----------------------------------------------------------------------------


10  AN ACT concerning attorneys; relating to admission to practice law;
11    requirements; fingerprints and criminal history.
12
13  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14    Section 1.  (a) The supreme court may require all applicants for reg-
15  ular admission to practice law in this state to be fingerprinted. [with the
16  costs to be borne by the applicant.] The fingerprints shall be used to
17  identify the applicant and to determine whether the applicant has a record
18  of criminal arrests and convictions in this state or other jurisdictions. The
19  supreme court and the state board of law examiners are authorized to
20  submit the fingerprints to the Kansas bureau of investigation and to the
21  federal bureau of investigation for a state and national criminal history
22  record check. The state board of law examiners and the supreme court
23  may use the information obtained from fingerprinting and the criminal
24  history only for purposes of identification of any applicant and in the
25  official determination of character and fitness of the applicant for regular
26  admission to practice law in this state.
27    (b)  Local and state law enforcement officers and agencies shall assist
28  the supreme court in the taking and processing of fingerprints of appli-
29  cants seeking admission to practice law in this state and shall release all
30  records of an applicant's arrests and convictions to the supreme court and
31  the state board of law examiners.
32    Sec. 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
33  publication in the statute book.