IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 125

Expressing the sense of the Congress that each State should enact legislation

regarding notification procedures necessary when a sexually violent offender is released.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 25, 1997

Mr. GUTKNECHT (for himself, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr.

WALSH, Mr. FROST, Mr. HORN, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.

DIAZ-BALART, Mr. NEY, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, Mr. MCINTOSH,

Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. DAVIS of Virginia, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr.

LUTHER, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. FAZIO of California, Mr.

DEUTSCH, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mrs. KELLY, Ms. CARSON,

Mr. CRAMER, Mr. SANDLIN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. CASTLE,

Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Judiciary

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that each State should

enact legislation regarding notification procedures necessary when a sexually violent offender is released.

Whereas States are now required to release certain relevant

information to protect the public from sexually violent offenders; and

Whereas many States have not established guidelines regarding the notification and release of a sexually violent offender: Now, therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that each

3 State should enact legislation based on the following

4 model:

5 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY BOARD FOR

6 RISK ASSESSMENT.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The State shall establish an

8 Advisory Board for Risk Assessment (referred to in this

9 Act as the ‘‘Board’’) which consists of not less than 5

10 members appointed by the Chief Executive Officer of the

11 State.

12 (b) DUTIES.—The Board shall comply with the re13 quirements and guidelines established for a State board

14 under section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and

15 Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the provisions of this

16 Act.

17 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—Each member shall, by experi18 ence or training, have a personal interest or professional

19 expertise in law enforcement, crime prevention, victim ad20 vocacy, criminology, psychology, parole, public education,

21 or community relations.

22 (d) TERM.—The term of office of each member of

23 such Board shall be determined by the Chief Executive

24 Officer of the State in guidelines issued pursuant to this

25 section.
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1 (e) VACANCY.—Any member chosen to fill a vacancy

2 occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be ap3 pointed for the remainder of the unexpired term.

4 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chief Executive Officer of

5 the State shall designate 1 of the members of the Board

6 as chairperson to serve in such capacity at the pleasure

7 of the Officer or until the member’s term of office expires

8 and a successor is designated in accordance with law,

9 whichever occurs first.

10 (g) TERMINATION.—Any member of the Board may

11 be removed by the Chief Executive Officer for cause after

12 an opportunity to be heard.

13 (h) QUORUM.—Except as otherwise provided by law,

14 a majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the

15 transaction of all business of the Board.

16 SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR TIER DETERMINATION.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer of the

18 State or a designee shall develop guidelines and proce19 dures for use by the Board to assess the risk of a repeat

20 offense by such sex offender and the threat posed to the

21 public safety. Such guidelines shall be based upon the fol22 lowing:

23 (1) Criminal history factors indicative of high

24 risk of repeat offense, including—
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1 (A) whether the sex offender has a mental

2 abnormality;

3 (B) whether the sex offender’s conduct was

4 found to be characterized by repetitive and

5 compulsive behavior, associated with drugs or

6 alcohol;

7 (C) whether the sex offender served the

8 maximum term;

9 (D) whether the sex offender committed

10 the felony sex offense against a child; and

11 (E) the age of the sex offender at the time

12 of the commission of the first sex offense.

13 (2) Other factors to be considered in determin14 ing risk, including—

15 (A) the relationship between such sex of16 fender and the victims;

17 (B) whether the offense involved the use of

18 a weapon, violence, or infliction of serious bod19 ily injury;

20 (C) the number, date, and nature of prior

21 offenses;

22 (D) conditions of release that minimize

23 risk of another offense, including whether the

24 sex offender is under supervision, receiving

25 counseling, therapy or treatment, or residing in
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1 a home situation that provides guidance and su2 pervision;

3 (E) physical conditions that minimize risk

4 of another offense, including advanced age or

5 debilitating illness;

6 (F) whether psychological or psychiatric

7 profiles indicate a risk of recidivism;

8 (G) the sex offender’s response to treat9 ment;

10 (H) recent behavior, including behavior

11 while confined;

12 (I) recent threats or gestures against per13 sons or expression of intent to commit addi14 tional offenses; and

15 (J) review of any victim impact statement.

16 (b) INFORMATION TRANSFER.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

18 provision of law, any State or local correctional facil19 ity, hospital, or institution shall forward relevant in20 formation pertaining to a sex offender to be dis21 charged, paroled, or released to the Board for review

22 prior to the release or discharge for consideration by

23 the Board in its recommendations. Information shall

24 include the commitment file, medical file, and treat25 ment file pertaining to such person.
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1 (2) CONFIDENTIALITY.—All confidential

2 records provided under paragraph (1) shall remain

3 confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by

4 the lawful custodians of the records, or by another

5 person duly authorized to release such information.

6 SEC. 3. BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS.

7 The Board shall use the guidelines established pursu8 ant to section 2(a) to recommend to an appropriate court

9 of the State 1 of the following 3 levels of notification:

10 (1) TIER I.—If the risk of a repeat offense is

11 low, a tier 1 designation shall be given to such sex

12 offender. In such case the designated law enforce13 ment agency having jurisdiction and the law enforce14 ment agency having had jurisdiction at the time of

15 his conviction shall be notified in accordance with

16 section 170101(b)(4) of the Violent Crime Control

17 and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

18 (2) TIER II.—If the risk of a repeat offense is

19 moderate, a tier 2 designation shall be given to such

20 sex offender. In such case the designated law en21 forcement agency having jurisdiction and the law en22 forcement agency having had jurisdiction at the time

23 of conviction shall be notified and may notify any

24 victim of the proposed release of such offender and

25 any agency, organization, or group, serving individ-
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1 uals who have similar characteristics to the previous

2 victim or victims of such offender. The notification

3 may include the approximate address (by ZIP Code),

4 background information relating to the crime, type

5 of victim targeted, conviction, including release of a

6 photograph of the offender, and any special condi7 tions imposed on the offender.

8 (3) TIER III.—If the risk of a repeat offense is

9 high and there exists a threat to the public safety,

10 a tier 3 designation shall be given to such offender.

11 In such case, the appropriate law enforcement agen12 cies shall be notified of such an offender’s release

13 and may use the notification procedures described in

14 paragraph (2), except that a precise address may be

15 released and any relevant information necessary to

16 protect the public concerning a specific person re17 quired to register under section 170101 of the Vio18 lent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of

19 1994 shall be released.

20 SEC. 4. JUDICIAL DETERMINATION.

21 (a) NOTIFICATION LEVEL.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appropriate court of the

23 State also shall make a determination with respect

24 to the level of notification, after receiving a tier rec25 ommendation from the Board. In making the deter-
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1 mination, the court shall review any statement by a

2 victim or victims and any materials submitted by the

3 sex offender. The court shall also allow the sex of4 fender to appear and be heard, and inform the sex

5 offender of the right to have counsel appointed if

6 necessary.

7 (2) APPEAL.—A sex offender may appeal a de8 termination made by the court made under para9 graph (1) in accordance with State law.

10 (3) NOTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION.—The

11 filing of the appeal shall not stay the designated law

12 enforcement agency’s notification actions unless the

13 court orders otherwise. Such petition, if granted,

14 shall not relieve the petitioner of the duty to register

15 pursuant to section 170101 of the Violent Crime

16 Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 upon

17 conviction of an offense requiring registration in the

18 future.

19 (b) REVERSAL.—Upon the reversal of a conviction of

20 a sexual offense, the court shall order the expungement

21 of any records required to be kept pursuant to this Act.

22 SEC. 5. PENALTY FOR MISUSE OF REGISTRATION INFORMA23 TION.

24 (a) FINE.—Any person who uses information dis25 closed pursuant to this Act in violation of the law shall
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1 be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned

2 for not more than 5 years, or both.

3 (b) CIVIL ACTION.—The State attorney general, a

4 district attorney, or any person aggrieved by information

5 disclosed in violation of the law is authorized to bring a

6 civil action in the appropriate court requesting preventive

7 relief, including an application for a permanent or tem8 porary injunction, restraining order, or other order

9 against the person or group of persons responsible for

10 such action.

11 (c) ADDITIONAL REMEDIES.—The foregoing rem12 edies shall be independent of any other remedies or proce13 dures that may be available to an aggrieved party under

14 other provisions of law.

15 SEC. 6. JUVENILE OFFENDERS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—A juvenile residing in a State who

17 has been adjudicated delinquent for any sex offense or at18 tempted sex offense, or who has been convicted of any sex

19 offense or attempted sex offense, or who has been acquit20 ted by reason of insanity for any sex offense or attempted

21 sex offense shall be required to comply with the registra22 tion requirements established pursuant to section 170101

23 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

24 of 1994.
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1 (b) YOUTH FACILITY.—Any person who is discharged

2 or paroled from a facility in another State that is equiva3 lent to a Department of the Youth Authority to the cus4 tody of such a facility because of the commission or at5 tempted commission of specified sex offenses, is required

6 to register pursuant to section 170101 of the Violent

7 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

8 SEC. 7. OFFICIAL IMMUNITY FROM LIABILITY.

9 (a) IMMUNITY.—No official, employee, or agency,

10 whether public or private, shall be subject to any civil or

11 criminal liability for damages for any discretionary deci12 sion to release relevant and necessary information pursu13 ant to this section, unless it is shown that such official,

14 employee, or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad

15 faith.

16 (b) INFORMATION RELEASE.—The immunity pro17 vided under this section applies to the release of relevant

18 information to other employees or officials or to the gen19 eral public.

20 (c) FAILURE TO RELEASE INFORMATION.—Nothing

21 in this section shall be deemed to impose any civil or crimi22 nal liability upon or to give rise to a cause of action

23 against any official, employee, or agency, whether public

24 or private, for failing to release information as authorized
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1 in this Act unless it is shown that such official, employee,

2 or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.

3 SEC. 8. IDENTITY OF THE VICTIM.

4 Any information identifying the victim by name, birth

5 date, address, or relation to the registrant shall be ex6 cluded from public access or dissemination.

7 SEC. 9. GENERAL STATE REQUIREMENTS.

8 The Chief Executive Officer of a State or designee

9 shall establish reasonable notification requirements under

10 this Act, including notification to an offender of any proce11 dures for which the offender is required or is permitted

12 to participate, including the hearing process, appeal

13 rights, and submission of information to the Board.

14 SEC. 10. ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY EDUCATION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer of a

16 State shall appoint a voluntary advisory council to design

17 a policy to assist communities in which a sex offender re18 sides to plan and prepare for such a resident.

19 (b) COMPOSITION.—Each such advisory council shall

20 include representation from—

21 (1) law enforcement;

22 (2) law enforcement organizations;

23 (3) local corrections agencies;

24 (4) victims groups; and

25 (5) other interested members of the public.
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1 (c) DUTIES.—In developing a policy pursuant to sub2 section (a), an advisory council should make recommenda3 tions that include—

4 (1) the method of distributing community noti5 fication information;

6 (2) methods of educating community residents

7 at public meetings on how they can use such infor8 mation to enhance their safety and the safety of

9 their family;

10 (3) procedures for ensuring that community

11 members are educated regarding the right of the sex

12 offender not to be subjected to harassment or crimi13 nal acts; and

14 (4) other matters the council considers nec15 essary to ensure the effective and fair administration

16 of the community notification law.

17 SEC. 11. EXPUNGEMENT OF OUTDATED INFORMATION.

18 In accordance with section 170101 of the Violent

19 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the de20 partment required to coordinate the sex offender registra21 tion program shall compile and update information re22 garding the offenders. Any offender whose duty to register

23 has expired or who has been relieved of the duty to register

24 shall be removed from any public database.
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1 SEC. 12. EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent law

3 enforcement officers from notifying members of the public

4 of individuals that pose a danger under circumstances that

5 are not described in section 170101 of the Violent Crime

6 Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 or under this

7 Act.

8 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS.

9 For purposes of this Act:

10 (1) The term ‘‘criminal offense against a victim

11 who is a minor’’ means any criminal offense that

12 consists of—

13 (A) kidnapping of a minor, except by a

14 parent;

15 (B) false imprisonment of a minor, except

16 by a parent;

17 (C) criminal sexual conduct toward a

18 minor;

19 (D) solicitation of a minor to engage in

20 sexual conduct;

21 (E) use of a minor in a sexual perform22 ance;

23 (F) solicitation of a minor to practice pros24 titution;

25 (G) any conduct that by its nature is a

26 sexual offense against a minor; and
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1 (H) an attempt to commit an offense de2 scribed in any of subparagraphs (A) through

3 (H) if the State—

4 (i) makes such an attempt a criminal

5 offense; or

6 (ii) chooses to include such an offense

7 in those which are criminal offenses

8 against a victim who is a minor for pur9 poses of this section.

10 For purposes of this paragraph, conduct which is

11 criminal only because of the age of the victim shall

12 not be considered a criminal offense if the perpetra13 tor is 18 years of age or younger.

14 (2) The term ‘‘sexually violent offense’’ means

15 any criminal offense that consists of aggravated sex16 ual abuse or sexual abuse (as described in sections

17 2241 and 2242 of title 18, United States Code, or

18 as described in the State criminal code) or an of19 fense that has as its elements engaging in physical

20 contact with another person with intent to commit

21 aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse (as de22 scribed in such sections of title 18, United States

23 Code, or as described in the State criminal code).

24 (3) The term ‘‘mental abnormality’’ means a

25 congenital or acquired condition of a person that af-
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1 fects the emotional or volitional capacity of the per2 son in a manner that predisposes that person to the

3 commission of criminal sexual acts to a degree that

4 makes the person a menace to the health and safety

5 of other persons.

6 (4) The term ‘‘predatory’’ means an act di7 rected at a stranger, or a person with whom a rela8 tionship has been established or promoted for the

9 primary purpose of victimization.

10 Any offense committed in another State, which if commit11 ted in the State at issue would be one of the above enu12 merated offenses, is considered a sexual offense for the

13 purposes of this Act.

14 (5) The term ‘‘juvenile’’ has the meaning given

15 such term under State law.

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