I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1683
To clarify the standards for State sex offender registration programs under
the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Of-
fender Registration Act.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 20, 1997
Mr. MCCOLLUM (for himself, Ms. DUNN, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr.
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. DIAZ-
BALART, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. SNOWBARGER, and Ms.
ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To clarify the standards for State sex offender registration
programs under the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against
Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jacob Wetterling
Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders
Registration Improvements Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF STANDARDS FOR STATE SEX OF-
FENDER REGISTRATION PROGRAMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 170101(a) of the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42
U.S.C. 14071(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘with
a designated State law enforcement agency’’;
and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘with
a designated State law enforcement agency’’;
and
(2) by striking paragraph (2), and inserting the
following:
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION BY STATE BOARDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A determination that
a person is a sexually violent predator or a de-
termination that a person is no longer a sexu-
ally violent predator for purposes of this section
shall be made by the sentencing court, after
considering—
‘‘(i) the recommendations of the ap-
propriate State board or boards under sub-
paragraph (B)(iii); or
‘‘(ii) with respect to a State described
in subparagraph (C), the recommendations
of the State, which shall be made in ac-
cordance with the procedures described in
that subparagraph.
‘‘(B) STATE BOARDS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Except as pro-
vided in subparagraph (C), not later than
2 years after the date of enactment of the
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children
and Sexually Violent Offenders Registra-
tion Improvements Act of 1997, each State
shall establish 1 or more State boards in
accordance with this subparagraph.
‘‘(ii) 
MEMBERSHIP.—Each 
State
board established under this subparagraph
shall be composed of—
‘‘(I) experts in the behavior and
treatment of sex offenders;
‘‘(II) victims’ rights advocates;
and
‘‘(III) representatives of law en-
forcement agencies.
‘‘(iii) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Upon the
request of a sentencing court, a State
board established under this subparagraph
shall make a recommendation to the sen-
‘‘(1) DUTIES OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS.—’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) in the matter preceding clause (i),
by striking ‘‘or in the case of probation,
the court’’ and inserting ‘‘a designated
State agency, the court, or other respon-
sible official’’;
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘give’’
and all that follows before the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘report the change of ad-
dress as provided by State law’’; and
(iii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘shall
register’’ and all that follows before the
semicolon and inserting ‘‘shall report the
change of address as provided by State law
and comply with any registration require-
ment in the new State of residence’’; and
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or
the court’’ and inserting ‘‘, the designated State
agency, the court, or other responsible official’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF INFORMATION TO FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND TO STATE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A designated State
agency, the court, or other responsible official,
shall forward the registration information to the
agency responsible for registration under State
law, in accordance with State procedures that
meet the requirements of subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) STATE
PROCEDURES.—State proce-
dures shall ensure that, as promptly as prac-
ticable—
‘‘(i) the registration information is
provided and made available to a law en-
forcement agency having jurisdiction where
the person expects to reside;
‘‘(ii) the registration information is
entered into the appropriate State records
or data system; and
‘‘(iii) conviction data and fingerprints
for registered persons are transmitted to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation.’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)(A)—
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
inserting after ‘‘(a)(1),’’ the following: ‘‘with re-
spect to any person required to register under
subsection (a)(1)(A), State procedures shall
provide for verification of address not less than
annually. Such verification may be effected by
providing that,’’;
(B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘The des-
ignated State law enforcement’’ and inserting
‘‘A designated’’;
(C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘State law
enforcement’’;
(D) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘to the des-
ignated State law enforcement agency’’; and
(E) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘State law
enforcement’’;
(4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘section re-
ported’’ and all that follows before the period at the
end and inserting ‘‘section shall be reported by the
person in the manner provided by State law. State
procedures shall ensure that the updated address in-
formation is provided promptly to a law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction over the location at which
the person will reside and that the information is en-
tered into the appropriate State records or data sys-
tem’’;
(5) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘shall reg-
ister’’ and all that follows before the period at the
end and inserting ‘‘and who moves to another State,
shall report the change of address to the responsible
agency in the State the person is leaving, and shall
comply with any registration requirement in the new
State of residence. The procedures of the State the
person is leaving shall ensure that notice is provided
promptly to an agency responsible for registration in
the new State, if that State requires registration’’;
and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) OFFENDERS CROSSING STATE BORDERS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(i) REGISTRATION UNDER LAWS OF
CERTAIN STATES.—Any person who is re-
quired to register in that person’s State of
residence under this section shall also reg-
ister in accordance with the law that gov-
erns the registration, verification, and noti-
fication of sex offenders of each State in
which that person is—
‘‘(I) employed or carries on a vo-
cation; or
‘‘(II) enrolled as a student.
‘‘(ii) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara-
graph—
‘‘(I) the term ‘employed or car-
ries on a vocation’ includes employ-
ment that is full-time or part-time, for
a period of time exceeding 14 days or
for an aggregate period of time ex-
ceeding 30 days during any calendar
year, whether financially compensated,
volunteered, or for the purpose of gov-
ernment or educational benefit; and
‘‘(II) the term ‘student’ includes
any person who is enrolled on a full-
or part-time basis, in any public or
private educational institution, includ-
ing any secondary school, trade or
professional institution, or institution
of higher education.
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—The
State authority responsible for the registration
of sex offenders in each State shall ensure that
each person who is required to register under
this paragraph is notified of the requirements
of this paragraph and the potential con-
sequences of a failure to comply with those re-
quirements.
‘‘(8) RELOCATING STATE PROBATIONERS AND
PAROLEES.—