H-2038

AN ACT Relating to sex offender registration; amending RCW 9A.44.130 and 9A.44.140; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that sex offender registration has assisted law enforcement agencies in protecting their communities. This act is intended to clarify and amend the deadlines for sex offenders to register. This act's clarification or amendment of RCW 9A.44.130 does not relieve the obligation of sex offenders to comply with the registration requirements of RCW 9A.44.130 as that statute exists before the effective date of this act.

Sec. 2. RCW 9A.44.130 and 1990 c 3 s 402 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any adult or juvenile residing in this state who has been found to have committed or has been convicted of any sex offense shall register with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence.

(2) The person shall((~~, within forty-five days of establishing residence in Washington, or if a current resident within thirty days of release from confinement, if any,~~)) provide the county sheriff with the following information when registering: (a) Name; (b) address; (c) place of employment; (d) crime for which convicted; (e) date and place of conviction; (f) aliases used; and (g) social security number.

(3)(a) Sex offenders shall register within the following deadlines. For purposes of this section the term "conviction" refers to adult convictions and juvenile adjudications for sex offenses:

(i) SEX OFFENDERS IN CUSTODY. Sex offenders who committed a sex offense on, before, or after February 28, 1990, and who, on or after the effective date of this act, are in custody, as a result of that offense, of the state department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, a local division of youth services, or a local jail or juvenile detention facility, must register within twenty-four hours from the time of release with the county sheriff for the county of the person's residence. The agency that has jurisdiction over the offender shall provide notice to the sex offender of the duty to reregister. Failure to register within twenty-four hours of release constitutes a violation of this section and is punishable as provided in subsection (7) of this section.

(ii) SEX OFFENDERS NOT IN CUSTODY BUT UNDER STATE OR LOCAL JURISDICTION. Sex offenders, who, on the effective date of this act, are not in custody but are under the jurisdiction of the indeterminate sentence review board or under the active supervision of the state department of corrections, the state department of social and health services, or a local division of youth services, for sex offenses committed before, on, or after February 28, 1990, must register within ten days of the effective date of this act.

(iii) SEX OFFENDERS WHO ARE CONVICTED BUT NOT CONFINED. Sex offenders who are convicted of a sex offense on or after the effective date of this act for a sex offense that was committed on or after February 28, 1990, but who are not sentenced to serve a term of confinement immediately upon sentencing, shall report to the county sheriff to register immediately upon completion of being sentenced.

(iv) SEX OFFENDERS WHO ARE NEW RESIDENTS OR RETURNING WASHINGTON RESIDENTS. Sex offenders who move to Washington state from another state that are not under the jurisdiction of the state department of corrections, the indeterminate sentence review board, or the state department of social and health services at the time of moving to Washington, must register within thirty days of establishing residence or reestablishing residence if the person is a former Washington resident. The duty to register under this subsection applies to sex offenders convicted under the laws of another state, federal statutes, or Washington state for offenses committed on or after February 28, 1990. Sex offenders from other states who, when they move to Washington, are under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections, the indeterminate sentence review board, or the department of social and health services must register within twenty-four hours of moving to Washington. The agency that has jurisdiction over the offender shall notify the offender of the registration requirements before the offender moves to Washington.

(b) Failure to register within the time required under this section constitutes a per se violation of this section and is punishable as provided in subsection (7) of this section. The county sheriff shall not be required to determine whether the person is living within the county.

(c) An arrest on charges of failure to register, service of an information, or a complaint for a violation of this section, or arraignment on charges for a violation of this section, constitutes actual notice of the duty to register. Any person charged with the crime of failure to register under this section who asserts as a defense the lack of notice of the duty to register shall register immediately following actual notice of the duty through arrest, service, or arraignment. Failure to register as required under this subsection (c) constitutes grounds for filing another charge of failing to register. Registering following arrest, service, or arraignment on charges shall not relieve the offender from criminal liability for failure to register prior to the filing of the original charge.

(d) The deadlines for the duty to register under this section do not relieve any sex offender of the duty to register under this section as it existed prior to the effective date of this act.

(4) If any person required to register pursuant to this section changes his or her residence address within the same county, the person must send written notice of the change of address to the county sheriff within ten days of establishing the new residence. If any person required to register pursuant to this section moves to a new county, the person must register with the county sheriff in the new county within ten days of establishing the new residence. The person must also send written notice within ten days of the change of address in the new county to the county sheriff with whom the person last registered.

((~~(4)~~)) (5) The county sheriff shall obtain a photograph of the individual and shall obtain a copy of the individual's fingerprints.

((~~(5)~~)) (6) "Sex offense" for the purpose of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330 means any offense defined as a sex offense by RCW 9.94A.030((:

~~(a) Committed on or after February 28, 1990; or~~

(b) Committed prior to February 28, 1990, if the person, as a result of the offense, is under the custody or active supervision of the department of corrections or the department of social and health services on or after February 28, 1990)).

((~~(6)~~)) (7) A person who knowingly fails to register as required by this section is guilty of a class C felony if the crime for which the individual was convicted was a class A felony or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a class A felony. If the crime was other than a class A felony or a federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a class A felony, violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor.

Sec. 3. RCW 9A.44.140 and 1990 c 3 s 408 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 shall end:

(a) For a person convicted of a class A felony: Such person may only be relieved of the duty to register under subsection (2) or (3) of this section.

(b) For a person convicted of a class B felony: Fifteen years after the last date of release from confinement, if any, (including full-time residential treatment) pursuant to the conviction, or entry of the judgment and sentence, if the person has spent fifteen consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any new offenses.

(c) For a person convicted of a class C felony: Ten years after the last date of release from confinement, if any, (including full-time residential treatment) pursuant to the conviction, or entry of the judgment and sentence, if the person has spent ten consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any new offenses.

(2) Any person having a duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 may petition the superior court to be relieved of that duty. The petition shall be made to the court in which the petitioner was convicted of the offense that subjects him or her to the duty to register, or, in the case of convictions in other states, to the court in Thurston county. The prosecuting attorney of the county shall be named and served as the respondent in any such petition. The court shall consider the nature of the registrable offense committed, and the criminal and relevant noncriminal behavior of the petitioner both before and after conviction, and may consider other factors. Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, the court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register only if the petitioner shows, with clear and convincing evidence, that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330.

(3) An offender having a duty to register under RCW 9A.44.130 for a sex offense committed when the offender was a juvenile may petition the superior court to be relieved of that duty. The court shall consider the nature of the registrable offense committed, and the criminal and relevant noncriminal behavior of the petitioner both before and after adjudication, and may consider other factors. The court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register for a sex offense that was committed while the petitioner was fifteen years of age or older only if the petitioner shows, with clear and convincing evidence, that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330. The court may relieve the petitioner of the duty to register for a sex offense that was committed while the petitioner was under the age of fifteen if the petitioner (a) has not been adjudicated of any additional sex offenses during the twenty-four months following the adjudication for the sex offense giving rise to the duty to register, and (b) the petitioner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that future registration of the petitioner will not serve the purposes of RCW 9A.44.130, 10.01.200, 43.43.540, 46.20.187, 70.48.470, and 72.09.330.

(4) Unless relieved of the duty to register pursuant to this section, a violation of RCW 9A.44.130 is an ongoing offense for purposes of the statute of limitations under RCW 9A.04.080.

((~~(4)~~)) (5) Nothing in RCW 9.94A.220 relating to discharge of an offender shall be construed as operating to relieve the offender of his or her duty to register pursuant to RCW 9A.44.130.