, custody, and control of all criminal history record
information (CHRI) received by the Agency from the NCSBI as authorized by the North
Carolina statute listed above.
II. Responsibilities of NCSBI:
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A. NCSBI agrees to provide the appropriate training to the AGENCY Administrator,
or designee, as requested or needed for the above mentioned NCSBI system
access.
B. NCSBI agrees to notify the AGENCY Administrator of any changes in the record
disseminated to the AGENCY Administrator, due to a court ordered
expungement, which are discovered by NCSBI within ninety (90) days of
dissemination of such record to the AGENCY Administrator.
C. NCSBI will conduct a compliance audit of AGENCY regarding the handling and
dissemination of CHRI. The audits are conducted on a three (3) year cycle.
III. Responsibilities of the AGENCY:
The AGENCY agrees to comply with the following policies and procedures:
A. The AGENCY recognizes that the purpose for which it is authorized to receive
CHRI is to assist in determining whether current employees or individuals applying
for employment have any disqualifying information appearing on their criminal
record.
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B. The AGENCY agrees that its use of CHRI is for this purpose alone and for no
other, and that neither it, nor any of its employees, shall make any other or further
use of such information, including confirming the existence or non- existence of a
criminal record.
C. The AGENCY understands that in order to obtain a state and national criminal
history record check, only one (1) applicant fingerprint card shall be submitted to
NCSBI for processing.
D. The AGENCY must make requests in writing through the Authorized Official to
the NCSBI. Requests from other AGENCY officials will not be honored. The
applicant's/employee's complete name, sex, race, date of birth, social security
number (optional) and any other descriptive data as shall be appropriate to
identify the individual, shall be submitted on the fingerprint card provided by the
NCSBI.
E. The AGENCY understands the Authority for Release of Information form is not to
be submitted to the NCSBI but shall be retained by the AGENCY for a period of
one (1) year from the date the fingerprints are submitted to the NCSBI.
F. The AGENCY understands that if the information contained in the CHRI is used
to disqualify an individual, the CHRI shall be provided to the subject of the record
and afforded an opportunity to provide additional information or challenge the
accuracy of the information. Any individual wishing to correct, complete or
otherwise challenge a CHRI record must avail themselves of the procedures set
forth in the Division of Criminal Information (DCI) administrative procedures. (14B
NCAC 18B .0404).
G. With the exception of Section III, Paragraph E noted above, the AGENCY
understands that under no circumstances shall CHRI obtained from NCSBI and
FBI be released to or reviewed by anyone other than the AGENCY.
H. The AGENCY understands that an individual should not be presumed to be guilty
of any charge/arrest for which there is no final disposition reflected in the CHRI.
I. The AGENCY agrees that the CHRI will not be received or sent by email or fax.
The AGENCY agrees to contact the NCSBI for approval before initiating use of
an electronic system intended to store any CHRI received by the NCSBI.
J. The AGENCY agrees to comply with the most recent version of the FBI's
Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy and, if applicable,
the Security and Management Control Outsourcing Standard for Non-
Channeler.
K. The AGENCY agrees to notify the NCSBI in writing prior to entering a contract
with a third party for outsourcing services that will require the third party to have
access to CHRI supplied by the NCSBI and/or the FBI.
L. The AGENCY shall be responsible for the security and privacy of the CHRI
received by it or received by any private contractor pursuant to a specific
agreement with the AGENCY.
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M. The AGENCY understands the CHRI shall be kept under lock and key, separate
from the Personnel Files. The CHRI shall only be available to the Authorized
Officials as set forth in this access agreement.
N. The AGENCY shall be responsible for reviewing AGENCY policies and knowing
what data can and cannot be used as grounds for denying or terminating
employment in accordance with standards in the appropriate enabling legislation
referred to above.
O. The AGENCY understands that NCSBI and the FBI maintains only those criminal
records for which an individual is required by law to submit to the fingerprinting
process; consequently, there are criminal records maintained by other states or
local agencies that are not on file with the NCSBI or the FBI.
P. If state and national, the AGENCY agrees to pay the fee of thirty-eight ($38.00)
dollars for every criminal record check. The AGENCY understands it will be billed
at the end of each month for the amount due. The AGENCY will return a copy of
the invoice with the AGENCY's check in the amount of the total payment due. The
payment is due the following month. The AGENCY's check should be made
payable to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and mailed to:
NC State Bureau of Investigation
Attention: Business Office
Post Office Box 29500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27626-0500
Q. If state ONLY, The AGENCY agrees to pay the fee of ten dollars (10.00) for each
name check or fourteen dollars (14.00) for every fingerprint card processed by SBI,
which reflects the cost of providing the CHRI record. The AGENCY understands it will
be billed at the end of each month for the amount due. The AGENCY will return a copy
of the invoice with the AGENCY's check in the amount of the total payment due. The
payment is due the following month. The AGENCY's check should be made payable
to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and submitted.
IV. Penalties/Liability
The NCSBI reserves the right to terminate this Agreement upon determining that
the AGENCY has violated any applicable law, rule or regulation or has violated
the terms of this Agreement. The Agency agrees to indemnify and to absolve of
liability the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, NCSBI, and its officials
and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, and
proceedings by others, against all liability including but not limited to any liability
for damages by reason or arising out of any false arrest or imprisonment,
employee action, or any action whatsoever, or against any lost, cost, expense,
and damage, resulting therefrom, arising out of this Agreement, or breach of this
Agreement, or NCSBI rules and regulations.
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Complete required fields below
I certify that I have read and understand the terms of this Agreement with the North Carolina
State Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Information and Identification Section, and I will uphold
the Agreement.
Orange County, North Carolina
I certify that the following person(s) personally appeared before me this day, each
acknowledging to me that he or she signed the foregoing document:
BY: Travis Myren
Printed Name of AGENCY Authorized Official Signature of AGENCY Authorized Official
Date:
Official Signature of Notary Public f
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Notary's Typed or Printed Name
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My Commission Expires
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(Seal)
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CS 1 OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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This Access Agreement becomes effective on
MONTH/DAY/YEAR
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Approved by:
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Denied by:
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