Relates to sex offender registration and residency restrictions

Title of bill

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to sex offender registration and residency restrictions

Purpose

The purpose of this bill is to extend the requirement of level one sex offenders with aggravating factors to register as a sex offender from twenty years to thirty years. This bill will also allow local governments to place reasonable restrictions on where a sex offender is permitted to live.

Summary of provisions

Section one of this bill requires level one sex offenders who have committed, or attempted to commit a certain sex offenses be required to maintain their sex offender status for a terms of thirty years.

Section two of this bill allows certain level one sex offenders to apply to be removed from the sex offender registry if they can prove by clear and convincing evidence that they are no longer a threat to public safety.

Section three of this bill limits local governments to ensure that it does not require a sex offender to live beyond one thousand feet from public, private and charter schools; do not require a sex offender to live beyond a quarter mile from the workplace and residence of any registrant's victim or victims; and do not require a sex offender to live beyond a quarter mile from the residence of a deceased victim, if the family of the victim continues to reside at that residence.

Section four provides that this act takes effect on the sixtieth day after it becomes law.

Justification

Currently, level one sex offenders are only required to register as a sex-offender for twenty years. Because this legislation was passed and placed into effect twenty years ago, many sex offenders will be coming off the sex offender registry beginning in 2016. Many times, level one sex offenders are sexual predators, sexually violent offenders, or predicate sex offenders and receive level one sex offender status as part of a plea bargain. This bill would extend the requirement to register as a sex offender to thirty years for those level one offenders with those aggravating factors, therefore requiring level one offenders to register for ten more years. There was a recent study released that shows that recidivism rates were the highest at the twenty year mark, which warrants them remaining on the registry for an extended period. This bill also permits level one sex offenders who are not sexual predators, sexually violent, or predicate sex offenders the ability to apply to come of the registry if they can prove by clear and convincing evidence that they are no longer a threat to society.

The New York State Court of Appeals has recently overturned all local laws relating to where a registered sex offender can live for the reason that such laws were too restrictive. This bill would allow local government to place reasonable restrictions on where a sex offender can live, and ensures that such laws are not making it impossible for a sex offender to live in the country.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal impact

None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become law.