Title: An act relating to strengthening the sex and kidnapping offender registration statute by decreasing the amount of time within which returning or out-of-state registrants must register after establishing residence in Washington, requiring offenders with fixed residences to provide their complete residential addresses when registering, requiring homeless offenders, when they check in weekly, to inform the county sheriff where they have been over the past week and where they plan to be in the forthcoming week, requiring offenders to sign the written notice they provide to the county sheriff when they change residences or cease to have a fixed residence, and clarifying that any violation of RCW 9A.44.130 is a crime.

Brief Description: Changing the provisions relating to sex and kidnapping offender registration.

Sponsors: Representatives O'Brien, Rodne, Ericks, Lovick, Anderson, Jarrett, Nixon, McDonald, Williams, Darneille, Buck, Conway, P. Sullivan, Tom, Takko, Lantz, Kilmer, Fromhold, B. Sullivan, Morrell, Simpson, Springer, Green, Miloscia, Sells and Ormsby.

Brief History: Passed House: 2/11/06, 96-0.

Committee Activity: Human Services & Corrections: 2/20/06, 2/23/06 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES & CORRECTIONS

Majority Report: Do pass as amended.Signed by Senators Hargrove, Chair; Regala, Vice Chair; Stevens, Ranking Minority Member; Brandland, Carrell, McAuliffe and Thibaudeau.

Staff: Kiki Keizer (786-7430)

Background: In 1990, the legislature enacted the Community Protection Act, which created one of the first sex offender registration laws in the country. A person convicted of a sex or kidnapping offense must register with the county sheriff of the county in which he or she lives. The person subject to the registration requirements must provide such information as his or her name, address, date and place of birth, place of employment, crime of conviction, date and place of conviction, aliases, Social Security number, photograph and fingerprints. He or she must also notify the county sheriff if he or she is enrolled in public or private school or in an institution of higher education.

Homeless offenders subject to registration requirements must check in with the county sheriff once a week.

A person who knowingly fails to register or to notify the sheriff, or who changes his or her name without notifying the sheriff or the Washington State Patrol, is guilty of the crime of failure to register.

A person subject to the registration requirements, who is either a new Washington resident or who is a former Washington resident whose crime of conviction was in Washington, must register within 30 days of establishing residence in Washington.

Summary of Amended Bill: Instead of requiring a person subject to the registration requirements to provide his or her "address" when registering, that person must provide his or her "complete residential address."

The amount of time an out-of-state registrant is given to register once he or she has established a residence in Washington is reduced to three business days (from 30 days).

The written notices that must be provided to the county sheriff when a person subject to the registration requirements moves or becomes homeless must be signed.

A person is subject to criminal liability for any knowing non-compliance with the registration statute.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill: The amendment changes the time allowed to comply with the registration requirements for a person coming from out of state and establishing residence in Washington from 72 hours to three business days. The amendment also eliminates the requirement that a homeless person subject to the registration requirements predict where he or she intends to stay for the next seven days and that he or she disclose where he or she stayed for the seven days prior to his or her weekly report to the county sheriff.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: No.

Effective Date: The bill contains several effective dates. Please refer to the bill.

Testimony For: If persons convicted of sex offenses are going to be in the community, then they must register. This bill is aimed at dealing with people who are not complying with the registration statute.

Testimony Against: None.

Who Testified: PRO: Representative Al O'Brien, prime sponsor. CON: No one.