SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2024 SESSION
24102794DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 52-46 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 52-46. Virginia Rap Back Service; criminal history record monitoring; maintenance; dissemination; penalty.
A. The Department of State Police, through the Virginia Record
of Arrest and Prosecution (Rap) Back Service, shall participate in the Federal
Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Next Generation Identification (NGI) Rap Back
Service. The purpose of the Virginia Rap Back Service shall be to allow
governmental entities that require a fingerprint-based criminal background
check as a condition of (i) providing care to (a) children, (b) the disabled,
or (c) the elderly or (ii) (a) licensure, (b) certification, (c) employment, or
(d) volunteer service to be advised when an individual subject to such
screening is the subject of a Rap Back notification event
including being arrested for, or convicted of, a criminal
offense. The Department is authorized to submit fingerprints and accompanying
records to the FBI to be retained in and advised through
the FBI's NGI Rap Back Service when an enrolled
individual is arrested for, or convicted of, a criminal offense.
Fingerprints submitted to the FBI may be used for future searches, including
latent searches.
B. As used in this section:
"Individual" means any person who has submitted to a fingerprint-based background check in order to (i) care for (a) children, (b) the disabled, or (c) the elderly or (ii) (a) be licensed, (b) be certified, (c) be employed, or (d) perform volunteer service with a participating entity and who has been enrolled by that participating entity in the Virginia Rap Back Service.
"Participating entity" means a governmental entity that requires a fingerprint-based background check as a condition of (i) caring for (a) children, (b) the disabled, or (c) the elderly or (ii) (a) licensure, (b) certification, (c) employment, or (d) volunteer service and that has elected to enroll individuals in the Virginia Rap Back Service.
C. The Department of State Police shall ensure that notification
is made forthwith to the participating entity that enrolls an individual in the
Virginia Rap Back Service when an FBI Rap Back
report notification
is received. The information contained in the notification shall be used by the
participating entity for purposes of determining the eligibility of the
continued service of the individual and shall not be further disseminated.
D. Use of the information submitted to the Virginia Rap Back Service for purposes not authorized by this section is prohibited, and a willful violation of this section with the intent to harass or intimidate another shall be punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
E. No liability shall be imposed upon any law-enforcement official who disseminates information or fails to disseminate information in good faith compliance with the requirements of this section, but this provision shall not be construed to grant immunity for gross negligence or willful misconduct.
F. The Department of State Police shall promulgate regulations
governing the operation and maintenance of the Virginia Rap Back Service and
the removal and destruction of records on individuals who are deceased or who
are no longer individuals as defined in this section. Such regulations shall
provide that a participating entity shall disenroll any individual who is
deceased or is no longer an individual as defined in this section within 30 five
business days of death or such event that no longer
requires such individual to be enrolled in the Virginia Rap Back Service, in
order to ensure the prompt removal and destruction of records from the Virginia
Rap Back Service.
G. The Department of State Police may charge an annual fee not
to exceed $12 per individual enrolled in the Virginia Rap Back Service. The fee
shall be paid by any participating entity enrolling an individual in the
Virginia Rap Back Service. An individual who moves
from one participating entity to another need not be reprinted.
When more than one participating entity enrolls the same individual in the
Virginia Rap Back Service, both participating entities shall be responsible for
paying the full cost for maintenance and notification. Any fees collected shall
be deposited in a special account to be used to offset the costs of
subscription fees, maintenance fees, and enhancements related to the Criminal
and Rap Back Information System.
H. The Department of State Police shall make the Virginia Rap Back Service available no later than July 1, 2025, unless funds necessary to develop and operate the Virginia Rap Back Service are unavailable.
I. No participating entity authorized to submit fingerprints shall be considered negligent per se in a civil action solely because the entity elected not to enroll an individual in the Virginia Rap Back Service pursuant to this section.