Senator Gallivan Announces Senate Passes Bill to Better Track Transfer of Sex Offenders

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) says the Senate has once again approved a bill (S.396) that would require New York State to notify a local municipality when a sex offender is transferred from a state facility to a community program or residence.  The legislation was passed by the Senate in 2015, but failed in the State Assembly.

The legislation sponsored by Gallivan would amend the mental hygiene law to require the Commissioner of the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to notify the chief executive officer of any municipality where a sex offender is transferred.  The superintendent of schools in which the facility is located must also be notified. 

"Community leaders should not find out about the transfer of potentially dangerous sex offenders after they have been moved into a neighborhood, which has been the case in my district and elsewhere,” Gallivan said.  “The state has an obligation to notify local officials about the transfer of sex offenders into a community program so that they have ample time to properly address public concerns and potential security issues.  The only way to do that is for the state to share this information with local officials.”   

The legislation would require the Commissioner of OPWDD to notify local officials no later than ten calendar days prior to the transfer taking place.    

The state has placed several developmentally disabled sex offenders at state-owned group homes on Leydecker Road in the Town of West Seneca and in the Village of Scottsville in Monroe County after a state facility near Rochester was closed, catching the community off guard and raising concerns about public safety.