[House Report 112-637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-637
======================================================================
ADAM WALSH REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2012
_______
July 31, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 3796]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3796) to reauthorize certain programs established by
the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
The Amendment.................................................... 2
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 3
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 3
Hearings......................................................... 5
Committee Consideration.......................................... 5
Committee Votes.................................................. 5
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 6
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 6
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 6
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 7
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 8
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 8
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 8
Additional Views................................................. 12
The Amendment
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE (SOMA) PROGRAM
REAUTHORIZATION.
Section 126(d) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (42 U.S.C. 16926(d)) is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Attorney General $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2013 through 2017, to be available only for--
``(1) the SOMA program; and
``(2) the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Grant Program
established under section 631.''.
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF FEDERAL ASSISTANCE WITH RESPECT TO
VIOLATIONS OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
Section 142(b) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (42 U.S.C. 16941(b)) is amended by striking ``such sums as may be
necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2009'' and inserting
``$46,200,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017''.
SEC. 4. DURATION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN
JUVENILES.
Subparagraph (B) of section 115(b)(2) of the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C. 16915(b)(2)) is amended by
striking ``25 years'' and inserting ``15 years''.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS TO JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION.
Section 118(c) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (42 U.S.C. 16918(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in paragraph (3);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
``(4) any information about a sex offender for whom the
offense giving rise to the duty to register was an offense for
which the offender was adjudicated delinquent (or otherwise
convicted) as a juvenile; and''.
SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM STATE NONCOMPLIANCE
PENALTY UNDER SORNA.
Section 125(a) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 (42 U.S.C. 16925(a)) is amended by striking ``shall not receive''
and all that follows and inserting ``shall return to the Attorney
General (for reallocation in accordance with subsection (c)), from the
funds allocated to the jurisdiction for that fiscal year under subpart
1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), 10 percent of the amount the
jurisdiction may retain under paragraph (1) of section 505(c) of such
Act (42 U.S.C. 3755(c)).''.
SEC. 7. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION OF SEX OFFENDER ISSUES.
Section 634(c) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of
2006 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Additional report.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of
2012, the National Institute of Justice shall submit to
Congress a report on the public safety impact, recidivism, and
collateral consequences of long-term registration of juvenile
sex offenders, based on the information collected for the study
under subsection (a) and any other information the National
Institute of Justice determines necessary for such report.''.
SEC. 8. JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT GRANTS REAUTHORIZATION.
Section 3012(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797ee-1(c)) is amended by striking
``$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009 to carry out
this part'' and inserting ``$2,979,000 for each of the fiscal years
2013 through 2017 to carry out this section''.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 3796 reauthorizes two key programs of the Adam Walsh
Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (``Adam Walsh Act''),
P.L. 109-248, including funding for the U.S. Marshals' fugitive
apprehension program, and grants to help the states and other
jurisdictions come into compliance with the national sex
offender registry requirements of the Act. The bill also lowers
the age after which certain juveniles adjudicated delinquent
can apply for removal from the sex offender registry for a
clean record from 25 to 15 years.
Background and Need for the Legislation
The Adam Walsh Act was signed into law on July 27, 2006.
The Act is intended to protect children and the public at large
from sexual exploitation and other violent crime. The Act also
aims to prevent child abuse and child pornography, promote
Internet safety, and honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other
crime victims.
SORNA
Title I of the Adam Walsh Act, the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act (``SORNA''), 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 16901 et seq., was enacted to protect the public from
convicted sex offenders by establishing a comprehensive
national system for the registration and notification to the
public and law enforcement officers of those offenders. SORNA
sought to create a consistent and uniform system of sex
offender registries throughout the country that would enable
law enforcement officials and the public to track sex offenders
and to prevent offenders from eluding the authorities--
particularly when they move out of state. To achieve this goal,
SORNA 1) expanded the jurisdictions required to register sex
offenders to include Indian tribes, U.S. territories, and the
District of Columbia; 2) set forth minimum uniform standards
for sex offender registries; 3) required the registration of a
broader class of offenders; 4) required sex offenders to
register and renew in person their registration in every
jurisdiction where they live, work, or attend school; 5)
changed the minimum length of registration for sex offenders;
and 6) expanded the information made available to the public.
The Department of Justice's Sex Offender Sentencing,
Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (``SMART'')
Office, which administers SORNA, issued guidelines for minimum
compliance with SORNA in 2008,\1\ and more recently issued
supplemental guidelines in January 2011 that were intended to
address certain concerns among the jurisdictions.\2\ The
minimum SORNA registry requirements include:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Department of the Justice, Office of the Attorney General; The
National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification,
Docket No. OAG 121, AG Order No. 2978-2008.
\2\Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General,
Supplemental Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification,
Docket No. OAG 134, AG Order No. 3241-2011.
LClassification of offenders based on their
crime of conviction, instead of using a risk-assessment
system. Under SORNA, jurisdictions are required to put
offenders into three different tiers based on
convictions. These tiers determine the length of
registry and how often an offender must renew
registration each year. The jurisdictions, however, are
free to use risk assessments to place offenders in
higher tiers. This provision was included in the Act to
address the wide-range of risk assessment systems among
the states, which led to much less uniform enforcement
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
of the registry laws.
LRegistration of both newly-convicted sex
offenders, as well as past offenders. The states are
only required to register sex offenders who are
currently in the criminal justice program as prisoners
or supervisees, or those who reenter the system through
a subsequent criminal conviction. This retroactive
application of the law has been upheld as
constitutional by several Federal courts.\3\ The U.S.
Supreme Court has not ruled on the constitutionality of
SORNA's retroactivity, but has upheld a similar state
law on the basis that the sex offender registration and
notification statute was a civil regulatory, rather
than a penal, statute.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\See United States v. Leach, 639 F.3d 769 (7th Cir. 2011)
(finding that SORNA does not violate the ex post facto clause and
citing cases with similar outcomes from nine other circuits); but see
United States v. Juvenile Male, 581 F.3d 977 (9th Cir. 2009) (finding
that SORNA violated the ex post facto clause) vacated 131 S.Ct. 2860
(2011).
\4\See Smith v. Doe, 538 U.S. 84 (2003).
LRegistration of a small subset of juveniles
who are adjudicated delinquent for committing violent
sex crimes. Under the SORNA guidelines, the only
juveniles who must be added to the registries are those
who were at least 14 years old at the time of an
offense and are adjudicated delinquent for committing
(or attempting or conspiring to commit) a sexual act
with another by force, by the threat of serious
violence, or by rendering unconscious or drugging the
victim. In other words, only the most serious juvenile
offenders are required to register. The guidelines also
exempt publication of these juveniles on the public
registry--instead, only law enforcement will see the
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
fact that they are registered sex offenders.
LPeriodic in-person registry throughout the
year. Depending on which tier an offender falls in,
they must register once a year (Tier 1), twice a year
(Tier 2), or quarterly (Tier 3). The SMART Office has,
however, provided some flexibility regarding how these
renewals can take place.
The states were initially given until July 27, 2009, to
comply with the SORNA provisions or face a potential 10-percent
reduction to the state portion of the Federal Edward Byrne
Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (``Byrne JAG'') funding. Any
state that demonstrates reasonable progress toward compliance
with SORNA, however, can petition the Department of Justice to
have the 10-percent reduction credited back, provided that the
state agrees to spend the money on SORNA implementation.
The Attorney General exercised his discretion to grant two
1-year extensions to the jurisdictions. Accordingly, the final
deadline for the states and territories to comply with SONA and
avoid a penalty was July 27, 2011.\5\ To date, 39 jurisdictions
have been deemed in substantial compliance with SORNA,
including 15 states, 22 Indian tribes, the Northern Mariana
Islands, and Guam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\Failure to comply with SORNA does not generate a one-time
penalty. Instead, the Justice Department will consider SORNA compliance
each year prior to determining Byrne JAG distributions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Indian tribes generally did not face the same deadline
as the states, and instead are required to implement SORNA in a
``reasonable'' time, as determined by the Department of
Justice. The Indian tribes also generally do not face the same
10-percent reduction in Byrne JAG funding. However, tribes that
are determined unlikely to come into compliance with SORNA face
having the responsibility for doing so delegated to the state
in which they reside.
The Adam Walsh Act also made it a Federal felony to fail to
re-register as a sex offender after moving to another state,
and required states to toughen their penalties, now often
misdemeanors, for failing to register at all. The U.S. Marshals
were tasked under the Act with apprehending both state and
Federal fugitive sex offenders, investigating violations of the
Act's sex offender registration requirements, and identifying
and locating sex offenders who are relocated as the result of a
major disaster.
AUTHORIZATIONS
The Adam Walsh Act created or reauthorized more than 20
Federal spending and grant programs devoted to SORNA, sex
offender management, and child safety. The majority of these
grants are no longer authorized, and the majority of them have
never received an appropriation from Congress.
The original Adam Walsh Act was estimated by CBO to cost
$1.5 billion over 5 years. By contrast, this bill reauthorizes
just two programs at levels commensurate with the FY 2012
appropriation levels, for a total of approximately $330 million
in spending over 5 years.
Hearings
The Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and
Homeland Security held 1 day of hearings on the Adam Walsh Act
on February 15, 2011. Testimony was received from: Ms. Dawn
Doran, Deputy Director, SMART Office, U.S. Department of
Justice; Ms. Stacia Hylton, Director, U.S. Marshals Service,
U.S. Department of Justice; Mr. Ernie Allen, President and CEO,
the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and
Representative Patricia Colloton, Chair, Corrections and
Juvenile Justice Committee, Kansas House of Representatives.
Committee Consideration
On July 18, 2012, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R.3796 favorably reported with an amendment,
by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 3796. The Committee approved by voice vote four amendments
offered by Mr. Scott.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 3796, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 30, 2012.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3796, the ``Adam
Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012.''
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 3796--Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012.
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary
on July 18, 2012.
SUMMARY
H.R. 3796 would authorize the appropriation of about $69
million annually over the 2013-2017 period mostly for
Department of Justice programs to assist State and local
governments to manage and track sex offenders. The Congress
appropriated about $20 million for fiscal year 2012 for similar
activities.
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 3796 would cost $298 million
over the 2013-2017 period. Pay-as-you-go procedures do not
apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct
spending or revenues.
H.R. 3796 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 3796 is shown in the
following table. CBO assumes that the authorized amounts will
be appropriated near the start of each fiscal year and that
outlays will follow the historical rate of spending for similar
activities. The costs of this legislation fall within budget
function 750 (administration of justice).
By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2013-2017
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Authorization Level 69 69 69 69 69 345
Estimated Outlays 42 58 63 66 69 298
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS:
None.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT
H.R. 3796 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in UMRA. Assuming appropriation of
authorized amounts, State, local, and tribal governments would
receive about $77 million of the $298 million that would be
spent over the 2013-2017 period for the treatment and tracking
of sex offenders. Any costs to those governments would be
incurred voluntarily as a condition of receiving Federal
assistance.
ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:
Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell
Impact on the Private Sector: Marin Randall
ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:
Theresa Gullo
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
3796, reauthorizes funding for the U.S. Marshals' fugitive
apprehension program and grants to help jurisdictions come into
compliance with the Adam Walsh Act's national sex offender
registry requirements, and lowers the age after which juveniles
adjudicated delinquent can apply for removal from the sex
offender registry for a clean record from 25 to 15 years.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 3796 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Short title. This section cites the short title of
the bill as the ``Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012.''
Section 2. Sex Offender Management Assistance (SOMA)
Program Reauthorization. This section reauthorizes the SOMA
program at $20 million a year for 5 years, which reflects the
FY 2012 appropriation level. The SOMA program provides funding
to the states, tribes and other jurisdictions to offset the
costs of implementing and enhancing SORNA. Section 2 also
clarifies that SOMA grant funds can be used to verify the
addresses of registered sex offenders, as initially authorized
under the Adam Walsh Act's Jessica Lunsford Address
Verification Grant Program. SOMA was initially authorized as
``such sums as necessary.''
Section 3. Reauthorization of Federal Assistance with
Respect to Violations of Registration Requirements. This
section reauthorizes $46.2 million a year for 5 years for the
U.S. Marshals Service (``USMS''), and other DOJ law enforcement
agencies, to assist jurisdictions in locating and apprehending
sex offenders who violate registration requirements. The USMS
is the primary Federal agency responsible for enforcing the
registration requirements of the Adam Walsh Act and
apprehending Federal and state fugitive sex offenders. This
program was initially authorized as ``such sums as necessary.''
Section 4. Duration of Sex Offender Registration
Requirements for Certain Juveniles. This section changes the
period of time after which juveniles adjudicated delinquent can
apply to be removed from the sex offender registry for keeping
a clean record from 25 years to 15 years
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change
is proposed is shown in roman):
ADAM WALSH CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFETY ACT OF 2006
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT
* * * * * * *
Subtitle A--Sex Offender Registration and Notification
* * * * * * *
SEC. 115. DURATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.
(a) * * *
(b) Reduced Period for Clean Record.--
(1) * * *
(2) Period.--In the case of--
(A) * * *
(B) a tier III sex offender adjudicated
delinquent for the offense which required
registration in a sex registry under this
title, the period during which the clean record
shall be maintained is [25 years] 15 years.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 118. PUBLIC ACCESS TO SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION THROUGH THE
INTERNET.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Optional Exemptions.--A jurisdiction may exempt from
disclosure--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) the name of an educational institution where the
sex offender is a student; [and]
(4) any information about a sex offender for whom the
offense giving rise to the duty to register was an
offense for which the offender was adjudicated
delinquent (or otherwise convicted) as a juvenile; and
[(4)] (5) any other information exempted from
disclosure by the Attorney General.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 125. FAILURE OF JURISDICTION TO COMPLY.
(a) In General.--For any fiscal year after the end of the
period for implementation, a jurisdiction that fails, as
determined by the Attorney General, to substantially implement
this title [shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that
would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the
jurisdiction under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3750 et seq.).] shall return to the Attorney General (for
reallocation in accordance with subsection (c)), from the funds
allocated to the jurisdiction for that fiscal year under
subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), 10 percent
of the amount the jurisdiction may retain under paragraph (1)
of section 505(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3755(c)).
* * * * * * *
SEC. 126. SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE (SOMA) PROGRAM.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to any
amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated, there are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to
the Attorney General, to be available only for the SOMA
program, for fiscal years 2007 through 2009.]
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Attorney General $20,000,000 for each of
the fiscal years 2013 through 2017, to be available only for--
(1) the SOMA program; and
(2) the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Grant
Program established under section 631.
* * * * * * *
Subtitle B--Improving Federal Criminal Law Enforcement To Ensure Sex
Offender Compliance With Registration and Notification Requirements and
Protection of Children From Violent Predators
* * * * * * *
SEC. 142. FEDERAL ASSISTANCE WITH RESPECT TO VIOLATIONS OF REGISTRATION
REQUIREMENTS.
(a) * * *
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to
be appropriated [such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years
2007 through 2009] $46,200,000 for each of the fiscal years
2013 through 2017 to implement this section.
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--GRANTS, STUDIES, AND PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY
SAFETY
* * * * * * *
Subtitle C--Grants, Studies, and Other Provisions
* * * * * * *
SEC. 634. COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION OF SEX OFFENDER ISSUES.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Reports.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) Additional report.--Not later than one year after
the date of enactment of the Adam Walsh Reauthorization
Act of 2012, the National Institute of Justice shall
submit to Congress a report on the public safety
impact, recidivism, and collateral consequences of
long-term registration of juvenile sex offenders, based
on the information collected for the study under
subsection (a) and any other information the National
Institute of Justice determines necessary for such
report.
* * * * * * *
----------
OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT
* * * * * * *
PART KK--SEX OFFENDER APPREHENSION GRANTS; JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER
TREATMENT GRANTS
* * * * * * *
SEC. 3012. JUVENILE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT GRANTS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to
be appropriated [$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007
through 2009 to carry out this part] $2,979,000 for each of the
fiscal years 2013 through 2017 to carry out this section.
* * * * * * *
Additional Views
INTRODUCTION
H.R. 3796, the ``Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012,''
reauthorizes programs of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006 (``Adam Walsh Act'').\1\ Reauthorizing
funding for law enforcement operations that are already law is
not controversial. The problem with H.R. 3796 is not what is in
it, but what is missing. The bill fails to address the many
problems that the states and tribes have encountered in
implementing the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
(``SORNA''), which is one of the provisions of the Adam Walsh
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Pub. L. No. 109-248 (2006).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND
Out of 248 jurisdictions required to comply, only 15
states, 2 territories, and 33 tribes have been found by the
Attorney General to be in compliance with SORNA.\2\ Last year,
the Crime Subcommittee held a hearing on reauthorization of the
Adam Walsh Act, during which we learned about numerous problems
that states and tribes have encountered in implementing
SORNA.\3\ H.R. 3796 fails to effectively address many of these
problems with SORNA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Office of Justice Programs, Office of Sex Offender Sentencing,
Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking, ``Jurisdictions
that have substantially implemented SORNA,'' available at http://
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/smart/newsroom.htm.
\3\The Reauthorization of the Adam Walsh Act: Hearing Before the
Subcomm. on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security of the H. Comm. on
the Judiciary, 112th Cong. (2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCERNS WITH H.R. 3796
Years before SORNA was enacted, many states developed sex
offender registries and dedicated substantial resources to
identify ways to effectively manage sex offenders. It would be
inefficient as well as adversely affect public safety to make
states disregard all of these efforts in favor of a
prescriptive, ``one size fits all'' system, which is what SORNA
currently is. The states that have been unable to comply with
SORNA will soon suffer a 10 percent reduction in their Byrne-
JAG awards for not doing so. Particularly during this economic
climate, this is a harsh penalty to the states that will
undermine not only their ability to manage sex offenders, but
also the other public safety goals that the funds are now
supporting.
Representative Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott (D-VA) offered ten
amendments to address these shortcomings in the bill. The
amendments sought to give discretion to the states (and to the
Attorney General) to make critical decisions about how to most
effectively and safely manage sex offenders. Fortunately, four
of these amendments passed by voice vote. Those amendments: 1)
give states the flexibility to put juveniles on a law
enforcement-only registry, not on a public registry; 2)
reauthorize funding under the Adam Walsh Act for the treatment
of juvenile sex offenders; 3) require the study of the public
safety impact of long term or lifetime registration on juvenile
registrants, and 4) ensure that portions of the Byrne-JAG grant
funding intended for distribution to local governments and
entities are not penalized by a state's non-compliance with
SORNA.
The six other amendments offered by Representative Scott,
however, failed by voice vote. A summary of these amendments
follows.
One of these amendments would have allowed tribes to elect
to either carry out the requirements of SORNA or delegate the
requirements to another jurisdiction. By requiring that states
take on the responsibility for sex offender registration on
tribal lands if a tribe fails to comply, SORNA merges state and
tribal law enforcement responsibilities in a manner that
threatens tribal sovereignty and shifts the cost of tribal
compliance to the states. This amendment would have clarified
that tribal sovereignty should be respected and states may not
be penalized for lack of tribal cooperation or compliance.
Another amendment offered by Representative Scott would
have clarified that tribes in Public Law 83-280 (PL 280) states
have the option of becoming registration and notification
jurisdictions. As currently written, SORNA strips a subset of
tribes that are subject to state criminal jurisdiction under PL
280 of exclusive civil regulatory authority over their members
without any justification. This amendment would have given
tribes the ability to have their own registries rather than
relying upon the state.
Representative Scott also offered an amendment that would
have given each jurisdiction the discretion as to whether to
apply SORNA retroactively. Applying SORNA retroactively is one
of the obstacles preventing jurisdictions from complying with
SORNA and is one of the most controversial aspects of the Adam
Walsh Act. Several states have had to incur the expense and
engagement of trials and appeals challenging their retroactive
application of SORNA requirements in which the states lost and
other such challenges are pending. This amendment would have
clarified that states have the discretion to decide whether and
how to retroactively manage the registry regarding individuals
whose convictions preceded the enactment of the Act, because
they have to bear the expense of challenges.
With respect to the treatment of juveniles under the
legislation, Representative Scott offered an amendment to allow
states to decide whether to include juveniles who have been
adjudicated as juveniles on their sex offender registries.
Adolescent sex offenders are considered to be much more
responsive to treatment than adult sex offenders and very
rarely re-offend, especially when provided with appropriate
treatment.\4\ This amendment would have provided states the
flexibility to decide whether to include juveniles on their sex
offender registries.
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\4\See Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA), The
effective legal management of juvenile sex offender, Mar. 11, 2000,
available at http://www.atsa.com/ppjuvenile.html
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In addition, Representative Scott offered an amendment to
provide states the flexibility to amend registry and
notification requirements of offenders, in consultation with
law enforcement. This amendment would provide each jurisdiction
flexibility with respect to the manner and frequency with which
a sex offender must report changes in name, residence,
employment, or student status. This approach assists local law
enforcement because these agencies are overwhelmed trying to
keep up with this aspect of SORNA's requirements with no or
limited financial ability to add more staff to do more
monitoring. Clearly, not all sex offenders pose the same risk,
and just as states now determine how to supervise murderers,
malicious wounders, drug kingpins, gang leaders and other
dangerous offenders, it makes sense to let them decide, in
consultation with their law enforcement and corrections
officials, how often they need to see each sex offender, and
essentially, how best to manage each.
Finally, Representative Scott offered an amendment to allow
jurisdictions to be found in compliance with SORNA if they have
developed a three-tier system of classification that is
comparable to SORNA and link it to the national system, or if
they use a validated risk assessment system. The manner in
which sex offenders are classified is another significant
barrier states have faced in implementating SORNA. This
amendment would have allowed states greater flexibility in
classifying their offenders, as long as they use a system
comparable to SORNA and inter-face with SORNA in a way that
would enable information-sharing about offenders, or a
validated, risk assessment tool in doing so.
CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, the failure to pass amendments that would
allow states the flexibility to meet more of SORNA's
requirements in a more cost-effective respect means that these
jurisdictions will continue to remain non-compliant and to
incur loses of Byrne-JAG funds through penalties.
John Conyers, Jr.
Howard L. Berman.
Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott.
Melvin L. Watt.
Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Jr.
Judy Chu.