Senate Passes Bill to Increase Community Awareness of Sex Offender Placements

The New York State Senate today passed a bill requiring the state to notify government officials and school leaders when sex offenders are transferred from a state facility to a community program or residence in their municipality. The bill (S396), sponsored by Senator Patrick Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma), would enhance the current system of community notification when a convicted sex offender is moved from an Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) facility.

Senator Gallivan said, “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. 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 bill requires the Commissioner of OPWDD to notify the chief executive officer and superintendent of schools in any municipality where a sex offender is transferred to a community program or residence within their municipality. Notification must take place no later than ten calendar days prior to the transfer.

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.  

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.