NY State Senate Bill 2015-S5234

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to crime victims, crime and correction
May 08, 2015	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:: Correction Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§168-p, 168-q, 168-f & 168-k, Cor L
Versions Introduced in 2013-2014 Legislative Session:: S7724

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to sex offender registration procedures.

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S5234

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to sex offender
registration

PURPOSE:

This bill would amend provisions of Article 6-C of the Corrections Law
regarding the Sex Offender Registration Act to clarify certain
obligations of the Division of Criminal Justice Services and to align
the State's change of address registration requirements with that of
the federal law.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends section 168-p of the correction law to allow members
of the public to inquire as to whether up to five individuals required
to register are listed on the sex offender registry during a single
phone call. The provision clarifies that where a member of the public
calls the Division of Criminal Justice Services to determine whether
an individual is listed on the sex offender registry and such
individual provides incorrect identifying information, this will not
prohibit the caller from inquiring further as to the person's identity
with additional identifying information during the same call.

Section 2. Amends paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2-a of section
168-p of the correction law to require that an organization, which is
granted a pre-registered certificate may inquire as to whether an
individual is listed on the sex offender registry in writing. The bill
further provides that when an organization does inquire in writing it
may do so as to the status of up to fifty individuals in one request.
The Division of Criminal Justice Services must respond to the
organization within five days.

Section 3. Amends subdivision one of section 168-q of the correction
law to require the subdirectory to include the last known date the
offender's address, place of employment and photograph were obtained.
Additionally, section three establishes a new subparagraph (a) which
requires that where an offender does not report an employment address,
the division shall use the language, "Not Currently Reported" in the
subdirectory under the employment address field Further, section three
establishes a new subparagraph (b) which would require the division to
include the offense for which the sex offender was convicted in
another jurisdiction outside the State. The division shall also
include, but is not limited to, the title, section, subsection, class,
category and degree of offense for which the sex offender was
convicted in another jurisdiction.

Section 4. Amends subdivision four of section 168-f of the correction
law to require any sex offender required to register with the division
to register within three days after a change of address, internet
accounts with internet access providers, internet identifiers that
such offender uses or his or her status of enrollment, attendance,
employment or residence At any institution of higher education


Section 5 Amends subdivision six of section 168-f of the correction
law to require any non-resident workers or nonresident students
required to register with the division to register within three days
after any change of residence, employment or educational institution
address.

Section 6. Amends subdivision one of section 168-k of the correction
law to require any sex offender required to register with the division
to register within three calendar days after such offender establishes
residence in the state

Section 7. Establishes that the bill would take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:

For nearly two decades, Parents for Megan's Law Inc., a not-for-profit
organization, has staffed the Megan's Law Helpline. The Helpline is
designed to provide the community information on how to access sex
offender registration information, responsible use of information and
the educate about child sexual abuse and rape prevention. Beginning
May, 2013, Parents for Megan's Law was contracted by the County of
Suffolk to assist them in their efforts of ensuring that sex offender
registration information was up-to-date and accurate. In collaboration
with the Suffolk County Police Department, agency retired law
enforcement officers conduct in-person verifications of registered sex
offenders residing in the County of Suffolk The public relies upon and
up-to-date and accurate sex offender registry to assist them in making
decisions relating to protecting themselves and their children from
known registrants.

Parents for Megan's Law has discovered issues relating to the public's
accessibility to, and the accuracy of, information on the Sex Offender
Registry run by the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). This
bill is a result of continuous discussions with the organization on
provisions which would strengthen the accuracy of information on the
registry, as well as clarify the responsibilities of DCJS under
Article 6c of the correction law.

Currently under the correction law, a not-for-profit organization
providing youth services may pre-register with the division for use of
a designated number to inquire into whether an individual is listed on
the registry. The law specifically states that a pre-registered
organization may inquire about twenty individuals in a single call.
Although not enumerated in the law, organizations which fall into this
category are able to submit requests in writing, but DCJS has failed
to respond to these inquiries in a timely fashion.  This bill would
expressly provide preregistered organizations to inquire in writing as
to whether individuals are listed on the registry and would require
the division to respond to requests of up to fifty individuals within
five days This will ensure DCJS responds within a timely manner and
the organizations are not delayed in provident their services to the
public. Additionally, Parents for Megan's law has found that when
calling to inquire about an individual, DCJS will not allow further
inquiry into whether an individual is registered on the list, where
the caller provides inaccurate identifying information, a wrong
address for example. The division requires the caller to call back and
inquire about the same individual in a separate call, instead of


allowing the caller to provide another piece of identifying
information, such as the individual's date of birth. The bill
clarifies that an individual may continue to inquire as to whether an
individual is on the registry where the caller initially provides
inaccurate identifying information. The bill also establishes that the
caller may inquire into the registration status of up to five
individuals per call to alleviate the division from being inundated
with calls.

Parents for Megan's Law further found that DCJS has implemented a
policy where they will not provide the date a level one sex offender's
photo graph was taken. The correction law requires a level one sex
offender to appear in person every three years to have an updated
photograph taken for the registry. The date on which the photograph
was taken is instrumental in aiding law enforcement identify these
individuals and would allow them to better gage the current physical
appearance of an offender based on when the photograph was taken. This
bill alleviates this burden by requiring the division to put on the
register the last known date an offender's address, place of
employment and photograph were obtained.  The organization has also
found some information on the registry to be ambiguous, specifically
the employment address field, which is often times left blank. In
order to provide clarity to organizations responsible for ensuring the
information on the registry is accurate DCJS, where an offender does
not provide an employment address, must enter into the employment
address field, "None Currently Reported" Further, the bill also
requires DCJS to include in the directory the specific offense
committed by a sex offender in another jurisdiction which requires the
offender to register in the state. This measure will ensure that the
organizations and law enforcement responsible for in-person
verifications of registered sex offenders have access to the most
recent whereabouts and status of those required to be on the registry.

The bill amends sections 168-f and 168-k regarding the amount of time
a sex offender has to register his or her change of address. Under the
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, the federal
government established that an individual required to register with
the national sex offender registry must provide his or her change of
address within three days after such change. However, under New York's
correction law, sex offenders are given ten days to report their
change of address to DCJS. Parents for Megan's Law has found that the
extra seven days afforded offenders have sometimes resulted in law
enforcement being misled by transient offenders. Amending the State's
current ten day registration requirement to three days would provide
the community with a better understanding of the whereabouts of these
individuals during transition periods.

The provisions of this bill would allow DCJS and partnering
organizations, such as Parents for Megan's Law, to ensure the public
and law enforcement enfettered access to the whereabouts of sex
offenders required to register under the law.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:


None to the State

EFFECTIVE DATE:

Immediately.

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5234

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               May 8, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. LAVALLE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
  Correction

AN  ACT  to amend the correction law, in relation to sex offender regis-
  tration

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  1 of section 168-p of the correction law, as
amended by chapter 361 of the laws  of  2004,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1.  Pursuant to section one hundred sixty-eight-b of this article, the
division shall also operate a  telephone  number  that  members  of  the
public  may call free of charge and inquire whether [a named individual]
UP TO FIVE NAMED INDIVIDUALS required to register pursuant to this arti-
cle [is] ARE listed. The division shall ascertain whether [a] SUCH named
[person] PERSONS reasonably [appears]  APPEAR  to  be  [a  person]  SUCH
PERSONS  so  listed and provide the caller with the relevant information
according to risk as described in subdivision six of section one hundred
sixty-eight-l of this article. The division shall decide  whether  [the]
SUCH named [person] PERSONS reasonably [appears] APPEAR to be [a person]
SUCH  PERSONS  listed,  based upon information from the caller providing
information that shall include (a) an exact  street  address,  including
apartment  number,  driver's  license  number  or birth date, along with
additional information that may include  social  security  number,  hair
color,  eye  color,  height, weight, distinctive markings, ethnicity; or
(b) any combination of the above  listed  characteristics  if  an  exact
birth  date or address is not available. If three of the characteristics
provided include ethnicity, hair color, and eye color, other identifying
characteristics shall be provided. ANY INCORRECT IDENTIFYING  CHARACTER-
ISTICS  PROVIDED BY THE CALLER WILL NOT PROHIBIT THE CALLER FROM INQUIR-
ING FURTHER AS TO THE  PERSON'S  IDENTITY  WITH  ADDITIONAL  IDENTIFYING

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02439-02-5

S. 5234                             2

INFORMATION DURING THE SAME CALL. Any information identifying the victim
by  name,  birth  date,  address or relation to the person listed by the
division shall be excluded by the division.
  S 2. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 2-a of section 168-p of the
correction law, as added by chapter 361 of the laws of 2004, are amended
to read as follows:
  (a)  The  division  shall  establish a program allowing non-profit and
not-for-profit youth services organizations  to  pre-register  with  the
division for use of the telephone number. Pre-registration shall include
the  identification  of  up to two officials of the organization who may
call the telephone number OR MAKE AN  INQUIRY  IN  WRITING,  and  obtain
information  on behalf of the organization. A pre-registered certificate
issued under this subdivision shall  be  valid  for  two  years,  unless
earlier  revoked  by  the division for good cause shown. No fee shall be
charged to an applicant for the issuance of a pre-registered certificate
pursuant to this subdivision.
  (b) An organization granted a pre-registered certificate  pursuant  to
this subdivision may, upon calling the telephone number, inquire whether
multiple  named  individuals  are  listed  on the sex offender registry.
Notwithstanding any per call limitation the division may place on  calls
by  private  individuals,  the  division shall allow such pre-registered
organizations to inquire about up to twenty prospective coaches, leaders
or volunteers in each call to  the  telephone  number.  IF  REGISTRATION
VERIFICATION  IS REQUESTED IN WRITING, THE DIVISION SHALL RESPOND WITHIN
FIVE DAYS FOR REQUESTS OF UP TO FIFTY NAMED INDIVIDUALS.
  S 3. Subdivision 1 of section 168-q of the correction law, as  amended
by chapter 462 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  The  division shall maintain a subdirectory of level two and three
sex offenders. The subdirectory shall include the exact address, address
of the offender's place of employment and photograph of the sex offender
along with the  following  information,  if  available:  name,  physical
description,   age  and  distinctive  markings.  Background  information
including all of the sex offender's crimes of  conviction  that  require
him  or  her  to  register pursuant to this article, modus of operation,
type of victim targeted, the name and  address  of  any  institution  of
higher  education  at  which  the  sex offender is enrolled, attends, is
employed or resides and a description of special conditions  imposed  on
the sex offender shall also be included. FURTHER, THE SUBDIRECTORY SHALL
INCLUDE  THE LAST KNOWN DATE THE OFFENDER'S ADDRESS, PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT
AND PHOTOGRAPH WERE OBTAINED. The subdirectory shall have  sex  offender
listings  categorized by county and zip code. Such subdirectory shall be
made available at all times on the internet via the  division  homepage.
Any person may apply to the division to receive automated e-mail notifi-
cations  whenever a new or updated subdirectory registration occurs in a
geographic area specified by such person.  The  division  shall  furnish
such  service  at  no  charge  to  such person, who shall request e-mail
notification by county and/or zip code on forms developed  and  provided
by  the  division.  E-mail  notification  is limited to three geographic
areas per e-mail account.
  (A) IF THE OFFENDER DOES NOT REPORT AN EMPLOYMENT ADDRESS,  THE  DIVI-
SION  SHALL USE THE LANGUAGE, "NONE CURRENTLY REPORTED" IN THE SUBDIREC-
TORY UNDER THE EMPLOYMENT ADDRESS FIELD.
  (B) FOR A SEX OFFENDER WHO HAS BEEN  CONVICTED  OF  AN  OFFENSE  WHICH
REQUIRES  REGISTRATION  UNDER  PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OR PARA-
GRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED  SIXTY-EIGHT-A  OF
THIS  ARTICLE,  THE DIVISION SHALL INCLUDE THE OFFENSE FOR WHICH THE SEX

S. 5234                             3

OFFENDER WAS CONVICTED IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. THE SUBDIRECTORY FIELD
CONVICTION CHARGES SHALL INCLUDE, BUT  SHALL  NOT  BE  LIMITED  TO,  THE
TITLE,  SECTION,  SUBSECTION,  CLASS, CATEGORY AND DEGREE OF OFFENSE FOR
WHICH THE SEX OFFENDER WAS CONVICTED IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION.
  S  4. Subdivision 4 of section 168-f of the correction law, as amended
by chapter 67 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  4. Any sex offender shall register with the  division  no  later  than
[ten] THREE calendar days after any change of address, internet accounts
with  internet  access  providers  belonging  to such offender, internet
identifiers that such offender uses, or his or her status of enrollment,
attendance, employment or residence at any institution of higher  educa-
tion.  A  fee  of  ten  dollars,  as  authorized by subdivision eight of
section one hundred sixty-eight-b of this article, shall be submitted by
the sex offender each time such offender registers any change of address
or any change of his or her status of enrollment, attendance, employment
or residence at any institution of  higher  education.  Any  failure  or
omission  to  submit the required fee shall not affect the acceptance by
the division of the change of address or change of status.
  S 5. Subdivision 6 of section 168-f of the correction law, as added by
chapter 11 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
  6. Any nonresident worker or nonresident student, as defined in subdi-
visions fourteen and fifteen of section  one  hundred  sixty-eight-a  of
this  article, shall register his or her current address and the address
of his or her place of employment or  educational  institution  attended
with  the  division within [ten] THREE calendar days after such nonresi-
dent worker or nonresident student commences employment or attendance at
an educational institution in  the  state.  Any  nonresident  worker  or
nonresident  student  shall  notify  the division of any change of resi-
dence, employment or educational institution address no later than [ten]
THREE days after such change. The division shall notify the law enforce-
ment agency where the nonresident worker is employed or the  educational
institution  is located that a nonresident worker or nonresident student
is present in that agency's jurisdiction.
  S 6. Subdivision 1 of section 168-k of the correction law, as  amended
by chapter 146 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
  1.  A sex offender who has been convicted of an offense which requires
registration under paragraph (d) of subdivision two or paragraph (b)  of
subdivision  three  of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of this article
shall notify the division of the new address no later than  [ten]  THREE
calendar  days  after  such  sex  offender establishes residence in this
state.
  S 7. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5234

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S5234

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Kenneth P. LaValle

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction Committee

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S5234 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments