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HB 15
SEX OFFENDER NOTIFICATION LAW
1996 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Brian R. Allen
AN ACT RELATING TO THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; AMENDING SEX
OFFENDER REGISTRATION PROVISIONS TO PERMIT PETITIONER'S ACCESS;
EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF INFORMATION TO BE MAINTAINED IN THE
REGISTRY; AMENDING REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS; PROHIBITING
RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF NOTIFICATION PROVISIONS; AND
APPROPRIATING $15,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996-97.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
77-27-21.5 , as last amended by Chapter 297, Laws of Utah 1995
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1.
Section
77-27-21.5
is amended to read:
77-27-21.5. Sex offender registration -- Information system -- Law enforcement and
courts to report -- Registration -- Penalty -- Petition for Notification -- Temporary releases
-- Effect of expungement.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
(b) "Notification" means a person's, as authorized in Subsection (13)(a), or a petitioner's
acquisition of information from the department about a sex offender, including his place of
habitation, physical description, and methodology of the offense, and other information as
provided in Subsections (10) and (11), obtainable upon the request of a person or a petitioner.
(c) "Petitioner" means a natural person who requests in writing for information about a sex
offender from the department. The petitioner shall be a victim of a sexual offense or a resident in
a location where a sex offender is suspected to reside.
[(b)] (d) "Register" means to comply with the rules of the department made under this
section.
[(c)] (e) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state [of] or who enters a plea
in abeyance for violating Section 76-7-102
or
76-9-702.5
, or of committing or attempting to commit
a felony under Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses, and any person convicted by any other
state [of] or the United States government of an offense which if committed or attempted in this state
would be punishable as one or more of these offenses. "Sex offender" also means all persons
committed to a state mental hospital by reason of their mental incapacity and their commission or
alleged commission of one or more offenses listed in this subsection.
(2) The department, to assist in investigating sex-related crimes and in apprehending
offenders, shall:
(a) develop and operate a system to collect, analyze, [and] maintain, and disseminate
information on sex offenders and sex offenses;
(b) make information collected and developed under this section available to law
enforcement agencies in this state, petitioners, the State Office of Education, and other states; and
(c) establish security systems to ensure that only authorized personnel and petitioners may
gain access to information gathered under this section.
(3) [All] Any law enforcement [agencies] agency shall, in the manner prescribed by the
department, inform the department of:
(a) the receipt of a report or complaint of an offense listed in Subsection (1)[(c)](e), within
three working days; and
(b) the arrest of a person suspected of violating any of the offenses listed in Subsection
(1)[(c)](e), within five working days.
(4) Upon convicting a person of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)[(c)](e), or any
lesser included offense, the convicting court shall within ten working days forward a copy of the
judgment and sentence to the department.
(5) [All] A sex [offenders] offender in the custody of the department shall be registered by
agents of the department upon:
(a) being placed on probation;
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(b) commitment to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract to the
department;
(c) release from confinement to parole status, termination or expiration of sentence, or
escape;
(d) entrance to and release from any community-based residential program operated by or
under contract to the department; or
(e) termination of probation or parole.
(6) [All] A sex [offenders] offender not in the custody of the department who [are] is
confined in a correctional facility not operated by or under contract to the department shall, upon
release from confinement, be registered with the department by the sheriff of the county in which
the offender is confined.
(7) [All] A sex [offenders] offender confined in a state mental hospital shall be registered
with the department by the hospital. [All] A sex [offenders] offender committed to a state mental
hospital shall be registered with the department by the hospital upon admission and upon discharge.
(8) [All] A sex [offenders] offender shall, for [the first five] ten years after termination of
sentence, [again] register annually and again within ten days of [changing their] every change of his
place of habitation.
(9) An agency that registers a sex offender shall inform him of his duty to comply with the
continuing registration requirements of this section.
(10) [All] A sex [offenders] offender shall provide the department with the following
information:
(a) all names or aliases the sex offender is or has been known by;
(b) the sex offender's name and address;
(c) a physical description, including the sex offender's age, height, weight, eye and hair
color;
(d) the type of vehicle or vehicles the sex offender drives;
(e) any conditions or restrictions, upon the sex offender's probation, parole, postprison
supervision, or conditional release;
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(f) a current photograph of the sex offender; and
(g) the name or telephone number of the sex offender's parole and probation officer.
(11) The department shall provide the following additional information:
(a) the crimes the sex offender was charged with and convicted of;
(b) a description of the sex offender's primary and secondary targets; and
(c) a description of the sex offender's method of offense.
[(11)] (12) (a) A sex offender who knowingly fails to register under this section is guilty of
a class A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of incarceration for not fewer than 90
days and also at least one year of probation.
(b) Neither the court nor the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a person who violates
this section from serving a term of at least 90 days and of completing probation of at least one year.
This subsection supersedes any other provision of the law contrary to this section.
[(12)] (13) Information collected under this section is classified as private, controlled, or
protected under Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and is
available to the following [only]:
(a) in the performance of their duties only:
[(a)] (i) law enforcement agencies;
[(b)] (ii) the State Office of Education; and
[(c)] (iii) the department; and
(b) a petitioner pursuant to a petition approved by the department.
(c) Any person permitted access pursuant to Subsection (a) is not required to petition the
department for access.
[(13)] (14) (a) If a sex offender is to be temporarily sent outside a secure facility in which
he is confined on any assignment, including, without limitation, firefighting or disaster control, the
official who has custody of the offender shall, within a reasonable time prior to removal from the
secure facility, notify the local law enforcement agencies where the assignment is to be filled.
(b) This subsection does not apply to any person temporarily released under guard from the
institution in which he is confined.
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[(14)] (15) Notwithstanding Sections
77-18-9
through
77-18-14
regarding expungement, a
person convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (1)[(c)](e) is not relieved from the responsibility
to register under this section.
[(15)] (16) Notwithstanding Section 42-1-1
, a sex offender may not change his name while
under the jurisdiction of the department and until the registration requirements of this statute have
expired.
(17) (a) As provided in Subsection (13)(b), a petitioner may petition the department to
receive information about a sex offender. The petition shall be in writing with a return address and
telephone number. If the petitioner changes his residence, it is the petitioner's obligation to file
another petition with a current return address and telephone number.
(b) The department shall determine if the petition is approved, and if approved, provide
notification to the petitioner of the information as provided in Subsections (10) and (11).
(c) If the department determines to deny a petition, it shall respond in writing to the
petitioner, stating its reasons for denial of the petition.
[(16)] (18) The department may make rules necessary to implement this section, including:
(a) criteria for approval of a petition as provided in Subsection (17);
(b) the method for dissemination of the information; and
(c) instructions to the petitioner regarding the use of the information.
(19) The notification provisions in this section shall not be retroactive.
(20) Any information regarding the identity or location of a victim shall be redacted by the
department from information provided under Subsections (10) and (11).
(21) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or impose any duty on a petitioner
or any other person to petition the department for information regarding any sex offender.
Section 2. Appropriation.
There is appropriated from the General Fund for fiscal year 1996-97 $15,000 to the
Department of Corrections to cover the costs of expanded sex offender registration and sex offender
notification and to purchase necessary equipment.
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