An Act To Amend the Sex Offender Registration Laws

Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §11225-A, sub-§5-A  is enacted to read:

Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §11227, sub-§1,  as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 423, §23, is amended to read:

Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §11227, sub-§2,  as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 423, §23, is amended to read:

Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §11227, sub-§3,  as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 423, §23, is amended to read:

Sec. 5. Develop a 3-tiered registration system. The Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety shall review the existing 2-tiered offense-based sex offender registration system and shall determine how to allocate the categories of 10-year registrant and lifetime registrant into 3 categories that require 10-year, 25-year and lifetime registration periods. The committee shall use existing models from the Federal Government and other state governments, as well as evidence-based research, to develop its new system. The committee may introduce legislation to the 125th Legislature to implement its recommendations.

summary

This bill specifies that during any period in which a person subject to the 10-year registrant requirements under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999, as amended, fails to comply with verification requirements, the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification, pursuant to any rules the bureau may adopt, may toll the registration period for the duration of the time that the registrant is not in compliance. Once the registrant is in compliance, the 10-year period resumes at the point at which it was tolled. During this period, the bureau shall continue to maintain the registrant's information on the Internet.

The bill creates mandatory minimum periods of incarceration for failure to comply with any duty imposed or any rule adopted pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999, as amended. For a first offense, a registrant must serve a minimum of 30 days of incarceration; for a 2nd offense, a registrant must serve a minimum of 2 years of incarceration; and for a 3rd or subsequent offense, a registrant must serve a minimum of 4 years of incarceration. None of the minimum periods of incarceration may be suspended.

The bill also directs the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety to review the existing 2-tiered offense-based sex offender registration system and determine how to allocate the categories of 10-year registrant and lifetime registrant into 3 categories that require 10-year, 25-year and lifetime registration periods. The committee shall use existing models from the Federal Government and other state governments, as well as evidence-based research, to develop its new system. The committee may introduce legislation to the 125th Legislature to implement its recommendations for a 3-tiered registration system.