Bill in Congress - HR 1750

3-31-2009 National:

`Tracking Registered And Convicted Known (TRACK) Sex Offenders Act'

Sponsor: Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6]
Introduced 3/26/2009 Bill HR 1750


The intent of the bill is: To provide for the use of information in the National Directory of New Hires in enforcing sex offender registration laws.

Here is the section in question:

SEC. 2. USE OF INFORMATION IN THE NATIONAL DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES IN ENFORCING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION LAWS.

Section 453(j) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(12) INFORMATION COMPARISONS AND DISCLOSURE TO ASSIST IN ENFORCING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION LAWS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- If, for purposes of enforcing a Federal or State law requiring the registration of sex offenders, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) transmits to the Secretary the names and social security account numbers of individuals, the Secretary shall disclose to the FBI information on the individuals and their employers maintained in the National Directory of New Hires, subject to this paragraph, and the FBI is authorized to disclose this information to state or local law enforcement agencies for the same purposes.

`(B) CONDITION ON DISCLOSURE BY THE SECRETARY- The Secretary shall make a disclosure under subparagraph (A) only to the extent that the Secretary determines that the disclosure would not interfere with the effective operation of the program under this part.

`(C) USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS-

`(i) IN GENERAL- The FBI may not use or disclose information provided under this paragraph except for the purposes described in subparagraph (A).

`(ii) INFORMATION SECURITY- The FBI shall have in effect data security and control policies that the Secretary finds adequate to ensure the security of information obtained under this paragraph and to ensure that access to the information is restricted to authorized persons for purposes of authorized uses and disclosures.

`(iii) PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF INFORMATION- An officer or employee of the FBI who fails to comply with this subparagraph shall be subject to the sanctions under subsection (l)(2).

...........

In essence this is a cross-matching program between the National Sex Offender Registry and the Labor Department's files of "New Hires." That file is created by employers nationwide when someone is hired, all sorts of other things are created from this "new hire" file such as social security records of where a person worked and amounts paid in, etc. etc. etc. (Note: This type of cross-matching is also done for child support orders nationwide, and there may be other program as well.)

To begin discussion I must assume something, that, the names and social security numbers provided by the FBI WILL BE every single person in the National Sex Offender registry. I strongly doubt the FBI will rely on RSOs, who do report new jobs, to send only those persons to see if they are telling the truth.

Remember, it first says, "for purposes of enforcing a Federal or State law requiring the registration of sex offenders." Accordingly, their intent is to look for ANY RSOs who has gotten a new job since the last cross-match.

Now, the FBI will send the list of those folks WHO MATCH back to the states, and the states will then determine if ALL those RSOs have properly reported that they have a new job and within registration law's required time limits. Registration laws require reporting of employment information and such has time limits, so if the information does not match it will likely result in a failure to register criminal charge.

My concerns are twofold, first, that if the information does not cross-match TO THE LETTER, a FTR charge will result, and likely loss of that new job. Second, that when this happens it sets a bad taste in the mouth of employers and they are less likely to even consider the next RSO that applies for a job.

Where stable employment is concerned (a factor that is known to reduce recidivism) there needs to be some discretion built into the system for human errors on the part of the RSO or the State. I doubt there will be but that is something to push lawmakers for.

Federal Privacy laws:

552a. Records maintained on individuals
(b) Conditions of Disclosure.— No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record would be—

......

Now something major is missing, federal law mandates that a person be told how their information (here their name and SS#) will be used when they provide it to the State or Federal agency (there are exceptons but none fit here). I fail to see one word about notifying ALL RSOs that their information MAY BE used in this manner. I also see nothing notifying new hires either. So what we have here is a case of "Do as I say, not as I do" in other words the government can break the law, but RSOs may not make mistakes or they will go to prison for years.


I would OPPOSE this bill without the changes I suggested above. Contact lawmaker, with your views, by clicking on his/her name above, as well as your own folks in Congress.

Thanks,
eAdvocate

Note: To see all bills concerning sex offenders or their familes currently in Congress simply click here. At the present time I do not review sex offender bills concerning Immigration or Appropriations, they get very involved and are time consuming.

Note: Full bill text WILL NOT be included in this blog because as time goes on bills are amended by Congressional Committees and also on the floor of either house, and it is too easy to confuse folks who may not realize that. Further, links to the bill in Congress will be provided so folks can always see the latest version of the bill.