Brief Description: Creating a registry of methamphetamine offenders.

Sponsors: Representatives Lovick, Pearson, O'Brien, Hurst, Kenney, Green, VanDeWege, Simpson, Lantz and McCune.

Hearing Date: 2/12/07

Staff: Yvonne Walker (786-7841).

Background:

In 1990, the Legislature enacted the Community Protection Act, which, among other things, created a sex offender registry in Washington. A sex or kidnapping offender must register with the county sheriff in the county in which he or she resides. The offender must also notify the sheriff when he or she enrolls in a public or private school or an institution of higher education. Law enforcement officials use the information in the registry to notify the public, within certain guidelines, of a kidnapping or sex offender's presence in the community.

Information Provided upon Registration.
When an offender registers, he or she must provide a variety of information including his or her name, address (a homeless offender must provide a description of where he or she plans to stay), date and place of birth, place of employment, crime of conviction, date and place of conviction, aliases used, Social Security number, photograph, and fingerprints.

Out-of-State Registrants.
An offender subject to the registration requirements who moves to Washington from another state, or who is a former Washington resident returning to this state, must register within 3 business days of establishing residence in Washington.

Written Notices.
A registered sex or kidnapping offender who changes addresses within a county must send written notice to the county sheriff within 72 hours of moving. If the offender moves to a new county, he or she must provide written notice to the sheriff of the new county at least 14 days prior to moving and must provide written notice to the sheriff of the old county within 10 days of moving. An offender who becomes homeless must send written notice to the county sheriff within 48 hours of becoming homeless.

Homeless Offenders.
Homeless offenders must check in with the county sheriff once a week on a date specified by the sheriff. The sheriff may require the offender to list the places where he or she stayed during the previous week.

Violation of the Uniformed Controlled Substances Act (VUSCA).
Unlike sex offenders and kidnapping offenders, offenders convicted of a VUSCA offense are not required to register with a law enforcement agency.

Summary of Bill:

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) must create and maintain a registry of persons convicted of an offense involving manufacturing, delivering, or possessing with intent to manufacture or deliver amphetamine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, pressurized ammonia gas, or delivering specified illegal controlled substances to a child under 18 years old. The registry, to be located on the internet and available to the public, must contain the following:

• the person's name;
• date-of-birth;
• offense or offenses making the person eligible for inclusion on the registry;
• the conviction date and county of those offenses; and
• any other identifying data as the WSP determines is necessary to properly identify the person (excluding the person's Social Security number).

County court clerks must forward a copy of the judgement and date-of-birth of all persons eligible to be in the directory to the WSP within 45 days of the date of judgement.

A person listed in the registry may petition the court to have his or her name removed from the registry if more than seven years has passed since the date of the person's most recent conviction qualifying him or her for the registry.

Any person listed in the registry are required to follow the same requirements that are applicable to kidnapping offenders.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Preliminary fiscal note available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.