HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Proposed state legislation would require labor contracts after Oct. 1, 2016, to allow universities and colleges to conduct background checks when promoting faculty members.

The Journal Inquirer reports the legislature's Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee proposed the measure because members of the Board of Regents for Higher Education said they were unaware of a Central Connecticut State University faculty member's criminal record when promoting him.

Opponents say the bill is unnecessary, unfair to professors and potentially costly. And they say the state's colleges and universities already consider an employee's qualifications when deciding on a promotion and have disciplinary procedures in place.

Diomedes Tsitouras, an official of the American Association of University Professors, said inserting requirements in future contracts takes away the unions' right to negotiate issues of promotion and discipline.