I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4815 
To establish a National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task Force to 
create guidelines for the establishment of a risk-based sex offender classi-
fication system for use in sex offender registries. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 28, 2006 
Mr. GILLMOR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To establish a National Sex Offender Risk Classification 
Task Force to create guidelines for the establishment 
of a risk-based sex offender classification system for use 
in sex offender registries. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Safe NOW Act of 2006’’. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab-
lish a National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task 
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Force to create guidelines for the establishment of a risk- 
based sex offender classification system that will— 
(1) classify sex offenders based on the threat of 
danger each sex offender poses to the public; and 
(2) allow law enforcement agencies and the 
public to identify the most dangerous sex offenders 
listed in sex offender registries by using the classi-
fication system. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY.—The term ‘‘sex 
offender registry’’ means a registry of sex offenders, 
and a notification program, maintained by a juris-
diction. 
(2) JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘jurisdiction’’ 
means any of the following: 
(A) A State. 
(B) The District of Columbia. 
(C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
(D) Guam. 
(E) American Samoa. 
(F) The Northern Mariana Islands. 
(G) The United States Virgin Islands. 
(H) Any Federally recognized Indian tribe. 
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SEC. 3. NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER RISK CLASSIFICATION 
TASK FORCE. 
(a) TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED.—There is estab-
lished, under the general authority of the Attorney Gen-
eral, the National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task 
Force (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 
(A) create preliminary guidelines for the 
establishment of a risk-based sex offender clas-
sification system; 
(B) administer the demonstration program 
under section 4; and 
(C) create final guidelines for the estab-
lishment of a risk-based sex offender classifica-
tion system that shall be made available to ju-
risdictions for use in accordance with section 7, 
and that shall be created using the information 
gathered through— 
(i) the demonstration program under 
section 4; and 
(ii) the activities of the working 
groups under paragraph (3). 
(2) CREATION
OF
GUIDELINES.—In creating 
the guidelines required under this subsection, the 
Task Force shall consider— 
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(A) empirically-based assessment tools 
available to assess the dangers posed by sex of-
fenders; 
(B) the methods used to classify sex of-
fenders for the purposes of sex offender reg-
istries in use by Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act, and how those methods differ 
from a risk-based sex offender classification 
system; 
(C) means by which information regarding 
the risk-based classification of sex offenders 
may be comprehensively and consistently dis-
seminated to Federal, State, and local law en-
forcement agencies and the public; 
(D) opportunities available to sex offenders 
(especially those who are not under court super-
vision) to change their risk-based classification, 
including voluntary participation in sex offender 
treatment and monitoring programs; and 
(E) any negative consequences that have 
resulted from Megan’s Law (Public Law 104– 
145; 110 Stat. 1345), and steps that might be 
taken to reduce such negative consequences. 
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(3) WORKING GROUPS.—The Chair shall des-
ignate 5 working groups within the Task Force, 
each of which shall conduct one of the following ac-
tivities: 
(A) Survey the methods of risk classifica-
tion used by each jurisdiction, as of the date of 
enactment of this Act, and identify changes to 
such methods that jurisdictions could imple-
ment to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and 
consistency of sex offender registries. 
(B) Research and analyze the effectiveness 
of the most recently developed tools available 
(as of the date of enactment of this Act) to as-
sess the dangers posed by sex offenders and to 
classify sex offenders based on risk. 
(C) Identify the strengths and weaknesses 
of Federal, State, and local sex offender reg-
istration and notification procedures in use as 
of the day before the date of enactment of this 
Act, and propose methods to improve any such 
weaknesses. 
(D) Analyze Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agency procedures for community 
notification regarding sex offenders (as of the 
date of enactment of this Act), and determine 
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the most appropriate procedures to notify com-
munities regarding sex offenders of varying 
risk-based classifications. 
(E) Develop a resource guide that Federal, 
State, and local law enforcement agencies may 
use to educate the public about the prevention 
of sex offenses, the dangers posed by sex of-
fenders, the systems used to classify sex offend-
ers, and the access and use of sex offender reg-
istries. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall con-
sist of 20 members, who shall be appointed by the 
Attorney General within 45 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and who shall include— 
(A) the Chair; 
(B) one representative from each of the 
following: 
(i) the Safe NOW Project; 
(ii) the National Association to PRO-
TECT Children; 
(iii) Parents For Megan’s Law, Inc.; 
(iv) the Association for the Treatment 
of Sexual Abusers; 
(v) the National Sheriffs’ Association; 
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(vi) the National Association of Police 
Organizations; 
(vii) the American Probation and Pa-
role Association; 
(viii) the American Psychological As-
sociation; 
(ix) the National Association of Crimi-
nal Defense Lawyers; 
(x) the Washington State Institute for 
Public Policy; 
(xi) the National Center for Missing 
and Exploited Children; 
(xii) the Office for Victims of Crime; 
(xiii) the Center for Sex Offender 
Management; 
(xiv) the National Law Enforcement 
and Corrections Technology Center; 
(xv) the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion; and 
(xvi) the Center for Disease Control 
and Prevention; and 
(C) three representatives of the academic 
community who specialize in risk assessment of 
sex offenders. 
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(2) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Attorney Gen-
eral shall appoint to the Task Force a Chair and a 
diverse group of members who are knowledgeable in 
the fields of sex offender management, community 
education, risk assessment of sex offenders, and sex 
offender victim issues. 
(3) TERMS; VACANCIES.—The term of office for 
members shall be for the life of the Task Force. A 
vacancy in the Task Force shall not affect the pow-
ers of the Task Force, and shall be filled in the 
same manner in which the original appointment was 
made. 
(4) COMPENSATION.— 
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), the Chair and members of the Task Force 
shall be paid at the rate of $500 per day for 
each day, including travel time, during which he 
or she is engaged in the actual performance of 
duties vested in the Task Force. 
(B) A member of the Task Force who is 
a full-time officer or employee of the United 
States or a Member of Congress shall receive no 
additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason 
of his or her service to the Task Force. 
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(C) All members of the Task Force shall 
be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other 
necessary expenses incurred by them in the per-
formance of their duties to the extent author-
ized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
(d) MEETINGS.— 
(1) FREQUENCY.—The Task Force shall meet 
not less than 4 times per year, at the call of the 
Chair. The Attorney General shall call the first 
meeting of the Task Force within 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days 
after the date on which legislation is enacted making 
appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date 
is later. 
(2) RECORD.—The Task Force shall maintain 
records of an active roster of membership, meeting 
minutes, and any other information the Chair may 
require. 
(3) PUBLIC MEETINGS; NOTICE.—Task Force 
meetings shall be open to the public, except as deter-
mined otherwise by the Chair (or other official to 
whom the authority has been delegated by the 
Chair). Notice of all meetings shall be published in 
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the Federal Register not later than 30 days before 
the date of such meeting. 
(4) CLOSED MEETINGS.—No later than 7 days 
after any Task Force meeting (or a portion of such 
a meeting) is closed to the public, a report shall be 
prepared for the Attorney General by a designated 
member the Task Force who was present for the en-
tirety of such meeting, which shall contain, at a min-
imum, a list of individuals present and the activities 
conducted at such closed meeting. 
SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force is authorized to 
carry out a demonstration program under which the Task 
Force shall award one grant to each of 5 selected jurisdic-
tions to carry out the activities under subsection (b). 
(b) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—A selected jurisdiction 
shall use a grant awarded under subsection (a) to— 
(1) use the preliminary guidelines created by 
the Task Force under section 3(b) to implement a 
risk-based sex offender classification system to clas-
sify sex offenders registered in the jurisdiction’s sex 
offender registry; 
(2) demonstrate the extent to which such pre-
liminary guidelines provide for the successful imple-
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mentation of an effective risk-based sex offender 
classification system; and 
(3) identify ways such preliminary guidelines 
may be improved to provide better guidance for the 
successful implementation of an effective risk-based 
sex offender classification system. 
(c) APPLICATIONS.—A jurisdiction desiring to par-
ticipate in the demonstration program shall submit an ap-
plication to the Task Force at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Task Force may 
require. 
(d) SELECTION OF JURISDICTIONS.— 
(1) Not later than 9 months after the date of 
the first meeting of the Task Force, the Task Force 
shall select 5 jurisdictions to participate in the dem-
onstration program from the applications received 
under subsection (c). 
(2) The Task Force shall develop criteria to se-
lect jurisdictions to participate in the demonstration 
program. In developing such criteria and selecting 
jurisdictions, the Task Force shall consider— 
(A) the importance of the participation of 
demographically and geographically diverse ju-
risdictions in the demonstration program; and 
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(B) the willingness and ability of jurisdic-
tions to— 
(i) collaborate with officials in such 
jurisdiction responsible for the manage-
ment of sex offenders; 
(ii) report to the Task Force on the 
effectiveness of the preliminary guidelines 
created under section 3(b); 
(iii) provide recommendations to the 
Task Force regarding the improvement of 
such preliminary guidelines and the cre-
ation of final guidelines; and 
(iv) provide information about their 
participation in the demonstration program 
to other jurisdictions implementing a risk- 
based sex offender classification system. 
(e) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this sub-
section shall be for the one-year period beginning on the 
date one year after the date of the first meeting of the 
Task Force, and shall not be renewable. 
(f) ASSISTANCE AND REVIEW.—The Task Force shall 
provide technical assistance as necessary to the jurisdic-
tions selected to participate in the demonstration program, 
and shall document the demonstration program experience 
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of each selected jurisdiction in the final report required 
under section 5. 
SEC. 5. REPORTS. 
(a) The Task Force shall provide to the Attorney 
General and to the relevant committees of Congress— 
(1) not later than one year after the date of the 
first meeting of the Task Force, an initial report 
containing— 
(A) preliminary guidelines for the estab-
lishment of a risk-based sex offender classifica-
tion system to be used for the demonstration 
program under section 3; 
(B) a list of the jurisdictions selected to 
participate in such demonstration program; and 
(C) a summary of the activities conducted 
by, and the findings of, each working group 
under section 3(b)(3); and 
(2) not later than 6 months after the date of 
the expiration of the demonstration program grants 
made under section 4, a final report containing— 
(A) final guidelines for the establishment 
of a risk-based sex offender classification sys-
tem, as required under section 3(b); and 
(B) a summary of the information gath-
ered through the demonstration program under 
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section 4, including any information provided 
by the jurisdictions that participated in such 
program that was considered by the Task Force 
in the creation of the final guidelines under 
subparagraph (A). 
SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF TASK FORCE. 
The Task Force shall terminate 90 days after the 
final report under section 5 is provided to the Attorney 
General and the relevant committees of Congress. 
SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING USE OF GUIDE-
LINES. 
It is the sense of Congress that each jurisdiction 
should use the final guidelines created by the Task Force 
under this Act to implement a risk-based sex offender clas-
sification system to classify sex offenders registered in 
such jurisdiction’s sex offender registry. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act (except for section 4), 
$1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009. 
(b) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
to carry out the demonstration program under section 4. 
Æ 
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