Background: Any adult or juvenile offender residing in the state who has been convicted of a sex offense must register with the county sheriff upon release from confinement. The offender must provide complete information to the county sheriff including the offender's address, aliases used, place of employment, social security number, photograph, and fingerprints. Beginning in 2008, all registered offenders also must provide a DNA sample. This requirement is not part of the registration requirements and therefore the failure to provide a DNA sample is not a failure to register.

The End of Sentence Review Committee (ESRC), chaired by the Department of Corrections, classifies sex offenders being released from Washington correctional institutions according to their risk of reoffense within the community. ESRC classifies each offender as a level I – low risk, level II – moderate risk, or level III – high risk, and then forwards this classification to the county sheriff in the jurisdiction where the offender will reside. The sheriff may adopt ESRC's risk level or establish a different level. If ESRC has not had the opportunity to classify a sex offender, such as when the offender has moved to Washington State from another state, the sheriff's office will perform its own classification of the offender's risk. The risk level classification dictates the level of notice to the public and the amount of information the sheriff may release about the offender.

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) operates an electronic statewide unified sex offender notification and registration program (SONAR) which contains a database of all registered sex offenders in the state of Washington. WASPC creates and maintains a public website that posts all level II and level III sex offenders. Law enforcement may also disclose information about offenders classified as level I upon the request of any victim or witness to the offense or any community member who lives near the offender. For level III sex offenders, law enforcement must additionally publish notice in at least one newspaper in the area of the sex offender's registered address.

An adult sex offender may petition the superior court to be relieved of the duty to register when the person has spent ten consecutive years in the community without being convicted of a disqualifying offense during that time period. If the person is required to register for a federal or out-of-state conviction, the person may petition after 15 consecutive years in the community without a disqualifying offense. A person may not petition for relief from registration if the person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator or convicted as an adult of a sex offense that is a class A felony that was committed with forcible compulsion.

In 1994, Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Act. That act required states to institute lifetime registration requirement for offenders convicted of specified sex offenses or face financial penalties to the federal Byrne grant. In 2001, the Legislature passed the Jacob Wetterling provisions requiring lifetime registration for further classes of offenders. Those provisions expired on July 1, 2012.

Summary of Bill (Recommended Substitute): In assigning risk levels, an offender must be classified as a:

Level I - if the person's risk assessment and other relevant factors indicate that the person is a low-risk offender within the community at large;
Level II - if the person's risk assessment and other relevant factors indicate that the person is a moderate-risk offender within the community at large; or
Level III - if the person's risk assessment and other relevant factors indicate that the person is a high-risk offender within the community at large.

A person required to register as a sex offender who intends to travel outside the United States must notify the county sheriff where the person is registered at least 21 days prior to travel. The notice must include identifying information and details regarding the person's travel. The county sheriff must notify the United States Marshals Service as soon as practicable after receipt of the notification.

The crime of refusal to provide DNA is established. A person is guilty of the refusal to provide DNA if the person has a duty to register and refuses to comply with a request for a DNA sample as required by law. The refusal to provide DNA is a gross misdemeanor.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction must publish on its website educational materials developed in conjunction with partner agencies for parents and other interested family members in recognizing characteristics of sex offenders and preventing victimization. Each school district must develop their own policies in how to manage enrolled students who are required to register as sex or kidnapping offenders to ensure the health and safety of students and staff. Policy guidelines are outlined. Each school must designate a primary contact for law enforcement and, in coordination with other interested professionals, must develop individual student safety plans for any enrolled student who is required to register as a sex or kidnapping offender.

A number of other changes are made that close various loopholes or provide clarification with regard to sex offender registration and notification including the following:

law enforcement may disclose information about offenders classified as level I upon the request of any person seeking information regarding a specifically named offender;
when an offender is classified as a level III, law enforcement must issue a new release, but is not required to actively publish notice in the newspaper;
the court's decision to relieve a sex offender of the duty to register does not constitute a certificate of rehabilitation for the purposes of restoring a person's right to possess a firearm;
a person may not petition for relief from registration if the person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator;
when a person who is required to register is placed on partial confinement in the community, the person must register with the county sheriff while on partial confinement; and
expired provisions that were passed in order to comply with the federal Jacob Wetterling Act are removed.