# Plain Language Summary: SHARE Act

This bill makes it easier for states to share criminal background information when people apply for professional licenses across state lines. Right now, when someone wants to practice a profession like nursing, counseling, or another licensed occupation in multiple states, each state has to do its own background check. This bill allows the FBI to provide criminal history records directly to state licensing boards so they can verify an applicant's background more efficiently, especially when states are part of an interstate agreement that requires these checks.

The key protection in this bill is that states can only use the criminal background information for one purpose: deciding whether to grant someone a license or permission to practice in their state. States cannot share the actual details of someone's criminal history with other states, with the multi-state commission that oversees these agreements, or with the public. However, states can tell the interstate commission whether they completed the background check and whether it came back clear or not—basically just a yes or no answer about whether the person passed.

For most people, this bill won't have a direct impact on their daily lives. But if you're a professional who holds or wants to hold licenses in multiple states—like a nurse, therapist, teacher, or other regulated professional—this could speed up the process of getting licensed in a new state. The bill aims to make it simpler for professionals to work across state lines while still maintaining privacy protections around criminal history information. It's designed to help with workforce mobility without creating a national database of criminal records that anyone can access.

States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment Act

Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1]

States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment Act or the SHARE Act This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make available criminal history record information to a state occupational or professional licensing authority for background checks of individuals seeking a license under an interstate compact. A state licensing authority may not share criminal history record information with the compact's commission, any other state entity or licensing authority, or the public, but may inform the compact's commission of completion of a background check.