I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3456
To provide for the nationwide tracking of convicted sexual predators, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 14, 1996
Mr. ZIMMER (for himself, Mr. BONILLA, Ms. DUNN of Washington, Mr.
GUTKNECHT, and Mr. DEAL of Georgia) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for the nationwide tracking of convicted sexual
predators, and for other purposes.
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 ‘‘Sexual Offender
Tracking and Identification Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. OFFENDER REGISTRATION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FBI DATABASE.—Subtitle
A of title XVII of the Violent Crime Control and Law En-
forcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071) is amended by
adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 170102. FBI DATABASE.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘FBI’ means the Federal Bureau
of Investigation;
‘‘(2) the terms ‘criminal offense against a vic-
tim who is a minor’, ‘sexually violent offense’, ‘sexu-
ally violent predator’, ‘mental abnormality’, and
‘predatory’ have the same meanings as in section
170101(a)(3); and
‘‘(3) the term ‘minimally sufficient sexual of-
fender registration program’ means any State sexual
offender registration program that—
‘‘(A) requires the registration of each of-
fender who is convicted of an offense described
in subparagraph (A) or (B) of section
170101(a)(1);
‘‘(B) requires that all information gathered
under such program be transmitted to the FBI
in accordance with subsection (g) of this sec-
tion;
‘‘(C) meets the requirements for verifica-
tion under section 170101(b)(3); and
‘‘(D) requires that each person who is re-
quired to register under subparagraph (A) shall
do so for a period of not less than 10 years be-
ginning on the date that such person was re-
‘‘(2) for the life of the person, if that person—
‘‘(A) has 2 or more convictions for an of-
fense described in subsection (b);
‘‘(B) has been convicted of aggravated sex-
ual abuse, as defined in section 2241 of title
18, United States Code, or in a comparable
provision of State law; or
‘‘(C) has been determined to be a sexually
violent predator.
‘‘(e) VERIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) PERSONS
CONVICTED
OF
AN
OFFENSE
AGAINST
A
MINOR
OR
A
SEXUALLY
VIOLENT
OF-
FENSE.—In the case of a person required to register
under subsection (c), on each anniversary of the ini-
tial registration date during the period in which the
person is required to register under subsection (d)—
‘‘(A) the FBI shall mail a nonforwardable
verification form to the last reported address of
the person;
‘‘(B) the verification form shall be signed
by the person, and state whether the person
still resides at the address last reported to the
FBI; and
‘‘(C) the person shall mail the verification
form, along with a set of fingerprints and a
current photograph of that person, to the FBI
not later than 10 days after receipt of the form.
‘‘(2) SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS.—Para-
graph (1) shall apply to a person described in sub-
section (b)(3), except that such person must verify
the registration once every 90 days after the date of
the initial release or commencement of parole of that
person.
‘‘(f) COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
the FBI may release relevant information concerning
a person required to register under subsection (c)
that is necessary to protect the public.
‘‘(2) IDENTITY OF VICTIM.—In no case shall
the FBI release the identity of any victim of an of-
fense that requires registration by the offender with
the FBI.
‘‘(g) NOTIFICATION OF FBI OF CHANGES IN RESI-
DENCE.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW RESIDENCE.—
For purposes of this section, a person shall be
deemed to have established a new residence during
any period in which that person resides for not less
than 10 days.
‘‘(2) PERSONS REQUIRED TO REGISTER WITH
THE FBI.—Each change of address by a person re-
quired to register under subsection (c) shall be re-
ported to the FBI not later than 10 days after that
person establishes a new residence.
‘‘(3) INTERSTATE
MOVEMENT.—A person re-
quired to register under subsection (c) or under a
minimally sufficient offender registration program,
including a program established under section
170101, who changes address to a State other than
the State in which the person resided at the time of
the immediately preceding registration shall, not
later than 10 days after that person establishes a
new residence, register a current address, set of fin-
gerprints, and photograph of that person, for inclu-
sion in the appropriate database, with—
‘‘(A) the FBI; and
‘‘(B) the State in which the new residence
is established.
‘‘(4) INTRASTATE MOVEMENT.—Any time any
State agency in a State with a minimally sufficient
sexual offender registration program, including a
program established under section 170101, is noti-
fied of a change of address by a person required to
register under such program within or outside of
such State, the State shall notify—
‘‘(A) the law enforcement officials of the
jurisdiction to which, and the jurisdiction from
which, the person has relocated; and
‘‘(B) the FBI.
‘‘(5) VERIFICATION.—
‘‘(A) NOTIFICATION
OF
LOCAL
LAW
EN-
FORCEMENT OFFICIALS.—The FBI shall ensure
that State and local law enforcement officials of
the jurisdiction from which, and the State and
local law enforcement officials of the jurisdic-
tion to which, a person required to register
under subsection (c) relocates are notified of
the new residence of such person.
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION
OF
FBI.—A State
agency receiving notification under this sub-
section shall notify the FBI of the new resi-
dence of the offender.
‘‘(C) VERIFICATION.—
‘‘(i) STATE
AGENCIES.—If a State
agency cannot verify the address of or lo-
cate a person required to register with a
minimally sufficient sexual offender reg-
istration program, including a program es-
tablished under section 170101, the State
shall immediately notify the FBI.
‘‘(ii) FBI.—If the FBI cannot verify
the address of or locate a person required
to register under subsection (c) or if the
FBI receives notification from a State
under clause (i), the FBI shall—
‘‘(I) notify all States with a mini-
mally sufficient sexual offender reg-
istration program, including a pro-
gram 
established 
under 
section
170101; and
‘‘(II) add the name of the person
to the Wanted Persons Index.
‘‘(h) FINGERPRINTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(A) FBI REGISTRATION.—For each per-
son required to register under subsection (c),
fingerprints shall be obtained and verified by
the FBI or a local law enforcement official pur-
suant to regulations issued by the Attorney
General.
‘‘(B) STATE REGISTRATION SYSTEMS.—In
a State that has a minimally sufficient sexual
offender registration program, including a pro-
gram established under section 170101, finger-
prints required to be registered with the FBI
under this section shall be obtained and verified
in accordance with State requirements. The
State agency responsible for registration shall
ensure that the fingerprints and all other infor-
mation required to be registered is registered
with the FBI.
‘‘(2) FEES.—The FBI may collect fees pursu-
ant to title II of the Departments of Commerce,
Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agen-
cies Appropriations Act, 1991, under the heading
‘FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION’ under the
subheading ‘SALARIES AND EXPENSES’ to offset the
costs of fingerprint verification carried out under
subsection (j)(2).
‘‘(i) PENALTY.—A person required to register under
paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (g) who knowingly
fails to comply with this section shall—
‘‘(1) in the case of a first offense—
‘‘(A) if the person has been convicted of 1
offense described in subsection (b), be fined not
more than $100,000; or
‘‘(B) if the person has been convicted of
more than 1 offense described in subsection (b),
be imprisoned for up to 1 year and fined not
more than $100,000; or
‘‘(2) in the case of a second or subsequent of-
fense, be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined
not more than $100,000.
‘‘(j) RELEASE OF INFORMATION.—The information
collected by the FBI under this section shall be disclosed
by the FBI—
‘‘(1) to Federal, State, and local criminal jus-
tice agencies for—
‘‘(A) law enforcement purposes; and
‘‘(B) community notification in accordance
with section 170101(d)(3); and
‘‘(2) to Federal, State, and local criminal jus-
tice agencies conducting legitimate employment-re-
lated background checks for private organizations
under section 3 of the National Child Protection Act
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 5119a).’’.
SEC. 3. DURATION OF STATE REGISTRATION REQUIRE-
MENT.
Section 170101(b)(6) of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
14071(b)(6)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(6) LENGTH OF REGISTRATION.—A person re-
quired to register under subsection (a)(1) shall con-
tinue to comply with this section until—
‘‘(A) 10 years have elapsed since the per-
son was released from prison or placed on pa-
role, supervised release, or probation; or
‘‘(B) for the life of that person if that per-
son—
‘‘(i) has 1 or more prior convictions
for an offense described in subsection
(a)(1)(A); or
‘‘(ii) has been convicted of an aggra-
vated offense described in subsection
(a)(1)(A); or
‘‘(iii) has been determined to be a sex-
ually violent predator pursuant to sub-
section (a)(2).’’.
SEC. 4. STATE BOARDS.
Section 170101(a)(2) of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
14071(a)(2)) is amended by inserting before the period
at the end the following: ‘‘, victim rights advocates, and
representatives from law enforcement agencies’’.
SEC. 5. FINGERPRINTS.
Section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071) is
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(g) FINGERPRINTS.—Each requirement to register
under this section shall be deemed to also require the sub-
mission of a set of fingerprints of the person required to
register, obtained in accordance with regulations pre-
scribed 
by 
the 
Attorney 
General 
under 
section
170102(h).’’.
SEC. 6. VERIFICATION.
Section 170101(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
14071(b)(3)(A)(iii)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ‘‘The person shall include with the verification
form a set of fingerprints and a photograph of that per-
son.’’.
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue regulations
to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this
Act.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act and the amendments
made by this Act shall become effective 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act.
(b) COMPLIANCE BY STATES.—Each State shall im-
plement the amendments made by sections 3, 4, 5, and
6 of this Act not later than 3 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, except that the Attorney General may
grant an additional 2 years to a State that is making good
faith efforts to implement such amendments.
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by
this Act, or the application of such provision or amend-
ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti-
tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made
by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such
to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there-
by.
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