SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the general laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 172L the following new section:-

Section 172O. (a) Notwithstanding section 172 or any other general or special law to the contrary, operators of a riding school or a stable where horses are kept that have been licensed pursuant to section 2b of chapter 128 shall obtain all available criminal offender record information as found in the court activity record information from the department of criminal justice information services prior to accepting any person as an employee, volunteer, vendor or contractor who as part of their duties work directly with children under 18, provided that any such vendor or contractor is contracted to work on the premises of such riding school or stable for a total of 5 or more days annually, and in order to further the protection of children, the department of agricultural resources shall obtain all available criminal offender record information as found in the court activity record information for the purposes of evaluating all riding school or stable operators applying for licensure pursuant to said section 2b of said chapter 128. Any entity or organization obtaining information under this section shall not disseminate such information for any purpose other than to further the protection of children.

SECTION 2. Section 2A of Chapter 128 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.