Current through Pa Acts 2024-53, 2024-56 through 2024-92
(a) Electronic database.-- (1) The commission shall establish and maintain an electronic database containing the separation records.(2) The database shall be accessible to all law enforcement agencies in this Commonwealth.(3) Except as provided under section 7311(c) (relating to hiring report), separation records maintained in the database shall be exempt from disclosure under the act of February 14, 2008 ( P.L. 6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.(b) Procedure.--The commission shall establish a procedure by which a law enforcement agency may request and review separation records in the database for the purpose of employing an applicant.(c) Request log.--The commission shall log all requests from law enforcement agencies for separation records and may not disclose the name of any law enforcement officer subject to a request for separation records to the public. The information provided to a law enforcement agency, including a law enforcement agency outside of this Commonwealth, shall be exempt from disclosure under the Right-to-Know Law.(d) Time period to submit.--Upon the separation of an officer from a law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency shall submit the separation records to the commission within 15 days of separation.(e) Good faith immunity.-- (1) A former employing law enforcement agency that submits a separation record to the database in good faith is immune from civil liability for the subsequent disclosure of that record from the database.(2) A law enforcement agency is presumed to be acting in good faith at the time of a disclosure under this chapter unless a preponderance of the evidence establishes one or more of the following: (i) the law enforcement agency knew that the separation record was false or misleading;(ii) the law enforcement agency submitted the separation record with a reckless disregard for the truth; or(iii) submission of the separation record was specifically prohibited by a Federal or State law.Added by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 57, § 1, eff. 7/14/2021.