State Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) agencies — the bodies that license, certify, and discipline state law enforcement officers — would be authorized to access FBI criminal history records directly under a bill from Reps. Schmidt and Ross. POST agencies use criminal history data to make decisions about whether to certify a new officer, revoke a current officer's certification, or take other disciplinary action. Currently most POST agencies must work through state law enforcement intermediaries to obtain this information. The Attorney General would amend 28 CFR Part 20 within 180 days to implement the change. The bill defines "peace officer standards and training agency" by reference to state statutory authority for officer certification and licensing.
Transparency & Accountability
- State POST-agency access to FBI criminal records — added for police hiring, training, and discipline decisions
Congressional Summary
Criminal History Access Act of 2026This bill authorizes a new type of entity—peace officer standards and training agencies—to access criminal history record information maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The term peace officer standards and training agency means an agency of a state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory that is authorized to set standards for the hiring, training, ethical conduct, and retention of its law enforcement officers through certification, licensing, or other similar qualification processes.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-05-04
- Date Added
- 2026-05-08
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.