HARRISBURG - Until last summer, it never occurred to state Rep. Matthew Baker that Pennsylvania might need a law to force colleges and universities to scrutinize the criminal histories of prospective faculty members.

That was when Penn State University administrators learned that Paul Eric Krueger, an assistant education professor, was on parole for a triple murder he committed in Texas nearly 40 years ago. Krueger was preparing to move to a California university last summer, but his job offer was rescinded and he resigned from Penn State.

Penn State has since begun conducting criminal background checks on all applicants to whom they make job offers, including finalists for faculty vacancies, and Baker believes such inquiries should occur statewide. He introduced a bill several weeks ago that would require applicants to all colleges and universities in Pennsylvania to provide criminal history reports from both state and federal law enforcement agencies.

"It just seems to make common sense to me, if we require them for teachers in our 501 school districts," said Baker, R-Tioga.

State law requires public school teachers and other school employees who have direct contact with children to obtain state police background checks, and an additional federal background check if they have lived in Pennsylvania for less than two years.

Baker's bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee, and he is discussing possible revisions with university officials across the state. If it becomes law, Pennsylvania would become the first state in the country with such a mandate, said Sheldon Steinbach, an attorney for the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C.

"It would be a breakthrough piece of legislation," Steinbach said.

Baker, who is also a member of the House Appropriations Committee, raised the topic at a recent budget hearing on Penn State's funding. He asked university president Graham Spanier whether Krueger would have been hired if officials had known about his criminal record.

"This was an exemplary faculty member at the university, and I don't know exactly how it would have turned out," Spanier said. "Those are very difficult calls to make when someone has served their time and been rehabilitated."

Penn State previously asked only applicants for nonacademic positions about their criminal histories, a common practice in higher education, university spokesman Tysen Kendig said.

Under the new policy, which took effect in January, officials would decide on a case-by-case basis how to react to any information concerning criminal convictions. They would consider the seriousness of the crime, when it occurred and whether the applicant has demonstrated rehabilitation, Kendig said.

The 14 state-owned universities that comprise the State System of Higher Education require background checks of university executives, security personnel and any employees that have contact with children, such as faculty members who supervise student teachers, spokesman Tom Gluck said.

The prospect of extending criminal checks to faculty raises several questions, such as how much they will cost, when they would have to be conducted during the hiring process, and how schools should handle the information they glean, he added.

"If a background check indicated a criminal background, what is the Legislature going to mandate, and what is left to the discretion of the university?" Gluck said.

There also are concerns about whether the background checks would excessively prolong the application process, potentially causing Pennsylvania schools to lose out to others that do not require them, said Kevin Kodish, spokesman for the state system's 5,500-member faculty union.

"I don't know that anyone can argue with the theory of the bill; we want good citizens teaching our kids," he said.