CSHB 313(TRB) - Village Public Safety Officer Background Investigations

• Requires the Department of Public Safety to conduct background investigations of village public safety officer applicants, including national criminal history record checks and fingerprinting, before employment.

• Establishes qualifications for village public safety officers including minimum age of 21, U.S. citizenship, high school diploma, good moral character, and prohibition on felony convictions, sex offenses, and certain misdemeanors.

• Creates a certification process requiring 12 months of full-time employment, completion of basic training including firearms, physical fitness, criminal law, domestic violence response, emergency medical services, and search and rescue procedures.

• Adds village public safety officer position to the list of occupations requiring national criminal history record checks under AS 12.62.400.

• Provides transition provision allowing current village public safety officers employed before the effective date to continue employment without meeting new requirements; most provisions take effect July 1, 2022.