FBI criminal records now shared with state licensing boards nationwide

What it does

This bill amends federal law to allow the FBI to share criminal history records with state licensing boards and interstate compacts (multi-state professional licensing agreements) for background checks of people applying for professional licenses. State licensing authorities can use this information only to decide whether to grant a license, and cannot share the actual criminal records with other agencies or the public—though they can tell the interstate compact whether the background check passed or failed.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to authorize FBI criminal history sharing with state licensing boards for professional license background checks. It is a procedural/administrative measure enabling data-sharing between federal and state authorities for occupational licensing purposes.

What the text implies

• Interstate compacts (multi-state licensing agreements) gain indirect access to federal criminal records through state licensing boards, potentially expanding the scope of background-check data available to compact commissions beyond what individual states would independently authorize.
• The bill permits state licensing authorities to inform interstate compacts of background-check results (pass/fail) without sharing the underlying criminal record itself, creating a two-tier disclosure system that may obscure the basis for licensing denials from applicants.
• Citizens with sealed, expunged, or dismissed criminal charges may still face licensing barriers if those records appear in FBI criminal history databases, as the bill does not explicitly require state boards to account for record-sealing or expungement laws.
• The definition of 'criminal history record information' excludes fingerprint records unless they indicate criminal justice involvement, potentially creating gaps in background checks if fingerprint-based disqualifications are not captured.

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

Who it affects

Citizens applying for professional licenses face more rigorous background checks using federal criminal records, which may improve public safety in regulated professions but also raises barriers to licensure for people with criminal histories seeking employment. The bill includes safeguards (state boards cannot share records publicly or with other agencies), but the net effect on ordinary people depends on whether the background-check rigor serves legitimate public protection or becomes a de fac

Named in the bill

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

Where it stands

10 cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 1 Independents.

• Mar 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”

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

Money around this bill

17 lobbying clients named this bill on 24 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $4,042,117 in lobbying spend. A filing names 24 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.

Peter Welch, the sponsor, reported $44,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• 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
• American Association of Nurse Practitioners — $400,000 on 1 filing
• The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. (aota) — $378,000 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.