4-10-2012 Illinois:
Illinois Voices for Reform, Inc. joins other organizations in opposing Senate Bill 3359, a bill designed to bring Illinois into compliance with the Federal Adam Walsh Act. Opponents argue costs far outweigh the benefits.
After an impassioned speech by State Senator William Haine (D), the Illinois Senate last week voted to advance Senate Bill 3359. The bill attempts to bring Illinois into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act passed by congress in 2006 and would make Illinois one of only 16 states opting to comply with the Act. Senator Kwame Raoul (D) argued against the bill, stating that the costs of implementing the bill far outweigh the benefits, and arguing that Illinois laws are already among the toughest in the nation. He told the Senate, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
In response, Senator Haine, the bill’s sponsor, drew on emotions by evoking the memory of Adam Walsh, the young boy after whom the bill was named. Haine told the Senate that this bill was needed to protect children like Adam Walsh. According to an ABC News report in 2008 (http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6471791&page=1#.T4Mal_tSTY8), Walsh’s murderer, Ottis Toole, was not a convicted sex offender and his death was never linked to any sexual offense. Despite this, Haine’s speech nonetheless convinced Senators to vote in favor of the bill, which passed 37-11.
Since its passage in 2006, the Adam Walsh Act has come under fire as an unfunded mandate that requires states to expend unprecedented resources in order to meet the stringent requirements set forth by the federal government. Sponsors of SB3359 argued that failure to comply would result in a 10% reduction in states’ Byrne Grant allotment, which translates into a potential loss of about $1.5 million annually for Illinois. At the same time, the Justice Policy Institute estimated that the initial cost for Illinois to comply with the Adam Walsh Act would soar to over $20 million. The Illinois Department of Corrections has stated that the costs of compliance would be “substantial as more sex offender registration violations occur.”
The controversy surrounding the Adam Walsh Act has prompted a number of states to defy the federal government, opting to accept the reduction in the Byrne Grant money instead of spending many times that amount in order to comply. The State of New York, however, publically refused to comply with the Adam Walsh Act, yet was able to retain its full Byrne Grant allotment simply by highlighting its current sex offender legislation. New York joined several other states, including Texas and California, in rejecting the federal government’s mandate.
The Illinois House must now consider the difficulty faced by those states that have attempted to enact their own version of SB3359. The state of Ohio recently announced that it spent millions of dollars in its attempt to become compliant with the Adam Walsh Act, but also spent many millions more defending over 7,000 lawsuits filed against the legislation. Last year, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio law went far beyond the intent of the original sex offender registration laws and clearly crossed the line between community safety and punishment. The Court ruled that the Ohio law was unconstitutional and could not be applied retroactively.
While every politician fears being perceived as “soft on crime,” members of the Illinois House will need to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of SB3359, considering over a decade worth of research that clearly demonstrates the ineffectiveness of restrictive sex offender legislation. The House must decide if it wants to spend millions of dollars to promote legislation that will essentially accomplish nothing more than bringing Illinois into compliance with a federal mandate that has already been soundly rejected by other states, many of which have a reputation for being “tough on crime.”
About Illinois Voices
Illinois Voices for Reform, Inc. is a not for profit organization dedicated to the belief that education and empirical research should guide legislative efforts to protect society and reduce sexual assaults. More information about Illinois Voices can be found by visiting their website at http://www.ilvoices.com or by sending an email to info (at) ilvoices (dot) com ..Source.. by Tonia Maloney
April 10, 2012
Illinois Senate Approves $20,000,000 Expansion of Sex Offender Registry
December 15, 2011
Pennsylvania will soon be included on national sex offender registry
12-15-2011 Pennsylvania:
Legislation intended to improve the state's efforts to track and prosecute sex offenders and include Pennsylvania in a national sex offender registry received final approval in the Senate and is now headed to the Governor for his signature, according to Senator Jane Orie, the bill's sponsor.
Orie said the bill brings the Commonwealth in compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Pennsylvania will become part of coordinated and comprehensive national sex offender registry and will be required to meet strict standards for posting offender information on a centralized Internet data base. The Act was named for Adam Walsh who was abducted from a Florida shopping mall and later found murdered.
Senate Bill 1183 also closes loopholes in Megan's Law regarding homeless offenders and out-of-state offenders to ensure that they register under Megan's Law and more carefully track their whereabouts.
"This legislation will help us join other states in a national effort to monitor offenders, better enforce our child protection laws and, most importantly, keep children safe," Orie said. "Rather than having a patchwork of state laws and reporting requirements, we will be sharing information and resources that could help to save lives and ensure that predators are apprehended and prosecuted." ..For the remainder of this article.. by Information provided by Senate Republican Communications Office:
July 22, 2011
Pennsylvania doesn't expect Megan's Law fine
7-22-2011 Pennsylvania:
Pennsylvania won't meet a July deadline to modify its sex offender laws, but state officials are confident they will be exempted from a fine.
The federal government is threatening to withhold 10 percent of some Department of Justice (DOJ) grants for states that miss the July 27 deadline to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
That could amount to almost $2 million for Pennsylvania based on the average allocated to the state in recent years.
So far, Pennsylvania is among 40 states that haven't won final approval of sex-offender laws from the federal office that supervises the federal program.
States must reapply to get the withheld money returned to implement sex offender law changes, but there is no guarantee that they will get the money back.
Gov. Tom Corbett's chief spokesman Kevin Harley said the state "substantially complies" with the act and is formally asking the DOJ to waive the potential fine.
"We haven't received an official submission from Pennsylvania. Until we do and have issued a decision to the state, we cannot comment or speculate on any penalty or compliance issues.," said Scott G. Matson, a senior policy advisor for the federal oversight office.
Harley said state officials are confident the exemption will be granted because the state has taken numerous steps, including updating the state police sexual offender's web site.
Two offender-reporting loopholes have been closed by Pennsylvania lawmakers.
In addition, an overall corrective bill is in the Senate Judiciary committee awaiting action when the General Assembly is back in session in September, Harley said.
SB1130 is sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, and cosponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart R. Greenleaf, R-Bucks, Montgomery, and many others.
The measure strengthens reporting requirements for sexual offenders and better protects the welfare of victims, Orie said.
The bill also calls for, in some cases, using the names of juvenile sex offenders on the Megan's Law web site. Juvenile offenders wouldn't be designated as lifetime offenders unless they were convicted as adults, she said.
"I don't anticipate losing the federal money," she said.
State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said the bill has been revised by Senate and House staffers as well as the governor's staff.
"It's my understanding that the administration is working to do whatever it can to apply for an exemption" to the fine, Costa said.
"We're making sure it meets the Justice Department criteria," said Steve Miskin, an aide for House Speaker Samuel Smith, a Republican who represents Jefferson County and parts of Armstrong and Indiana counties.
Miskin said legislative leaders and the Corbett administration are "keen to get this done." ..Source.. by Chuck Biedka, VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
June 6, 2011
Montana Tribes must track sex offenders by end of July
6-6-2011 Montana:
The U.S. Marshals Service is working with Montana's tribes to ensure they meet a quickly-approaching July 26 federal deadline to establish their own sex offender tracking and registration programs.
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act requires convicted sex offenders to register where they live, work and attend school at least once a year - or more depending on where they place within a three-tiered threat system - and within three days of moving across state or tribal lines.
Tribal authorities on Montana's reservations were given the choice of setting up their own registries or adopting those already in place within the state, and they chose to implement their own.
The Marshals Service has been helping the reservations get set up since 2007 with varying results and officials said they're on hand to help until the deadline.
"We're going to support them as best we can," said Marshal Darrell Bell, who has driven more than 8,000 miles in his pickup since being sworn in this January. "We've done a lot of traveling, but it's all been very positive and we've gone beyond, 'Hey, we're just coming here to arrest one of your tribal members.'"
The basic needs to set up a sex offender registry include hiring a compliance officer to check on and track registered offenders and a computer system for data entry.
The Fort Peck and Northern Cheyenne reservations have already set up their programs with the help of $59,022 and $91,454 federal grants, respectively, received in 2008.
Chief Deputy Marshal Rod Ostermiller said the Fort Peck program is a good example of how it can work because tribal authorities work closely with county, state and federal agencies.
The Crow Reservation near Billings is in the process of setting its system up while the Rocky Boy and Fort Belknap reservations have told marshals they'll have theirs ready for the deadline.
One reservation, the Blackfeet in northwestern Montana, has already said it will hand authority over to the Glacier County Sheriff's Office.
Ostermiller said a deputy has been assigned to each reservation to help facilitate the process and it's something his office is taking seriously.
There are 2,024 registered sex offenders in the state and 1,099 living in counties that contain at least a small portion of a reservation.
It should be noted, however, that 641 of those offenders live in Yellowstone and Missoula counties, which contain small parts of the Crow and Flathead reservations as well as Billings and Missoula, the state's two most populous cities.
Bell said that, in the past, some offenders on the run have been able to hide out on reservations because of the conflicting jurisdictions but that the Adam Walsh Act has given tribes and authorities the tools to work together.
"One of the biggest things is that they have the resources available to help, so we're trying to build a better relationship between our agency and theirs," Bell said.
He added that a strong victim advocate program also goes hand in hand with the registry because the help give victims a sense of security.
The Marshals Service will help if somebody goes on the run.
"If one person's out of compliance, it's one too many," Bell said. "It's frightening."
Much of the money over the last few years for the programs has come from federal grants. While those funds can be tough to come by due to money-saving measures at the federal level, officials say it's an important program.
"We feel that the task of basically monitoring registered sex offenders is too important to put a price tag on," Ostermiller said. ..Source.. by ZACH BENOIT
June 3, 2011
Bill to tighten Ala. sex offender registration heads to Bentley
Homelessness registration weekly, and of course extra fess for that. This knowing where registrants SLEEP for a few hours of the day/night makes no sense whatsoever. Politicians and police call this monitoring, but in reality, they see them for a few minutes when they register in person, so how can this be monitoring? This is but a cruel joke perpetrated by cruel minded politicians who have no proof that this reduces sex offenses or recidivism whatsoever.6-3-2011 Alabama:
The bill would require weekly registration from homeless offenders.
The Alabama Senate unanimously passed measures to tighten the state's existing sex offender registration law Thursday. The bill is now headed to Governor Robert Bentley's desk for approval.
The new requirements would prohibit a sex offender who abused a sibling from living under the same roof as the person they abused. Homeless offenders would have to register weekly with law enforcement until they secure a permanent address. All offenders would have to supply extra information to be made public, under the proposed law.
But the measure that Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones says is long overdue: the $250 offender registration payment.
"Every time an individual moves, we have to notify the area where they're moving, and there's an expense involved each time."
Federal law mandates the sheriff's office track sex offenders, an endeavor that involves software and fees.
"The public wants to know, and they need to know in regard to these individuals in their neighborhoods, but it can be an expensive proposition at some point," Jones said. ..Source.. by Alison Flowers
May 25, 2011
House Passes Bill to Strengthen Sex Offender Laws
5-25-2011 Alabama:
Members of the Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday voted to strengthen the state’s sex offender laws, passing a bill sponsored by Rep. Blaine Galliher (R-Rainbow City) that would close loopholes in current law and require more frequent and thorough registration of sex offenders in Alabama.
House Bill 378, known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, would strengthen current law by requiring sex offenders to give local law enforcement more information when registering, including vehicle information, telephone numbers, Internet identifiers, email addresses, palm prints, travel documents and professional licensing information. Sex offenders would also have to register four times a year instead of the current requirement of two registrations per year.
Representative Galliher said updating Alabama’s sex offender laws will create better awareness of what sex offenders reside in the community, enabling the public to better protect themselves.
“Registration and notification laws protect the community and serve to deter sex offenders from future crimes,” Representative Galliher said. “Requiring more frequent and thorough registration will maintain better contact between sex offenders and law enforcement, providing police and sheriff’s offices with the tools they need to identify, monitor and track sex offenders. We’re looking out for victims, and giving our communities the resources they need in the law to keep families safe.”
The bill also closes a loophole that makes it difficult to enforce registration and notification requirements for homeless sex offenders by mandating that, until they obtain a permanent residence, homeless sex offenders must register with local law enforcement once a week. Another provision in the bill makes it a felony for a sex offender to contact or harass his or her victim.
House Bill 378 also brings Alabama up to date with federal sex offender law by ensuring that a comprehensive list of sex offenses is applicable to registration and notification requirements.
A similar bill has passed the Senate. Representative Galliher said he would work with the Senate Sponsor, Senator Cam Ward to combine the bills and ensure the strongest possible law ultimately passes. ..Source.. by Morgan Hightower
May 23, 2011
Tiered system for sex offenders remains elusive for lawmakers
5-23-2011 Maine:
AUGUSTA, Maine — Lawmakers on Friday deferred action once again on legislation that would adopt a tiered classification system for registered sex offenders even though the inaction could have legal and financial implications.
LD 1514, submitted by Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, would update Maine’s Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act, which was first passed in 1999, by creating three tiers of offenders and a risk assessment tool to classify offenders into those tiers.
Members of the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee were generally supportive of Haskell’s bill during a work session Friday, but they ultimately decided to push any decision to the next legislative session.
“I certainly would like to see us take a direction,” Haskell said during the session. “We’ve been plowing the same ground now for all this time.”
After the vote, Haskell said she wasn’t necessarily frustrated with the result.
“The bill was submitted late and it was a comprehensive bill,” she said. “There are a lot of freshman legislators who didn’t have time to get up to speed.”
Still, there may be increasing pressure to make changes soon. Maine is one of dozens of states that are still trying to meet new requirements of the federal Adam Walsh Act. If Maine does not meet those requirements by late July, it could lose Department of Justice funding.
Lawmakers in several Legislatures dating back to 2006 have discussed implementing a tiered system for sex offenders, similar to what Massachusetts and other states have done, but actual changes have been elusive.
Haskell’s bill would separate offenders into 10-year registrants, 25-year registrants and lifetime registrants and would further establish a risk assessment process to determine the threat level an offender poses to society.
The biggest concerns over LD 1514 were related to risk assessment. Some critics are worried about the cost of implementing such a program. Others are not convinced risk assessment is reliable or consistent.
Legislators voted to carry over LD 1514 to the next legislative session, but they also committed to holding a workshop over the summer to address any lingering concerns.
Although they delayed action on Haskell’s bill, the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee did vote to send forward an amended version of LD 1025, a bill that also proposes changes to the sex offender registry. Sponsored by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, that bill would require Maine’s registry to show whether someone would be listed for 10 years or for life. Currently, there is no way to differentiate between low-risk offenders and high-risk predators.
Diamond said even making that minor change would do more than any other Legislature in recent years has done to address inequities in Maine’s sex offender laws.
The committee also approved on Friday LD 1317, sponsored by Rep. Gary Plummer, R-Windham, which prohibits information collected by the State Bureau of Identification from being disseminated to the public except as part of the state-run registry.
Many private registries have been created by nongovernmental groups, but the information is not updated regularly and often contains incomplete and sometimes inaccurate data, according to Matthew Ruel, director of the State Bureau of Identification, which manages the registry.
That bill is likely to be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee because it has implications on Maine’s Freedom of Access laws.
The Maine Department of Public Safety, meanwhile, is seeking lawmakers’ assistance in discouraging private sex offender registries from popping up on the Web with Maine data.
Ruel said the state could further discourage private registries by creating mapping capabilities on Maine’s site, but legislators were not overly supportive of that idea.
“I’m going to be careful about putting any more information out on that registry,” said Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick. ..Source.. by Eric Russell, BDN Staff
May 10, 2011
House advances sex offender law
UPDATE: See 89 New Laws Take Effect Friday 6-29-2011 SORNA way down list "SB 37 (House Sub.) makes several changes to the Kansas Offender Registration Act (the Act) to bring Kansas into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)."5-10-2011 Kansas:
A bill advanced by the Kansas House would bring the state into compliance with national reporting regulations for sex offenders.
The House on Thursday passed a Senate bill that sets national standards for registering and publicizing the names, addresses and workplaces of those who commit crimes against children.
Currently, offenders in Kansas have 10 days to report to law enforcement when they move, change jobs or go to a new school. The bill shortens that to three days.
Complying with federal standards will make Kansas eligible for $300,000 in federal funding to improve law enforcement access to offender databases. ..Source.. by cjonline.com
April 13, 2011
Bill would allow state to list low-level sex offenders online
A State Registry that is the way it is supposed to be, and is about to be destroyed by the Adam Walsh Act.4-13-2011 Oregon:
PORTLAND, Ore. – In almost every state you can search the Internet for sex offenders in your neighborhood but in Oregon you can only search for about 700 of the most serious.
That could change if a Senate bill becomes law. Then information on 14,000 to 15,000 sex offenders could be available instantly online.
Currently, if you want information on a sex offender convicted of a minor sex crime, you have to request it, and it takes a week to get a list.
“Under Oregon law we can post persons who are designated predatory, who present the highest risk of reoffending and require the widest range of community notification,” said Vi Beaty, who manages Oregon’s online sex offender registry.
Right now users of the state’s website can only get information on predatory sex offenders living in their neighborhood.
Once on the site they can search by name, city or zip code. The site displays pictures of the offenders and their method of offending, and it lists their height, weight, age and other physical descriptors like tattoos.
If Senate Bill 67 passes, state police would be able to make the same information available online for lower-level offenders, as well.
That would include people convicted of things like sexual misconduct, contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and even public indecency.
It will be instant access to information that some may see as trivial but others have been pushing to have for years “in order to provide a tool for parents to better supervise and provide safety for their children,” Beaty said.
Oregon has been slow to add this information to the Web. Almost every other state, including Washington, already lists information of lower-level sex offenders online.
The bill has passed the Senate unanimously and now goes to the House. ..Source.. by Margy Lynch KATU News and KATU.com Staff
April 12, 2011
Michigan governor to sign sex offender registry bills affecting 'Romeo and Juliet' cases
On the surface this bill seems to be great for these cases, but hidden within the legislation is severe harm to others. Effectively, while partially good, is really a wolf in sheeps' clothing.4-12-2011 Michigan:
LANSING, Mich. — Many teenagers cited for having consensual sex with minors no longer would be listed on Michigan's sex offender registry under legislation headed to Gov. Rick Snyder.
The governor was expected to sign the sex offender registry bills Tuesday morning.
Under the measures, youthful offenders wouldn't be listed for having consensual sex with partners who were between the ages of 13 and 16, provided the offender was not more than four years older than the victim.
The legislation calls for a petition process to let those young offenders currently on the registry be taken off if a court determines the sex was consensual.
The bills also add the most dangerous sex offenders to the registry for life and require them to report to the police every three months. ..Source.. by KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
April 10, 2011
Tennessee bill would shield juvenile sex offenders registry from public
4-10-2011 Tennessee:
In a controversy highlighted by several local cases, Tennessee lawmakers and officials across the nation are debating how to manage minors who commit rape and other violent sex crimes.
This week a Shelby County judge will decide what to do with Memphis' youngest known rapists, ages 7 and 9, who admitted luring a 2-year-old neighbor from her yard in August.
A previous Juvenile Court judge removed the boys from their families over concerns about their home environments. The case is being appealed Wednesday before a new judge.
A 15-year-old is awaiting trial in adult court on charges of raping and beating a 23-month-old girl last summer in Cordova.
The boys were among about 100 juveniles accused of violent sex crimes last year, said Larry Scroggs, the court's chief administrative officer.
"It's very disturbing," he said. "It reflects the environment and what they're exposed to."
Last week, a 14-year-old was charged with sexually assaulting a 2-year-old relative.
Many juvenile offenders first victimize siblings or cousins and later progress to attacking strangers, schoolmates, neighbors or dates, Scroggs said.
For the past few years, state lawmakers have fought over whether residents should have access to the names of these minors.
The debate centers on how to balance the public's right to know -- and protect children from sexual predators -- to a juvenile offender's right to a second chance.
A 2006 federal mandate initially required states to create a juvenile sex offender registry accessible to the public.
Yet, five years later, Tennessee and 45 other states have yet to comply, said Linda M. Baldwin, director of the federal Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART).
Due to the sluggish response, federal officials made the significant concession this year of allowing the registries to be private.
And SMART officials, who are part of the U.S. Department of Justice, extended the deadline until July 27. After that, states not in compliance could lose millions of dollars in federal Byrne grants, dispersed to local law enforcement agencies.
State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, is sponsoring a bill he feels will pass this year due to some major tweaks. He is working on the most significant change -- making the registry private.
That means, unlike the adult registry, the list would be accessible only to police, prosecutors, judges and court officials. Since offenders would have to update their address anytime they moved, it helps police track their movements.
Lawmakers initially debated a public registry, but critics quashed the measure.
Opponents said juveniles and their families would be ostracized at school, church, work and their neighborhoods. Being labeled a "sex offender" could hinder the minor's college and job prospects, said Linda O'Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.
"For a young person going on a registry, they feel like their lives are ruined," said O'Neal, who lobbied to defeat bills for a public registry.
"For most of them it's not a calculated decision to do this. It happens."
The state's proposed registry would only encompass those age 14 or older who commit or attempt the following violent sex crimes: rape or aggravated rape; rape or aggravated rape of a child, if the victim is at least four years younger; or aggravated sex battery.
Judges would have discretion to keep juveniles off the registry.
The TBI has maintained a similar registry for adult offenders since 1995.
There are currently about 14,000 on the list, including more than 2,000 sex offenders in Shelby County.
Some minors, guilty of the most egregious cases, are already on the registry after they were sent to adult court and convicted as adults. Their names can be viewed by the public.
But most juvenile sex offenders are shielded from public scrutiny.
That's because the state's juvenile code is designed around treatment, not punishment, with a mission to "remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior and to substitute, therefore, a program of treatment, training and rehabilitation."
Similarly, national juvenile criminal records have long been considered sacrosanct, accessible only to prosecutors, judges, police and others in the criminal justice system.
But one teen, herself a victim of a juvenile sex offender, helped shatter that shield of silence.
Amie Zyla was age 17 in 2006 when she convinced lawmakers in her home state of Wisconsin to pass "Amie's Law," allowing police to notify neighbors if a potentially dangerous juvenile sex offender lives nearby.
Zyla, of Waukesha, Wis., was 8 when she was abused by a 14-year-old, who later went to prison for preying on boys. Zyla thought the boys could have been protected if the community had known of her abuse, said Brad Schimel, Waukesha County district attorney, who prosecuted Zyla's abuser.
Wisconsin already had a juvenile registry, but it initially was kept private.
Zyla's story motivated federal lawmakers to pass the federal mandate.
A key reason to create private registries is that juvenile sex offenders are much more amenable to treatment, compared to adults, said clinical psychologist Sidney Ornduff, who evaluates the Memphis minors.
"Children are not simply little adults," she said. "They're still developing."
With the proper mental health counseling and guidance, most minors are less likely to repeat their inappropriate sexual behavior, whether it's as minor as flashing someone or as serious as rape, said Ornduff, director of Juvenile Court's Clinical Services.
Some studies show the national recidivism rate for adolescent sex offenders who receive treatment as low as 5 to 14 percent, according to the National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth.
Of 162 Memphis minors accused of sex crimes in 2009, only five -- or 3 percent -- have since committed another sex crime, according to a
Juvenile Court study completed last month.
Tennessee lawmakers will take another vote on the proposed private registry this spring as a last attempt to meet the federal deadline. ..Source.. by Beth Warren
March 17, 2011
Editorial: Reform state's sex offender registry to better fit the crimes
A wolf in sheep's clothing; the Adam Walsh Act. How quickly the public falls for the carrot and misses the immense harm of the act; an act to raise welfare recipients and Lord knows what else will rear its ugly head. A generation of harm will come from this law.3-17-2011 Michigan:
Politics remains the art of the possible. So sometimes, a small step forward beats standing in place, especially with an issue as onerous as the online Michigan Sex Offender Registry.
Bills sponsored by state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, would at least undo one of the most egregious elements of the registry: the so-called Romeo and Juliet cases involving consenting teens. Legislators should approve them.
The bills, approved by the state Senate last week, would enable teens convicted of having sexual contact with an underage partner to avoid the virtually lifelong housing and employment restrictions and public humiliation associated with being registered as a sex offender. Nothing in the legislation would make such liaisons legal; the age of consent would remain at 16.
The bills create a three-tiered list of offenses and would put state law in compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. Teenagers committing more serious sex crimes would remain on the registry, but those on the registry could also petition a judge to have their names removed.
"It's not perfect, but it's moving in a positive direction," said Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Legislature should not stop here. The debate on these bills is an opportunity to create a legislative committee that would examine the entire registry and its costs to law enforcement agencies, and then recommend further reforms. Such changes should include giving judges more discretion over who goes on the registry, classifying convicts by their risk of reoffending instead of simply by their offenses, and placing more offenders on a private law enforcement registry instead of the public one.
Maintaining the accuracy of the burgeoning list has been a problem for the Michigan State Police. In some cases, names have remained on the list long after their convictions for misdemeanor sexual offenses have been expunged by the courts. Offenders are typically required to register for 25 years or life under Michigan law.
Child predators, the registry's original target, account for only a small slice of registrants. Michigan's sweeping 15-year-old registry, containing roughly 40,000 names, is one of the nation's largest. It's far too broad and includes people who pose little risk of reoffending. Pennsylvania, with a population 25% larger than Michigan's, lists only 10,000 people on its Internet registry for sex offenders.
"We end up putting so many people on this registry who are not going to get jobs or find places to live," said Shelli Weisberg of the ACLU of Michigan. "It spirals them back into the criminal justice system."
Getting rid of Romeo and Juliet cases should jump-start a broader debate on how to refine and improve an overreaching requirement that no longer serves its intended purpose. ..Source.. by Detroit Free Press
‘Violent sexual predator’ label could stay in sex offender reforms
3-17-2011 Idaho:
After concerns from some lawmakers, an overhaul of Idaho’s sex offender system could include retaining the special violent sexual predator (VSP) designation that’s placed on people considered likely to commit another sex crime. An Idaho Senate panel Wednesday agreed to move forward with the overhaul plan and make amendments on the Senate floor.
The reform package would also expand Idaho’s Sex Offender Classification board from four to nine members while increasing its duty to manage offenders and add tighter reporting requirements for registered sex offenders. The changes are backed by the Idaho Criminal Justice Council, formed by Gov. Butch Otter.
The plan originally eliminated the VSP designation, because an Idaho Supreme Court case ruled that the state violated offenders’ due process rights in assigning the tag. The amended legislation would keep the tag on the 53 men already labeled VSPs, though there’s hasn’t been a way to add new VSPs in more than two years.
VSPs have to respond to mailing from state police once a month and register in-person every three months. Both those requirements are more stringent than for regular sex offenders. VSPs also can never have their name taken off the sex offender registry, while others can petition for removal after being released from prison for 10 yeas.
Steve Bywater, who serves on the ICJC and works in the attorney general’s office, said there were legitimate concerns about the proposed reforms, which led him to create the changes. “This was an appropriate way to handle it,” he said.
The sex offender board will be retitled the Sex Offender Management Board and have broader oversight in managing offenders, including assessing psychosexual tests of offenders. Under the original legislation, there would be eight members of the board, but another member, to be a someone from the general public, has been added. There had been concerns because the position of the victims’ advocate would be eliminated from the board.
The reshaped board would add an annual cost of $74,000 to the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) budget. Sen. Shirley McKague, R-Meridian, questioned the added expense during tight budget times. IDOC Director Brent Reinke pledged to lawmakers that he could find that money in his budget for the next year without asking lawmakers to pay for it.
Reinke said requesting more money for the prisons budget, which is already going up, would be a mistake. “We don’t dare, not in this environment,” Reinke told IdahoReporter.com.
The fixes to the reform plan would also ditch an effort to add the misdemeanor crime of disseminating material harmful to minors to the offenses that trigger a requirement to register as a sex offender. Bywater said that effort was spurred by a federal requirement, but said lawmakers could look at changing that crime in the future. ..Source..
March 15, 2011
Overhaul of sex offender laws raises some concerns
3-15-2011 Idaho:
The board that assesses Idaho’s most dangerous sex offenders is asking lawmakers not to drop the violent sexual predator (VSP) designation in a proposed overhaul of the state sex offender laws, though that tag has come under constitutional fire. Members of the Sex Offender Classification Board (SOCB) say they’re also concerned that victims of sexual crimes could have less input as the board potentially expands and broadens its scope.
“There are people out there that we just shake our heads and say ‘it’s not if this person is going to do something awful, it’s when,’” said Moscelene Sunderland, who serves on the SOCB.
Idaho currently has more than 50 men listed as VSPs, which means they committed serious sex crimes and are deemed by the board as posing a high risk to offend again. However, the SOCB has been unable to label someone as a VSP since a 2009 Idaho Supreme Court case ruled the process of deeming offenders as violent predators violated the state constitution.
The VSP designation allows law enforcement officials to keep closer tabs on select sex offenders, since they have to register in person and by mail more frequently.
Scrapping the VSP is part of the changes to state sex offender laws heard by a Senate committee Monday. The SOCB would also be renamed the Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) and the state’s reporting requirements for all sex offenders could increase, requiring offenders to tell authorities their car license plates and online accounts, including e-mail.
The changes are part of legislation backed by the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission (ICJC) and follow recommendations from the Center for Sex Offender Management, a national group that advises state and local governments on dealing with sex offenders. “If this measure is adopted, Idaho will be using the best science available to assess offender risk, hold offenders accountable and protect the public,” said Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke, who also chairs the ICJC.
Steve Bywater, who works in the attorney general’s office and helped put together the overhaul plan, said Idaho should get rid of the VSP label because of the Supreme Court case, and because he said there’s no evidence that the extra reporting requirements reduce the likelihood that sex offenders become repeat offenders or deter potential new offenders. He also said the men currently listed as VSPs would likely still be considered as aggravated offenders and would be unable to take their names off the state’s sex offender registry.
Thomas Hearn, a clinical social worker in north Idaho who serves on the SOCB with Sunderland, said told lawmakers Monday that Idaho should keep the VSP on the books, even if there’s not a constitutional way to add new members. “This is a small but very dangerous group of individuals who re-offend at a high rate,” Hearn said.
The proposal to shift the SOCB to the SOMB would double the board’s size from four to eight members while expanding its scope from classifying VSPs to managing state policy related to sex offenders. Hearn said the board generally supports those changes, though he’s concerned that the shift would get rid of Sunderland’s place on the board, as an advocate for victims of sex crimes.
Sunderland said she thinks it’s imperative for victims to have a voice in state policy, and that not including an advocate on the reformed board doesn’t make sense. “I think it marginalizes victims and is not very politically astute,” she said. She added that she’s likely to leave her post on the board, since she’s moving to another state.
All eight spots on the board are accounted for, by either law enforcement officials, lawyers, or professionals such as Hearn who treat sex offenders. Reinke said the board could easily have 12 or 25 members, but that an eight-member board would keep costs down and be more manageable. The larger board is expected to cost the state an added $74,000 a year, due mostly to additional operating expenses.
The changes to the state sex offender registry would require offenders to report an address change or a new job within two days. Much of the information required by offenders, including name, address, and crime committed, is part of a searchable statewide database run by the Idaho State Police.
The overhaul would also require people found guilty of disseminating material harmful to minors, which is a misdemeanor, to register as sex offenders. The crimes that trigger sex offender registration are generally felonies. A person could be guilty of the misdemeanor by giving a child a book, picture, or video that depicts nudity or sexual conduct and is harmful to minors.
Bywater said that change arose out of the ICJC’s discussions on sex offender laws, and that it applies to people who knowingly try to harm minors. During the hearing,Gabriel McCarthy, a criminal defense attorney from Boise, questioned why that crime was added to the sex offender list, saying that extending the huge burden of being a sex offender is disproportionate to the crime.
“Nobody will touch you,” McCarthy told lawmakers. “It affects where you can live, where you can work.”
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee is scheduled to act on the proposed legislation Wednesday afternoon. The committee chairman, Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, is sponsoring the plan and has called it a major piece of legislation. ..Source..
March 10, 2011
Senate OKs keeping some teens off sex registry
3-10-2011 Michigan:
Lansing— Underage lovers soon may no longer be in danger of showing up on the state's sex offenders list under a package of bills the Senate approved today.
The proposed change would prevent teens from being listed for having consensual sex with a partner between the ages of 13 and 16, provided there is no more than four years between their ages.
The new rules still have to be approved in the state House, but are likely to pass. The measures passed unanimously in the Senate with bipartisan support.
The state is required to rewrite its sex offender registry law to come into compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act. ..Source.. by Karen Bouffard / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
March 8, 2011
Lawmakers to consider revamp of Idaho’s sex offender requirements
3-8-2011 Idaho:
Idaho could change its plan for managing sex offenders that includes requiring offenders to report more information, expanding a state board that oversees sex offenders, and ditching part of the state’s sex offender law that is unconstitutional.
Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, said the package of changes is a major piece of legislation that he thinks will get through the Idaho Legislature this year. Darrington chairs the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, which approved introducing the plan.
The change comes in response to an Idaho Supreme Court case in 2009 that ruled the state’s “violent sexual predator” designation, which required some offenders to check in with law enforcement more frequently, violated the offender’s constitutional rights. Offenders couldn’t receive information on why they were called violent predators, which went against their right to due process.
Darrington, who helped craft that sex offender law in 1998, said the high court ruling wasn’t a surprise, and that Idaho needs to find a new way to manage its sex offenders. Since the court ruling, there have been no new violent sexual predators designated. Currently, 51 sex offenders in Idaho are labeled violent, out of several thousand total registered offenders.
Under the new plan, the violent sexual predator designation disappears and the Sex Offender Classification Board would be double in size from four members to eight, increase its responsibilities, and be renamed the Sex Offender Management Board. Also, all registered offenders would have shorter deadlines for registering and reporting changes in personal information.
The package of changes was introduced Monday by Steve Bywater in the attorney general’s office and a member of the Idaho Criminal Justice Commission (ICJC), which put together the legislation. Bywater said that among the new reporting requirements for all sex offenders would be reporting the car they drive and any Internet markers, including their e-mail address or Facebook account.
Bywater also said offenders ready to leave a state prison would now need to report their address before they leave. They’d also need to report a change of address within two days. The public can search some of the reported information on an Idaho State Police website.
The reporting changes would bring Idaho closer into compliance with the federal sex offender law, though Bywater said the ICJC doesn’t recommend fully complying with that plan. He did say the legislation would allow for better state supervision of sex offenders.
The change would cost $70,000, due to the expansion of the board. In addition to coming up with a new way to deal with violent offenders or those at risk of repeating a sex crime, the board would also create new state standards for treating and evaluating offenders, including the use of polygraph tests and psychosexual evaluations, when necessary.
Sen. Les Bock, D-Boise, a member of ICJC, supports the plan, saying Idaho needs a new way to identify people who are dangerous. Bock serves on Darrington’s committee, which unanimously agreed to hold a hearing on the legislation. ..Source.. by Brad Iverson-Long
June 11, 2010
Panel discusses sex-offender registry
6-11-2010 Texas:
Adam Walsh compliance also taken up by senators
AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice met at the Texas State Capitol to hear public and invited testimony regarding the efficiency and fairness of the current sexual offender registry system, as well as the issue of compliance with the Adam Walsh Act .
Nationally, the Adam Walsh Act calls for mandatory registration of sex offenders ages 14 and older and was passed in 2006, creating a nationwide network for sex offender registration.
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"We recommend that we not implement the Adam Walsh Act in the State of Texas," said Liles Arnold, chairman of the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment . "Basically, the research on registration notification, to date, suggests that it's really not accomplishing what we want it to accomplish,. Which is, fundamentally increasing community safety by reducing sex offender recidivism, making the public aware of where dangerous individuals were, and be better able to protect themselves and protect their children."
Arnold said notification has no bearing on people who have never been apprehended for a sexual offense.
"As of May of last year, we had 57,000 registered sex offenders in the state of Texas. All of those people are not equally dangerous." ..Source.. KXAN.com
June 10, 2010
Update: Prosecutor: RI sex-offender registry bill on hold
6-10-2010 Rhode Island:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A bill that would have required Rhode Island to comply with a federal law requiring changes in the way states classify and register sex offenders appears to be on hold.
The bill, (S-2897) introduced by Sen. James E. Doyle, III, D-Pawtucket, would have required the state to come into compliance with the federal 2006 Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which sets strict rules for monitoring sex offenders as they move from neighborhood to neighborhood and state to state.
The state has been granted an extension to come into compliance with the federal law until July 2011, said Stacey Pires Veroni, chief of the criminal division for the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.
"Obviously we want it (passed) but they're holding it for further study,'' Pires Veroni said. Thursday. "I think they probably won't take action on it."
The implementation of the federal law -- also known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act -- has proven legally problematic and potentially costly for states.
The bill has raised conerns among lawyers who represent juvenile offenders because it would require some juveniles sex offenders as young as 14 to be included in a national data based of registered sex offenders for the rest of their lives.
In a June 9 letter to Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, Rhode Island Public Defender John J. Hardiman wrote that the legislation would "create enormous catastrophic consequences for Rhode Island's juvenile sexual offenders and their families, many of which are not readdily apparent from the text of the proposed law."
A separate House bill (H-4046) to require sex-offenders to comply with the existing state registry law while their cases are being appealed is scheduled for a vote in the House Thursday evening. ..Source.. Lynn Arditi
June 8, 2010
Juvenile Sex Registry Loss May Cost State $5M
With the way the feds are dumping money into the Byrne Grant Fund, its getting harder and hader for states to ignore the 10% reduction in federal funding if they do not enact AWA.6-8-2010 Tennessee:
Tenn. Must Add Registry To Comply With Federal Adam Walsh Act
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The state could end up missing out on millions of dollars in federal money now that the Senate has dropped a bill to create a juvenile sex registry.
If it had passed, those between 14 and 18 years old who rape children or use a weapon to sexually assault someone would be added to the registry.
Last week, the Senate sponsor dropped the bill because the House decided not to fund it.
In order to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act, the state must add a juvenile sex offender registry. Because it didn't, the state could risk losing $5 million in federal law enforcement grants.
The federal government has decided to grant extensions until 2011 to get in compliance. The state has not said yet if it will ask for an extension. ..Source.. WSMV TV
June 5, 2010
Is Ohio "In Compliance" According to the Adam Walsh Act?
6-5-2010 Ohio:
Well the latest Ohio Supreme court decision ( State -v- Bodyke ) may have thrown a monkey wrench into Ohio's ability to dodge being docked 10% of their Federal Byrne Grant funding. However, the Adam Walsh Act has some interesting verbiage on "compliance" where a State's highest court is concerned. See:
SEC. 125. FAILURE OF JURISDICTION TO COMPLY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal year after the end of the period for implementation, a jurisdiction that fails, as determined by the Attorney General, to substantially implement this title shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the jurisdiction under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.).
(b) STATE CONSTITUTIONALITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—When evaluating whether a jurisdiction has substantially implemented this title, the Attorney General shall consider whether the jurisdiction is unable to substantially implement this title because of a demonstrated inability to implement certain provisions that would place the jurisdiction in violation of its constitution, as determined by a ruling of the jurisdiction’s highest court.
(2) EFFORTS.—If the circumstances arise under paragraph (1), then the Attorney General and the jurisdiction shall make good faith efforts to accomplish substantial implementation of this title and to reconcile any conflicts between this title and the jurisdiction’s constitution. In considering whether compliance with the requirements of this title would likely violate the jurisdiction’s constitution or an interpretation thereof by the jurisdiction’s highest court, the Attorney General shall consult with the chief executive and chief legal officer of the jurisdiction concerning the jurisdiction’s interpretation of the jurisdiction’s constitution and rulings thereon by the jurisdiction’s highest court.
(3) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES.—If the jurisdiction is unable to substantially implement this title because of a limitation imposed by the jurisdiction’s constitution, the Attorney General may determine that the jurisdiction is in compliance with this Act if the jurisdiction has made, or is in the process of implementing reasonable alternative procedures or accommodations, which are consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(4) FUNDING REDUCTION.—If a jurisdiction does not comply with paragraph (3), then the jurisdiction shall be subject to a funding reduction as specified in subsection (a).
Ohio AG: In response to the court’s decision in the case of State v. Bodyke, Attorney General Richard Cordray released the following statement:“We are digesting the Supreme Court’s decision, which appears to be limited in scope. The broad provisions of Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act remain in place. In striking down a narrow portion of the act, the court has reinstated the classifications and community notification and registration orders imposed by judges under prior state law for certain offenders who had been sentenced before Jan. 1, 2008,” said Cordray. “Offenders who were classified on or after Jan. 1, 2008 are unaffected by today’s ruling. Those 26,000 offenders who had been reclassified under Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act will now revert to their prior classifications before the act was passed. To comply with the court’s order, my office will work to reclassify these offenders through Ohio’s Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification database (eSORN) and will notify offenders of their new classification. We will also continue to support local law enforcement agencies as they work to provide families with the information they need to keep their children safe.”
Its what he doesn't say that tells us what he is really doing. AWA tells him this " if the jurisdiction has made, or is in the process of implementing reasonable alternative procedures or accommodations, which are consistent with the purposes of this Act." So reality is, he is working with the SMART Office conjuring up something, an alternative procedure!
Folks thats what he is doing, conjuring up some way to assure that Ohio doesn't lose that funding. Changing settings on the public registry, well thats being handled by some programmer.
So the AG is asking himself, -an alternative procedure- "How can I reclassify, or make it look like those convicted before 1-1-2008 have been reclassified," to prevent money from going out the window?
Any bets on what he comes up with? My guess is, it will somehow be punitive. But, in the meantime, is Ohio in-compliance?
eAdvocate
