To Amend The Law Concerning Polygraph Examiners And Voice Stress Analysis Examiners; And To Amend The Law Concerning Private Investigators And Private Security Agencies.
HB1692 amends Arkansas licensing and disciplinary rules for polygraph examiners, intern polygraph examiners, voice stress analysis examiners, private investigators, private security agencies, and certain security personnel. The bill updates criminal-background and character-based disqualification standards, repeatedly adding or clarifying references to felonies, Class A misdemeanors, crimes involving violence, and crimes involving moral turpitude. It also expands disclosure requirements for applicants and licensees, including arrests, indictments, pending charges, and certain sealed or expunged offenses in some contexts.
For private security and school security commissions, the bill revises how commissions are issued and disciplined. It authorizes the Director of the Division of Arkansas State Police to issue commissions as photo or electronic identification cards, removes a prior notice-to-local-law-enforcement objection process, and broadens the grounds on which a commission may be denied, suspended, or revoked, including firearm-related offenses and offenses that disqualify a person from legally possessing a firearm. The bill also makes a technical change to special-revenue accounting so fees and fines collected under the private security licensing laws continue to be deposited as special revenues.
HB1692 changes multiple sections of Arkansas Code Titles 17 and 19 governing licensure, commissions, and discipline for polygraph examiners, voice stress analysis examiners, private investigators, private security officers, commissioned security officers, and commissioned school security officers. It strengthens and standardizes criminal-history screening and disciplinary authority, removes one local-notification objection procedure, and updates commission identification requirements. It also amends the special-revenue statute to continue directing related application, licensing, and fine revenues into the state’s special revenue framework.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported. It passed the House 96-0 and the Senate 23-5, indicating strong overall approval with some dissent in the Senate. The lack of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the voting record suggests the measure was generally viewed as a routine regulatory update rather than a highly controversial policy change.
The main points of potential contention are the expanded criminal-disqualification and disclosure provisions, especially the inclusion of moral turpitude, sealed or expunged offenses in some contexts, and firearm-related disqualifiers. Another notable change is the repeal of the requirement that local sheriffs or police chiefs be notified and allowed to object to certain security commissions, which may reduce local input in the licensing process. Any opposition likely centered on these broader background-check and disciplinary powers rather than on the bill’s technical licensing updates.