§ 837-O — Search for arson and sex offense conviction records of volunteer firefighter applicants

§ 837-o. Search for arson and sex offense conviction records of\nvolunteer firefighter applicants. 1. Any person who applies for\nmembership in a fire company, as such term is defined in section three\nof the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, or who seeks to transfer as\na member to another fire company, shall be required to authorize the\nsubmission of his or her name and other authorized identifying\ninformation to the division which shall search its files for records\nindicating whether the person stands convicted of the crime of arson or\na crime which requires the person to register as a sex offender under\narticle six-C of the correction law. The chief of the fire company to\nwhich application is made shall provide written notice to the applicant\nthat a search will be conducted, and if the applicant desires to\nproceed, he or she shall complete a search request on the form provided\nfor this purpose by the division of criminal justice services.\n 2. Within ten business days of receipt from the applicant, the chief\nof the fire company shall send the completed search request form to\neither (i) the sheriff's department of the county in which the fire\ncompany is located, or (ii) the office of fire prevention and control,\nas follows:\n (a) the sheriff's department of the county in which the fire company\nis located shall be responsible for receiving the search requests and\nprocessing the search requests with the division within ten business\ndays of receipt from the chief of the fire company, unless the county\nlegislative body adopts and files with the office of fire prevention and\ncontrol pursuant to the municipal home rule law a local law providing\nthat the sheriff's department shall not have such responsibility;\n (b) in all other instances where a county legislative body has adopted\na local law pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the office of\nfire prevention and control shall be responsible for receiving search\nrequests and forwarding the search requests to the division.\nThe office of fire prevention and control is hereby authorized to\nestablish a communication network with the division for the purpose of\nforwarding search requests and receiving search results pursuant to\nparagraph (b) of this subdivision.\n 3. (a) All searches concerning the application for membership in a\nfire company shall be conducted under the provisions of subdivision six\nof section eight hundred thirty-seven of this article without the\nassessment of any fee to the applicant or fire company and shall pertain\nsolely to ascertaining whether the applicant stands convicted of arson\nor a crime which requires the person to register as a sex offender under\narticle six-C of the correction law.\n (b) The results of the search shall be communicated in writing, within\nten business days of receipt from the division, to the chief of the fire\ncompany from which the search request originated by either the sheriff's\ndepartment or the office of fire prevention and control, and shall be\nkept confidential by the chief, except as provided in paragraph (c) of\nthis subdivision. The results of the search shall only state either\nthat: (i) the applicant stands convicted of arson and/or a crime which\nrequires the person to register as a sex offender under article six-C of\nthe correction law, or (ii) the applicant has no record of conviction\nfor arson or a crime which requires the person to register as a sex\noffender under article six-C of the correction law. The results of the\nsearch shall not divulge any other information relating to the criminal\nhistory of the applicant.\n (c) At the time an applicant is advised that he or she is ineligible\nfor membership due to a record of conviction for arson, he or she shall\nalso be advised of the rights to challenge and appeal the information\ncontained in the record of conviction as provided in the rules and\nregulations of the division. The applicant shall continue to be barred\nfrom membership until all administrative and judicial challenges to the\naccuracy of such information or appeals therefrom, are ultimately\nresolved in his or her favor, or if such a determination is\nunchallenged.\n (d) If a person is denied election or appointment as a volunteer\nmember of a fire company based in whole or in part on the fact that he\nor she stands convicted of a crime which requires the person to register\nas a sex offender under article six-C of the correction law, he or she\nshall be advised by the fire company of the rights to challenge and\nappeal the information contained in the record of conviction as provided\nin the rules and regulations of the division, and provided by the fire\ncompany with a copy of the criminal history record received by the fire\ncompany and with a copy of sections seven hundred fifty-two and seven\nhundred fifty-three of the correction law.\n