General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1235
January Session, 2011 LCO No. 5121
*05121_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 1235
January Session, 2011
LCO No. 5121
*05121_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of section 54-259a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) There is established a Risk Assessment Board consisting of the Commissioner of Correction, the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Chief State's Attorney, the Chief Public Defender, the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles [,] and the executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department, [and the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and public safety,] or their designees, a victim advocate with experience working with sexual assault victims and sexual offenders appointed by the Governor, a forensic psychiatrist with experience in the treatment of sexual offenders appointed by the Governor and a person trained in the identification, assessment and treatment of sexual offenders appointed by the Governor.
(b) The board shall develop a risk assessment scale that assigns weights to various risk factors including, but not limited to, the seriousness of the offense, the offender's prior offense history, the offender's characteristics, the availability of community supports, whether the offender has indicated or credible evidence in the record indicates that the offender will reoffend if released into the community and whether the offender demonstrates a physical condition that minimizes the risk of reoffending, and specifies the risk level to which offenders with various risk assessment scores shall be assigned.
(c) The board shall use the risk assessment scale to assess the risk of reoffending of each person subject to registration under this chapter, including incarcerated offenders who are within one year of their estimated release date, and, not later than July 1, 2012, assign each such person a [risk level of high, medium or low] level 1, level 2 or level 3 risk level. For the purposes of this subsection, "level 1" means there is a low risk of reoffending; "level 2" means there is a moderate risk of reoffending; and "level 3" means there is a high risk of reoffending.
Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 54-258 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2012):
(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, except subdivisions (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, information contained in the registry maintained by the Department of Public Safety concerning registrants assigned a level 2 or level 3 risk level pursuant to subsection (c) of section 54-259a, as amended by this act, shall be a public record and shall be accessible to the public during normal business hours. The Department of Public Safety shall make registry information concerning registrants assigned a level 2 or level 3 risk level available to the public through the Internet. Not less than once per calendar quarter, the Department of Public Safety shall issue notices to all print and electronic media in the state regarding the availability and means of accessing the registry. Each local police department and each state police troop shall keep a record of all registration information transmitted to it by the Department of Public Safety, and shall make [such] information concerning registrants assigned a level 2 or level 3 risk level accessible to the public during normal business hours.
(2) (A) Any state agency, the Judicial Department, any state police troop or any local police department may, at its discretion, notify any government agency, private organization or individual of registration information concerning a registrant assigned a level 2 or level 3 risk level when such agency, said department, such troop or such local police department, as the case may be, believes such notification is necessary to protect the public or any individual in any jurisdiction from any person who is subject to registration under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254.
(B) Whenever a registrant assigned a level 2 or level 3 risk level is released into the community, the Department of Public Safety shall, by electronic mail, notify the superintendent of schools for the school district in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release and provide such superintendent with the same registry information for such registrant that the department makes available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, state agencies, the Judicial Department, state police troops and local police departments shall not disclose the identity of any victim of a crime committed by a registrant or treatment information provided to the registry pursuant to sections 54-102g and 54-250 to 54-258a, inclusive, except to government agencies for bona fide law enforcement or security purposes.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, registration information the dissemination of which has been restricted by court order pursuant to section 54-255 and which is not otherwise subject to disclosure, shall not be a public record and shall be released only for law enforcement purposes until such restriction is removed by the court pursuant to said section.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, a registrant's electronic mail address, instant message address or other similar Internet communication identifier shall not be a public record, except that the Department of Public Safety may release such identifier for law enforcement or security purposes in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. The department shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to specify the circumstances under which and the persons to whom such identifiers may be released including, but not limited to, providers of electronic communication service or remote computing service, as those terms are defined in section 54-260b, and operators of Internet web sites, and the procedure therefor.
(6) When any registrant completes the registrant's term of registration or is otherwise released from the obligation to register under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Public Safety shall notify any state police troop or local police department having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported residence address that the person is no longer a registrant, and the Department of Public Safety, state police troop and local police department shall remove the registrant's name and information from the registry.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2011 54-259a(a) to (c)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2012 54-258(a)
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
July 1, 2011
54-259a(a) to (c)
Sec. 2
July 1, 2012
54-258(a)
Statement of Purpose:
To require that registered sexual offenders be assessed for the risk of reoffending and provide that only registration information concerning offenders assessed as moderate or high risk of reoffending be available to the public.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]