FBI criminal records now shared with state licensing boards—with minimal privacy safeguards.

What it does

This bill authorizes the FBI to share criminal history records with state licensing authorities that are part of interstate compacts (multi-state agreements) for the purpose of conducting background checks on people applying for professional licenses. The shared information can only be used for that background-check purpose and cannot be redistributed to other state agencies or the public, though states may inform the compact commission that a background check was completed.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to create a legal pathway for the FBI to share federal criminal history records with state professional licensing boards participating in interstate compacts. It is a data-access and intergovernmental coordination measure, not a substantive change to licensing standards or criminal law.

What the text implies

• The bill defines 'criminal history record information' to exclude fingerprint records unless they indicate criminal-justice involvement, but does not clarify whether sealed, expunged, or dismissed records are included—potentially exposing applicants to licensing denial based on records they believed were cleared.
• State licensing authorities are prohibited from sharing records with 'any other State entity or State Licensing Authority,' but the bill does not define what constitutes a separate 'entity'—a single state agency housing multiple licensing boards could argue they are one entity, enabling internal data pooling.
• The bill permits states to inform the compact commission of 'binary determination' of whether a background check was satisfactory, but does not define 'satisfactory'—states may apply inconsistent standards, creating de facto reciprocity barriers despite the compact's intent.
• No explicit audit, oversight, or breach-notification requirement is imposed on state licensing authorities receiving federal criminal data, leaving citizens without visibility into how their records are stored, accessed, or protected.
• Interstate compacts are creatures of state law and vary widely in membership, governance, and enforcement—the bill's authorization applies uniformly to all compacts without requiring minimum data-security or due-process standards.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Citizens seeking professional licenses gain faster, standardized background checks across state lines through interstate compacts, reducing licensing delays and friction. However, the bill expands state access to sensitive federal criminal history data with minimal safeguards beyond a prohibition on public sharing—creating risk of misuse, scope creep, or data breaches affecting millions of applicants, and the restriction on sharing is limited to the compact commission and 'other State entities,'

Named in the bill

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), State licensing authorities, Interstate compacts, State law enforcement agencies, State identification bureaus, Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004

Where it stands

29 cosponsors: 21 Republicans, 8 Democrats.

• Mar 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary and House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for…”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Jun 25, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 33 - 0”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

19 lobbying clients named this bill on 29 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $10,405,117 in lobbying spend. A filing names 25 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 96% of bills with at least one filing.

Tracey Mann, the sponsor, reported $639,250 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Medical Association — $5,643,000 on 2 filings
• Trinity Health — $720,000 on 3 filings
• American Speech-language-hearing Association — $680,000 on 2 filings
• American Physical Therapy Association — $614,051 on 2 filings
• American Dental Association — $593,780 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 22, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.