25 U.S.C. § 4138: Availability of records

Summary

NCIC, police, and other law enforcement must give Indian tribes or tribally designated housing entities criminal conviction records when asked. The records are for checking job applicants and adult applicants or tenants of housing paid for with grants under this law, and for enforcing leases or evicting tenants. Juvenile conviction records can be released only if state, tribal, or local law allows it. The tribe or housing entity may use the records only for those housing or hiring purposes. They may share them only with tribal officers, employees, authorized representatives, or housing owners who need them for their jobs. For court eviction cases, they can disclose what is necessary. The Secretary must make rules to protect proper use and privacy.

Title 25, §4138

Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Provision of information

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as provided in subsection (b), the National Crime Information Center, police departments, and other law enforcement agencies shall, upon request, provide information to Indian tribes or tribally designated housing entities regarding the criminal conviction records of applicants for employment, and of adult applicants for, or tenants of, housing assisted with grant amounts provided to such tribe or entity under this chapter for purposes of applicant screening, lease enforcement, and eviction.

(b)Exception

A law enforcement agency described in subsection (a) shall provide information under this paragraph relating to any criminal conviction of a juvenile only to the extent that the release of such information is authorized under the law of the applicable State, tribe, or locality.

(c)Confidentiality

An Indian tribe or tribally designated housing entity receiving information under this section may use such information only for the purposes provided in this section and such information may not be disclosed to any person who is not an officer, employee, or authorized representative of the tribe or entity or the owner of housing assisted under this chapter, and who has a job-related need to have access to the information for the purposes under this section. For judicial eviction proceedings, disclosures may be made to the extent necessary. The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish procedures necessary to ensure that information provided under this section to any tribe or entity is used, and confidentiality is maintained, as required under this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 104–330, Oct. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 4016, known as the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 4101 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–411 inserted “applicants for employment, and of” after “records of”. 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–276, § 595(e)(10)(A), substituted “subsection (b)” for “paragraph (2)”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–276, § 595(e)(10)(B), substituted “subsection (a)” for “paragraph (1)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Oct. 1, 1997, except as otherwise expressly provided, see section 107 of Pub. L. 104–330, set out as a note under section 4101 of this title.

§4138 Availability of Records