traffic schools; instructors; fingerprint clearance, the official text

Senate Engrossed
House Bill

[traffic
schools; instructors; fingerprint clearance]

(now: fingerprint
clearance cards; temporary authorization)

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2916

AN
ACT

Amending section 28-3413, Arizona Revised
Statutes; amending title 41, chapter 12, article 3.1, Arizona Revised Statutes,
by adding section 41-1758.09; relating to fingerprint clearance cards.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 28-3413, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE28-3413. License for schools; requirements; fingerprint clearance card

A. A person may not act as a traffic survival school
unless the person applies for and obtains from the director a license in the
manner and form prescribed by the director.

B. Rules adopted by the director shall state the
requirements for a school license, including:

1. Requirements concerning location, equipment,
courses of instruction, instructors, previous records of the school and
instructors, insurance in an amount and with provisions that the director deems
necessary to protect adequately the interests of the public and other matters
prescribed by the director.

2. A requirement that traffic survival school
courses of instruction must:

(a) Consist of at least eight hours of instruction
and include information relating to aggressive driving as provided by section
28-695.

(b) Be offered and completed in person and may not
be offered or completed online unless the governor declares a state of
emergency.  The department may grant a person who enrolls in a traffic survival
school a onetime waiver of the in-person requirement if the person demonstrates
to the department that completing the course in person would impose a
substantial burden on the person.

C. Each applicant who owns twenty percent or more of
an entity and each partner or stockholder who owns twenty percent or more of an
entity and who seeks licensure pursuant to this article and each
instructor who is employed by or under contract with a traffic survival school
shall provide the department or a contracted private entity of the department
pursuant to section 28-3411 with a valid fingerprint clearance card
issued pursuant to section 41-1758.03. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 41, chapter 12, article 3.1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1758.09, to read:

START_STATUTE41-1758.09. Fingerprint clearance cards; authority; prohibition; application
processing; employment; definition

A. An agency in this
state without statutory authority to require a fingerprint clearance card may
not require a person to obtain a fingerprint clearance card as a condition of
licensure, certification, registration or employment.

B. Notwithstanding any
other law, for occupations and positions that are pending approval for a
federal criminal records check pursuant to section 41-1750 and Public Law
92-544, a person who is required to obtain and possess a valid
fingerprint clearance card may be granted a temporary work authorization by the
relevant agency while the person's fingerprint clearance card application is
being processed if all other requirements for the work authorization,
licensure, registration or certification are met.

C. A person who is
granted a temporary work authorization pursuant to subsection B of this section
is authorized to work while the person's fingerprint clearance card application
is being processed if the person does all of the following:

1. Provides
documentation to the relevant agency that shows the person's application for a
fingerprint clearance card is pending within the department.

2. Certifies on forms
that are provided by the relevant agency and that are notarized that the person
meets the following conditions:

(a) Is not awaiting trial
on and has never been convicted of or admitted in open court or pursuant to a
plea agreement to committing any of the criminal offenses listed in section 41-1758.03,
subsection B or C or section 41-1758.07, subsection B or C, as applicable, in
this state or similar offenses in another state or jurisdiction.

(b) Is not subject to
registration as a sex offender in this state or any other jurisdiction.

D. The temporary work
authorization pursuant to subsection B of this section expires if the
department denies the issuance of a fingerprint clearance card, and the
department shall notify the relevant agency of the denial.

E. The relevant agency
may do any of the following:

1. Adopt any policies
and procedures necessary to implement this section.

2. Conduct a
third-party background check of the person.

3. Deny the temporary
work authorization if the relevant agency has verifiable information that the
person is awaiting trial on or has been convicted of or admitted in open court
or pursuant to a plea agreement to committing any of the offenses described in
subsection C, paragraph 2, subdivision (a)
of this section or is subject to registration as a sex offender in this state
or any other jurisdiction.

4. Take appropriate
disciplinary action against a person who misrepresents any of the information
required pursuant to subsection C of this section.

F. For the purposes of this section,
"agency" includes a board or commission.

Sec. 3. Effective date

Section 28-3413, Arizona Revised
Statutes, as amended by this act, is effective from and after December 31,
2026.