YourVoice.Now Summary
Transparency & AccountabilityCivil LibertiesState boards that license police could check an officer's FBI criminal record.
Transparency & Accountability
A state board decides who may work as a police officer, and can take that license back. Right now it cannot ask the FBI for a criminal record.
Civil Liberties
Today these FBI files go only to agencies named in the law. Adding police boards means records on officers and job seekers reach new offices.
More about this bill
Most people would notice no change in daily life. The change lands on people who apply for or hold police jobs. Every state has an agency that sets the rules for hiring, training, and keeping police officers. Those agencies would be able to ask the FBI for a person's criminal history. The FBI may only hand these records to agencies named in federal law. Police licensing agencies are not on that list today. Adding them would let a state check an officer's record before granting or pulling a license. The same access would go to agencies in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and other U.S. territories. The Attorney General would have 180 days after signing to update the rules. The House passed the bill on May 12, 2026. The Senate passed it on September 30, 2026. It is not law until the President signs it.
Congressional Summary
Criminal History Access Act of 2026 This 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
- Passed House and Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-09-30
- Date Added
- 2026-05-08
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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