New Jersey Senate passes new background investigation bill

By Lauren Mortenson
The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed a bill last week that will revise the current background check requirements for all school employees who come in contact with students.

Sponsored by Sens. Loretta Weinberg, Barbara Buono and Shirley K. Turner, bill S-110 will revise the current criminal background investigation requirements for employees by requesting that all teachers and school district employees undergo a criminal background check. Besides the faculty and administration, people who are considered school employees also include bus drivers, cafeteria workers and janitorial staff.

The bill revises criminal history record checks for public and nonpublic school employees and bus drivers, and expands the list of offenses that would disqualify an employee from working at a school.

Buono said revisions to background check procedures are something she had been thinking about for a while.

"There were loopholes that needed to be closed," she said.

Since 1986, candidates for employment in New Jersey schools have been required to submit to criminal history background checks.

The bill states that "in order to assure the safety of school students and others in our schools, persons who come in contact with students or school property must possess the character and integrity necessary for their positions."

The bill also states that it is imperative that all employees, including those hired prior to 1986, and candidates for employment undergo criminal history record checks that are updated regularly.

All employees hired prior to 1986 as well as those hired before 2003 (before fingerprints were able to be taken electronically) would have two years to be fingerprinted by the state Bureau of Investigation.

The original criminal history background investigation was established in 1986, and the law at the time included a "grandfather" provision that said employees of a district who were hired before that date did not have to have their records checked.

According to the senators, applicants were fingerprinted before 2003, but once the background checks were complete, the files were destroyed.

Currently, the federal government does not have an electronic fingerprint database, so federal criminal background checks would be required every two years.

Additions were made to the list of offenses that would disqualify applicants and employees from working in schools. The current law provided that all first- and second degree crimes and other specified crimes would permanently disqualify a person from working in schools.

The senators added the crimes of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, human trafficking, peering [peering into windows or other openings of dwelling places], violating the Anti-TerrorismAct, and employing a juvenile in the commission of a crime.

"It's to protect our children from any form of danger," she said. "That's what the expansion clarifies."

The bill also adds an additional regulation to school bus drivers.

Information on all drivers or substitute drivers of vehicles operated by the Board of Education must be filed by the secretary of the board with the executive county and superintendent of schools. The information must include each driver's name, Social Security number, certification of a valid school bus driver's license, a criminal history record check, and evidence of a check for the driver's record of any alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle violations.

The school bus driver will be permanently disqualified from his or her job if any offenses during employment result in conviction.

If any employee currently working in a New Jersey school facility is found with a criminal record that interferes with the provisions of the bill, he or she will be fired.

"Unless their crimes were expunged, which varies on the severity of the crime, they would be terminated," said Buono.

The reasons for employee termination will be identified in a written notice. Any employee who fails to comply can be subject to a fine of up to $500 for each incidence of noncompliance.

The bill is now headed to the Assembly for consideration. Buono said she is hopeful that it will pass and is encouraging that it be considered as soon as possible.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Governor Schwarzenegger signs bill for California EMT background investigations

By Andrew McIntosh
Sacramento Bee

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation today that requires California's 70,000emergency medical technicians to undergo mandatory criminal background checks. In 2007, he vetoed a similar bill after expressing disapproval about last-minute changes that would have kept secret some details about rescuer misconduct.

This time, Schwarzenegger signed an Assembly bill that will modernize a patchwork licensing and certification system in California's emergency medical services world. Extensive problems with the system were exposed in a 2007 sacramento Bee investigation.

"EMTs provide vital services that help Californians in their time of need, and because of the critical role they play, it is important that we have a universal statewide standard that will prevent those who are unqualified or have a past criminal history from becoming EMTs," Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued by his office.

"By signing these bills into law, we are increasing safety and accountability within the emergency medical services field and ensuring that Californians have the best EMTs available at any given moment," the Governor added.

Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 2917, which was introduced by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark. It also requires that EMTs be certified in the county in which they work and calls for the creation of a state-run central EMT registry.

The local certification requirement aims to stop rescuers with spotty employment or criminal records from shopping for certification in counties with no background checks -- a problem The Bee also uncovered.

The registry would allow officials to track EMTs statewide and, after a disaster, to identify rescuers in areas where help is needed. EMT fees will be raised to pay for it.

Torrico said that with a statewide registry, the state will be able to develop a single set of standards for certification, disciplinary orders and conditions of probation for EMTs. Employers will also be able to check if an EMT recruit has had a background check or past action against their certification or license.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Florida's state report concerning mortgage brokers shows that background investigation results ignored or not accounted for

BY Matthew Haggman AND Rob Barry
As Florida grapples with the worst home loan fraud crisis in the country, state mortgage industry regulators failed to order federal criminal background checks of mortgage brokers and, in some cases, never alerted police agencies to crooked mortgage operations, according to a state investigation of the lead agency that oversees Florida's troubled loan industry.
A report released Tuesday to Gov. Charlie Crist and Cabinet members blasts the Office of Financial Regulation for licensing people with serious criminal histories as mortgage brokers even as the state mortgage fraud rate was soaring to the highest level in the nation.

The six-week investigation by Florida's top inspectors general was prompted by a Miami Herald series, Borrowers Betrayed, which showed state oversight of the mortgage industry broke down at every level -- from the licensing of people with criminal pasts to the disciplining of crooked brokers.

''In some instances, the office was not complying with existing governing directives,'' the state report says.

The Herald's series led to the forced resignation of Commissioner Don Saxon, who oversaw the agency since 2003.

The 23-page report, which was obtained Monday by The Herald, concluded the state's regulatory system was ``insufficient to protect the people of the state of Florida.''

Investigators said the agency functioned without any clear guidelines, making up rules as it went along and operating on the wrong interpretations of the law.

All the while, mortgage fraud skyrocketed during the most explosive housing boom in state history. Today, a quarter of all reported fraudulent loans across the country are for Florida properties.

The Miami Herald's series revealed that more than 10,000 people with criminal histories -- including money launderers, racketeers and cocaine traffickers -- were able to peddle home loans across the state this decade.

Crist and the Cabinet -- meeting Tuesday as the state Financial Services Commission -- passed emergency measures last month in response to The Herald's investigation, including rules that automatically ban felons of financial crimes from peddling homes.

In its report, the state auditors found that from October 2006 until March 2008, the OFR issued mortgage broker licenses but did not conduct federal criminal background checks of the applicants as required by state law.

The auditors wrote that Saxon told them he was ''not aware of the strict language'' of the law and ''did not believe'' the Legislature meant for him to immediately implement the federal background investigations required by a change in the law in 2006.

Intead, fingerprint cards meant to be submitted for federal crimes checks were kept in the OFR's files, the report stated.

The Miami Herald found 88 former federal criminals were licensed by regulators this decade, including former bank robbers.

The state probe also found the state did not issue any written guidelines explaining why applicants with criminal histories should be allowed to work in the mortgage industry. The investigation discovered that agency decisions were made on ''experience'' rather than any clearly understood criteria.

The auditors took issue with the fact that broad benchmarks like ''moral turpitude'' or ''dishonest dealings'' were applied to applicants on a case-by-case basis without clear lines of decision-making.

In fact, one OFR official called the moral turpitude standard a ''moving target'' that required guidance from the legal staff because the kinds of crimes under that category vary so widely.

Yet, a senior attorney at the agency told auditors he was never asked to provide written guidance and -- if asked -- likely would not have done so because the law is not clear.

The report also stated that Saxon's agency could have required brokers to submit background information -- such as updated criminal history -- when trying to renew their licenses. But the agency didn't initiate any such practice.

Separately, the report found that loan originators ''perform essentially the same function as mortgage brokers'' but aren't licensed. Saxon told auditors that licensing loan originators would be next to impossible because of the ``influence of the industry.''

But industry leaders in Florida told The Herald that they had pressed Saxon's office in 2002 and again in 2006 to license loan originators -- but regulators refused.

In addition, agency e-mails obtained by The Herald showed that top leaders of Saxon's staff opposed the licensing of loan originators, and in one case, even removed a provision in a legal draft to bring them under state licensing.

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Some school bus drivers with criminal records in New Jersey are working

By Larry Higgs and Paul D'Ambrosio
Gannett New Jersey

Dozens of school bus drivers with criminal convictions transport children to class each day, many with the state's approval, a Gannett New Jersey investigation has found.

Offenses for the persons convicted range from manslaughter to drug distribution to theft.

Of the 35 drivers found by Gannett New Jersey, three have had their bus driving endorsements revoked by the state Department of Education after the Press forwarded its list to authorities.

None of the banned drivers worked in Middlesex, Monmouth or Ocean counties.

The three drivers include a man convicted of manslaughter and two women convicted of endangering the welfare of a child.

The gap in background investigations for school bus employees is so wide that one man with two prior drug convictions was hired as a bus aide by a Keansburg company to transport Middletown students. State officials said they were never told about the hire, and, as a result, no background check was ever run.

The aide, Parrish L. Jones, is now serving a 10-year prison term for giving a near-fatal dose of methadone to a 15-year-old on a school bus in 2006.

Of the 32 remaining bus drivers whose permits were not terminated because of prior convictions, state officials said none had offenses that would warrant taking them off school buses. The convictions included simple assault, gambling, weapons possession and official misconduct, according to a review of state court records.

Still, state education officials said that those with serious offenses shouldn't have escaped detection and that measures are being taken to close the loopholes that let Jones and others get on a school bus.

"The safety and security of our children are DOE's highest priorities, which is why we do these background checks in the first place," said Kathryn Forsyth, Department of Education spokeswoman. "It is simply unacceptable to us to have anyone slip through the cracks, and when we find that someone has, we move quickly to make sure they are disqualified and fired."

Gannett New Jersey also found that 148 convicts received school bus driver licenses after their convictions, but that their permits have since expired, according to a review of bus drivers and state criminal court records for the last 15 years.

The drivers worked for both private bus companies and school districts that operated their own bus service.

State education officials, who are required by law to keep certain criminals from driving school children, said that the three terminated bus drivers fell through the cracks because of changes in the state's fingerprinting system.

"In these instances, we are obligated to take action," said Carl Carabelli, manager of the criminal history review unit for the education department. "Disqualification notices went out on Aug. 21, which said they are disqualified (from school employment) and should be terminated, and we sent notices to MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission) to revoke their school bus endorsement."

School bus drivers are supposed to be fingerprinted and go through criminal background checks every two years, when they renew their bus driver's license. But those safeguards, designed to reassure parents, don't always work, said Dr. Alan Ross, founder of the National Coalition for School Bus Safety, Connecticut.

Federal law prohibits individuals from driving a school bus who have been convicted of first- or second-degree crimes, such as murder and aggravated assault, and some third-degree theft offenses.

Middletown school bus aide Jones is a recent example of how a slip-up can cause a near death. Jones had two prior drug convictions in Monmouth County, but got a job as an aide for the Aberdeen-based Milu Bus Service.

Jones, 37, of Keansburg, was convicted of drug distribution in Monmouth County in 1992 and again in 1996. He was given a 364-day jail term in 1992 and a three-year prison sentence in 1996, according to public records.

Jones pleaded guilty to giving methadone a synthetic narcotic to a 15-year-old Middletown North High School student in October 2006. The boy nearly died from the overdose. Jones was sentenced last June to five to 10 years in prison.

Jones was hired for school employment despite his two prior drug convictions because his name was never submitted for a background investigation to the state by the bus company, Forsyth said. An education department audit revealed that the company also failed to submit other employees' names for background checks, she said.

"His name didn't go through the system. They were cited for noncompliance. They have to perform a corrective action plan," she said.

Education officials are putting together administrative procedures to fine any bus company that fails to submit workers names for background checks, Forsyth said.

"It is a shame that what happened in Middletown happened. I thank God the child was okay, it's one heck of an awakening for the township," said Maria Wheaton, parent of a student who graduated from Middletown North High School last year.

While Wheaton said she was satisfied with how the district handled the situation, she said she supports a bill introduced by state Sens. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, and Shirley Turner, D-Mercer.

The bill would require more frequent fingerprinting of all school employees and mandate that those fingerprints are kept on file. In June, it was approved by the Senate education committee and is waiting to be posted for a vote by the full Senate.

"That bill is a great idea, it should pass with flying colors," Wheaton said. "I think that any adult who works with school age children should definitely go through a thorough background check."

The three school bus drivers state officials said were disqualified are:

Cora Outlaw, 42, Newark, convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and sentenced to three years in prison in 1992. She was last approved for school employment in May 2007 in Essex County.

State education department officials said they initially found no disqualifying crimes on her record. Her endangerment conviction has since been verified, disqualifying her from driving a school bus.

Marba L. Morris, 50, Teaneck, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child and placed on two years' probation 1999. She was last approved for school employment in 2005 in Bergen County.

Bobby G. Allen, 54, of Vineland, convicted of manslaughter in 1992, was sentenced to 270 days in jail and four years' probation. He was approved for school employment in August 2006 in Vineland. Education department officials said the conviction wasn't on his record. After a new review of records, he was disqualified from school employment.

None of the drivers could be reached for comment.

The drivers can challenge the action by filing an administrative appeal with the department within 30 days, said Carabelli, of the education department's enforcement bureau. None has filed an appeal as of Thursday, Sept. 11.

How did those three drivers and others make it through the system?

In several cases, individuals uncovered by Gannett New Jersey slipped through the criminal background safety net because their fingerprints weren't kept on file by the state Bureau of Identification, Carabelli said.

In 12 other cases reviewed, the crimes weren't considered by the department to be disqualifying offense at the time they were convicted, Carabelli said.

All first- and second-degree offenses, such as homicides and major drug crimes, are disqualifying. A theft charge depends on the severity and the value of what was taken, Carabelli said. Some third-degree theft offenses also are considered disqualifying offenses, he said.

State officials determined that 10 drivers on the Gannett New Jersey's list would keep their license because the offenses they were convicted of weren't disqualifying under the law. They included weapons possession, interfering with custody of a child and witness tampering.

Four drivers on the list were convicted of lower offenses, such as disorderly persons and drug possession, which were not considered a disqualification at that time of arrest. But such offenses would bar them from obtaining a school bus driver's license now, Carabelli said.

The state criminal history review unit handles 70,000 background checks a year for all school employees and disqualifies an average of about 1 percent, Carabelli said. There are 25,000 school bus drivers authorized to drive students in the state, he said.

One problem identifying drivers with records is that until February 2003, the state Bureau of Identification didn't retain the physical fingerprints from background checks, said Forsyth, the spokeswoman for the education department.

"If they committed a crime, we didn't know unless we found out anecdotally or through the newspapers or if the police or prosecutor let us know a crime was committed," Forsyth said.

That database is "much more complete" and state education officials will know immediately if a bus driver or school employee is convicted or has a record, she said.

Legislation in the state Senate would require all school employees and applicants to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks every two years.

The bill, S110, also would require the education department and state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which tracks individual wage data, to compare databases to determine if a school employee has not undergone a criminal background check, or has been disqualified yet still works with students.

"The (education) department not only strongly supports this bill, we helped write it," Forsyth said. "As the people who administer the system, we knew where the problems were and what had to be addressed legislatively. We think this bill will significantly tighten the safety net."

"It expands our ability to make sure people don't fall through the cracks," Forsyth said. "All these pieces are filling holes."

Posted by Pebi Services President Tyra Hearns

Ohio strengthens background investigation rules for school employees

Even though Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation criminal records checks have long been required for teachers and certain other school employees, the Ohio Legislature enacted still more stringent rules through HB 109, which went into effect in November. HB 109 mandates both BCII and FBI criminal records checks for all school employees at the time they are under final consideration for a position. It also calls for periodic checks thereafter. Private contractors such as construction workers, groundskeepers and others who enter school property to perform services are also subject to HB 109 background checks.

Along with teachers, substitute teachers, tutors and educational assistants, administrators such as superintendents, treasurers and principals are required to have a criminal background investigation, as are counselors, school nurses and coaches, including those with pupil activity permits. The criminal background investigation must be repeated approximately every five years from the date of application for employment or when the relevant license is renewed. Criminal background investigations must be repeated every six years for school bus drivers; bus drivers also must have a semi-annual driving record check.

While the law does not require criminal background investigations for most volunteers, school boards may require them. Most boards in the area do, especially if the individual is a regular volunteer, will be supervising overnight trips or will be working regularly with students on a one-to-one (unsupervised) basis.

Centerburg, Johnstown-Monroe, North Fork and the Knox County Career Center do background investigations on adult volunteers, but not on students who volunteer to help younger pupils. Clear Fork does not require background investigations for student volunteers, but must, according to HB 109, conduct a criminal background investigation on paid student workers. Danville does not require the checks for volunteers at this time, while at East Knox and Highland it depends on what the volunteer’s duties will be. Coaching volunteers at Fredericktown are required to pass a criminal background investigation, but chaperones at this time are not.

Northridge board policy mandates criminal background investigations for all volunteers and chaperones. Superintendent John Shepard said all those checks are expensive, but the board willingly pays for them. "Obviously expense is always a factor when operating a large department like a school board but there is no price for the safety and well being of children," says Tyra Hearns the President of background investigation firm PebiServices.com

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Shepard said. “It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.”

The price to pay, especially for larger school districts, can add up to a lot of money. Cheryl Colopy of the Knox County Educational Service Center, which does the fingerprinting for area schools, said the cost of one BCII check is $27; an FBI report costs $29, a total of $56.

And the number of “clients” has increased. From Dec. 1, 2005, to Jan. 15, 2006, the ESC processed 45 fingerprint requests; from Dec. 1, 2007 to Jan. 15, 2008, 111 individuals were fingerprinted at the ESC.

The board of education must pay the fee charged by BCII for criminal background checks, but may recoup that fee from the applicant. Licensed individuals pay the cost of the continuing periodic background check as part of their license renewal. For nonlicensed individuals such as custodians and food services workers, the board of education must pay the fee, and may charge the employee a fee that is equal to or less than the fee charged by BCII. Background checks for private contractors working for school districts may be paid for by the company employing the contractor.

BCII and FBI criminal records checks, by law, cannot be required for school board members. According to information from the Ohio School Boards Association, “boards of education may not limit the ability of an individual from becoming, or serving as, a public official, including requiring background checks. This would be an unconstitutional limitation on the individual’s rights to political expression. However, nothing would prohibit an individual board member from voluntarily submitting to a background check.”

At Northridge Local Schools, however, a school board member who wants to volunteer in the schools, outside of his or her capacity as a board member, does have to have a criminal records check like other volunteers in the district.

The OSBA further noted that criminal background checks are not subject to the Ohio Public Records Law. They are not considered to be public records and may not be disclosed by the public entity.

School feels the squeeze from laws pertaining to background investigations

Background investigations are part of the squeeze put on a Naples Florida school under state laws. Kindergarten tutor Katie Felicelli works with a group of students at the Little School after-school tutoring program Wednesday afternoons in East Bonita Springs. The program has had to cut its tutoring time in half due to a shortage of tutors. At a high of around 130 during season, the number of volunteers has been reduced to around 14 due to new state regulations requiring expensive processing fees, fingerprinting and background investigations.
Catholic nun Sister Karinne O'Malley has faced numerous challenges in her mission to provide free, one-on-one tutoring to dozens of migrant children in Bonita Springs.

But in the 12 years she's been director of The Little School in Saldivar Camp on Bonita Beach Road, the 78-year-old's most difficult hurdles have not been the students she loves to care for. It's the state and federal laws that have forced her to turn away children and nearly caused her to shut the whole operation down.

As children returned to the after-school program this year, there's no doubt many of them noticed some things missing from their two portable classrooms. Posters had been taken off the walls. Certain materials could not be found.

"Well, this is not going to work, let's just forget it," Sister O'Malley said she told her volunteers after learning how the Jessica Lunsford Act would affect the school. "I started to take everything down and give everything away."

The act, which is aimed at preventing sexual predators from coming into contact with children, requires each of the school's 130 community volunteers to complete a time-consuming and comprehensive online form and pay $77 to have their fingerprints checked against state and federal databases before they can work at the school. Most of the volunteers donate no more than two hours per week. "Unfortunately this is far from adequate as a necessary background investigation" says Tyra Hearns the President of background investigation firm Pebi Services.
"A thorough background investigation is not something you want to get from an Internet clearing house website. You don't put a background investigation into a shopping cart like you do a toaster from Amazon.com" says Tyra Hearns
The after-school tutoring program has had to cut its tutoring time in half due to a shortage of tutors. At a high of around 130 during season, the number of volunteers has been reduced to around 14 due to new state regulations requiring processing fees, fingerprinting and background investigations.
"I think that's crazy," said Rita Halloran, who's been volunteering with the program for more than a decade. Halloran said she loves the students "dearly, everyone of them ... I can afford $77, but, at 81, do I really want to do this?"

Sister O'Malley said the cost of the fingerprinting is not the problem. She's heard many of her snowbird volunteers won't be returning because of the tedious new process.

High school student volunteers that do not need fingerprinting are an option, including those who attended the school when they were children, but she knows they aren't as reliable as her previous stock of highly educated seniors, including many retired educators.

The school, which accepts about 40 children in kindergarten through the fifth grade, is funded through federal grant dollars administered through the Lee County School District.

But the Title I and Title III funding the school receives does not come without certain strings attached. If the list of eligible students Sister O'Malley prepares doesn't have a child's name on it, then they won't be attending the school, even if the student attended the year before.

For parents unable to help their children with homework written in English, said Sister O'Malley, its a horrible thing to hear. After hearing the bad news, she said one parent kept staring at the list posted outside the classroom hoping his student's name would appear. "I can still see that father," she said.

While Sister O'Malley said she understands grant money must be used for its intended purpose, she does not understand why her volunteers must go through the new fingerprinting process. The schools her students come from can accept volunteers with no more than a background investigation. Said Sister O'Malley, "We're doing the same thing, what's the difference?"

District Chief Academic Officer Connie Jones said The Little School is a "wonderful program," but is contracted by the district and therefore its volunteers are considered vendors under the law. Jones said the district checked with other counties to verify this was the case. "I questioned it as well," said Jones, "but it sounds like are hands are tied."Jones said the district is not actively searching for a way to correct the situation. "The laws the law, there's really not a way to get around it."

Background investigations to be altered for slot machine owners

BY SHARON SMITH
Of The Patriot-News
Republican lawmakers plan to introduce legislation this month that would make the bureau charged with investigating applicants for slot-machine licenses more independent from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement conducts background investigations of slot-machine applicants and casino employees. It receives funding and oversight from the gaming board.

The bureau receives some assistance from the Pennsylvania State Police, but the bureau is considered the lead agency in investigating license applicants.

State Reps. Doug Reichley, R-Berks/Lehigh, and Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, want to change that arrangement. They propose legislation that would give the state attorney general more control of the process and generally lessen the gaming board's role.

For example, the attorney general would supervise and jointly conduct background investigations with the bureau and state police. The bill also would have the attorney general determine the scope of the investigation, not the gaming board.

One reason for bringing in the attorney general's office would be to create a clear sense of independence and remove the legal turf battle between the state police and gaming board in sharing background information.

The issue of sharing information came to light in early August when the name of Louis DeNaples surfaced in connection with a grand jury investigation in Dauphin County.

DeNaples plans to open the state's first standalone casino in October in Monroe County. Former gaming board Chairman Tad Decker had said the grand jury investigation must be based on new information because the board's background investigation did not reveal anything that would prevent DeNaples from getting a slot-machine license.

Days before the board approved applicants for slots licenses, Col. Jeffrey B. Miller, head of the state police, sent Decker a letter dated Dec. 20, 2006, indicating that his agency had cooperated with the board and the board should be in position to properly determine an applicant's suitability for a gaming license.

However, Miller offered no assurances that new information about applicants wouldn't be developed.

"Obviously, we cannot speak for other law enforcement agencies, nor can we be expected to predict when and if they may develop further information," Miller wrote. "Certainly, we are not in a position to forecast if and when action may be taken by any such agency or to divine what effect it may have on the board's licensing decision."

That's the kind of confusion the legislators' bill hopes to eliminate.

Under the proposed legislation, both the state police and the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement would forward information to the attorney general, who would be the point of contact for the gaming board, Reichley said.

"We're looking to sanitize this process," Reichley said. "We're looking to restore some credibility to and some independence to the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement so people trust what's going on there."

Reichley and Vereb also want the attorney general to have a say in who runs the bureau. They propose that the attorney general and the gaming board jointly appoint a bureau director.

The lawmakers' proposal also calls for making the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement budget independent.

"If we screen our applicants with an independent Bureau of Investigation, we are able to find out more about those applicants," Vereb said. "We want the budget controlled by the General Assembly and the governor just like it is in every other department."

The lawmakers' proposal does not appear to have much support in Gov. Ed Rendell's office.

"It's difficult to see what detaching the bureau from the Gaming Control Board would accomplish other than establish a new bureaucracy," said Chuck Ardo, spokesman for the governor's office.

Steve Miskin, spokesman for House Republicans, said measures in the bill would not create another layer of bureaucracy because the duties already exist.