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Bill May Bring Pennsylvania Into Compliance With SORNA
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is set to approve legislation that will bring Pennsylvania into compliance the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
December 11, 2011 /Mens Interest PR News/ -- Legislation is working its way through the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would bring the Commonwealth into compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Act has created a national sex offender registry through Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
States Have Been Slow To Comply
When the act passed in 2006, Congress gave the states a deadline of July 27, 2009 to create laws that would match the requirements of the Act. This was later extended to July 27, 2010, and then again to July 27, 2011. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, by October of 2011, 15 states had "substantially implemented" the requirements of SORNA.
The stick Congress used to encourage states to implement the SORNA was a loss of 10 percent of their funding of Byrne federal law enforcement grants. The question of adequate funding has become a significant issue for some states when deciding whether they would implement SORNA.
Texas
Texas decided it would not implement SORNA, based in part on the costs associated with the law and a feeling in the legislature that Texas had a better law already in place. A Texas Senate report noted that failure to implement the act would cost Texas $1.4 million, but implementation would cost $38.7 million.
Other States
California also has decided to opt-out of compliance, again citing to cost. California estimated compliance would cost the state over $30 million, far exceeding their Byrne grant money. New York similarly has decided not to comply due to costs and inclusion of juvenile offenders.
Ohio's Supreme Court ruled the reporting requirements of the new law were more than remedial administrative matters, but became additional, retroactive punishment, and therefore unconstitutional.
Pennsylvania
At the beginning of November, the legislation had advanced to the Senate Judiciary committee, and then will need approval of the full General Assembly and the governor's signature. Gov. Tom Corbett has indicated he will sign the bill once it has passed the General Assembly.
An article from the Patriot-News points to some concern by members of the legislature over the inclusion of juveniles in the registry. The law would currently require anyone older than 14 to register for the next 25 years. This was lowered from the lifetime requirement that had been in the bill. And juveniles were removed from the publicly accessible portion of the registry.
The Juvenile Court Judges Commission (JCJC) did not support the inclusion of juveniles in the public sex offender registry.
The article quotes James Anderson, executive director of the JCJC as saying, "We agree that [a] public notification website would have a lot of unintended consequences. A lot [of the] time, victims are family members or close to the family."
Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)
After an offender has been released, the registry will contain multiple items of personal information and their offense. The information that will be publically available is exhaustive. The proposed Pennsylvania bill lists the following as required information.
The Internet website shall contain the following information on each individual:
(1) For sexually violent predators, the following information shall be posted on the Internet website:
(i) name and all known aliases;
(ii) year of birth;
(iii) the street address, municipality, county and zip code of all residences, including, where applicable, the name of the prison or other place of confinement;
(iv) the street address, municipality, county, zip code and name of any institution or location at which the person is enrolled as a student;
(v) the municipality, county and zip code of any employment location;
(vi) a photograph of the offender, which shall be updated not less than annually;
(vii) a physical description of the offender, including sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color and race;
(viii) any identifying marks, including scars, birthmarks and tattoos;
(ix) the license plate number and description of any vehicle owned or registered to the offender;
(x) whether the offender is currently compliant with registration requirements;
(xi) whether the victim is a minor;
(xii) a description of the offense or offenses which triggered the application of this subchapter; and
(xiii) the date of the offense and conviction, if available.
Every Three Months
One of the most demanding requirements of the new law would be the fact that all of the information must be verified in person, with the Pennsylvania State Police, as being accurate and up-to-date every 90-days.
This was the requirement that convinced the Ohio Supreme Court that retroactive application to offenders who had been convicted under the prior law was unconstitutional. The Court stated that the requirements were no longer "remedial," but had become punitive.
Effective Sometime Next Year?
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is planning to have the work on the law completed by December 31, 2011. The bill as written would become law 120 days after the governor signs it, so it could be effective on July 1, 2012. At least one senator commented he would act to make it effective sooner.
Given the governor's willingness to sign the bill, it seems likely it will be in effect by next year at this time. As with most complex law (the bill is 142 pages), the devil is in the details.
The Pennsylvania State Police will need to set up the database with all the required information, and then maintain it, as it will only be useful if it is accurate.
Texas noted that one of the greatest expenses triggered by the law would be staffing all of the county sheriff's offices that would have to maintain the quarterly reporting.
It would not be surprising if the State Police have to request additional funding next year to operate the sex offender registry.
Article provided by Gover, Perry & Shore
Visit us at www.ngplawfirm.com
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