SORNA FINAL GUIDELINES HIGHLIGHTS
July 2008
The Adam Walsh Child Protection Act (AWA) of 2006 was signed into law on July 27, 2006. Section 124 of the AWA specifically requires that all jurisdictions implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requirements within 3 years: July 27, 2009. Section 125(a) allows for a 10 percent Byrne Justice Assistance Grant fund reduction for any state, the District of Columbia, or territory that fails to substantially implement the SORNA requirements by July 27, 2009. Currently, no state is substantially compliant. The SORNA Final Guidelines were released by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 2, 2008. The following information highlights section by section the changes from the proposed guidelines.
Title I
No changes
Title II
Sex offenders must be registered where they live, go to school, and work
- Redefined “jurisdiction”
- Redefined “imprisonment” – any type of incarceration
- SORNA is a floor, not a ceiling – no preemptive language to indicate otherwise
- Retroactivity – Jurisdictions don’t have to seek out pre-SORNA convicted sex offenders and re-register them. This does not impact substantial compliance. If a person re-offends or enters back into the judicial system for any crime, the individual will need to register under SORNA guidelines.
- Software rollout will take place at the SORNA symposium in July. Community notification software can be put on to any state registry and is available without costs to states. Any person can register up to 5 addresses and receive an email notice when a sex offender registers near those addresses. The software also provides a zip code or geographic area search.
- Substantial implementation means a jurisdiction cannot completely exclude a title of SORNA and hope to be in substantial compliance.
Title III Tribes
- Can form cooperative agreements with any type of governmental agency the tribe chooses
- If implementation is turned over to states, then the tribe cannot do anything that conflicts with state compliance
- Tribal names are different than English names and offenders must be registered under the name most commonly known by in the community
Title IV
- Sealed records are still convictions and are subject to registration requirements
- Juvenile Sex Offenders were changed from the proposed guidelines
- This includes any most egregious acts
- Engaging in a sexual act with a child under 12 has been dropped
- Registration based solely on the age of the child and lesser sexual acts have been dropped
- No changes to foreign convictions provisions
Title V
- Jurisdictions do not have to look behind the conviction to determine tier level. The face of the conviction is enough expect to determine victim’s age.
- States do not have to mirror federal tiers – these are minimum standards that must be met to be in substantial compliance.
Title VI
No changes
Title VII
- Specific information to be included in the registry is not the same as information to be taken from the sex offender for law enforcement use.
- Tier I sex offenders do not have to be included on a registry unless the crime was against a minor.
- School and employment must be on the registry
Title VIII
- Definition of “habitually lives” is up to interpretation by jurisdictions
Title IX
No changes
Title X
- In person changes to registry is only required for changes of name, residence, employment, or school attendance. Other changes can be made in any manner the jurisdiction sees fit.
Title XI
No significant changes
Title XII
- Tolling of registry requirements while sex offender is incarcerated is discretionary with illustration.
Title XIII
No changes
For more information, NCSL's Criminal Justice Program in Denver, Colorado is at 303-364-7700 or cj-info@ncsl.org. NCSL's Washington office is at: 202-624-5400.
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