Senate Bill 290 Summary

• Requires criminal history record checks for all paid and volunteer fire department and emergency medical services applicants through the North Carolina Department of Public Safety using fingerprints and state/national criminal history repositories.

• Prohibits applicants with convictions for arson or felony convictions involving burning or setting fire from serving in fire departments; requires disclosure of pending felony charges for these crimes.

• Establishes that other criminal convictions (counterfeiting, homicide, sexual offenses, assault, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, fraud, drug possession/sale, and alcohol-related offenses) constitute just cause for denial or dismissal but allows consideration of mitigating factors including crime severity, date, applicant's age, circumstances, rehabilitation, and nexus to job duties.

• Allows fire departments and emergency medical services to extend conditional job offers pending completion of criminal history checks or final disposition of pending felony charges.

• Applies to all applications submitted on or after the bill's enactment and requires county fire marshals and city fire chiefs to conduct criminal history checks on applicants.