HB 1481 – AS INTRODUCED

2008 SESSION

08-2516

04/03

HOUSE BILL 1481

AN ACT relative to identification of registered sex offenders on the state website.

SPONSORS: Rep. R. Elliott, Rock 4; Rep. Bedrick, Rock 4

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill requires that information regarding all sexual offenders and offenders against children be made available to the public on the department of safety’s website. The bill also repeals a provision of the registration law which required that only information on offenders against children would be made publicly available on the department’s website.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

08-2516

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

AN ACT relative to identification of registered sex offenders on the state website.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Definitions. Amend RSA 651-B:1, III(c) to read as follows:

(c) Any other criminal offense which is not specifically listed in subparagraph (a) if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence at the time of conviction or sentencing that the person committed the offense as a result of sexual compulsion or for purposes of sexual gratification and protection of the public would be furthered by requiring the person to register. In determining whether the offender should be required to register, the court may consider the offender’s prior criminal history and any other relevant information. Duration of the registration shall be for a period of time as required by the court but not less than 10 years from the date of release from custody. [The court shall also make a finding as to whether the offender’s name and registration information shall appear on the public list authorized by RSA 651-B:7. In determining whether the offender’s name shall appear on the public list, the court shall consider whether the victim was a minor at the time of the crime; the nature of the offenses that are currently listed on the public list; whether public safety would be furthered by including the offender on the public list; and any other relevant factors. The hearing at which such a determination is made shall comply with due process requirements, including a right to appeal the finding. The court shall provide the defendant an opportunity to be heard on the issue prior to the imposition of the registration requirement and shall state on the record the reasons for its findings and the reasons for requiring registration.]

2 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Availability of Information to the Public. Amend RSA 651-B:7, III to read as follows:

III. At periodic intervals, not less frequently than once each month, the commissioner of the department of corrections, the superintendent of each county department of corrections and the commissioner of the department of health and human services shall forward to the division a statement identifying every offender who is confined in a facility under their control who is required to register as a result of a violation or attempted violation of an offense described in [subparagraph II(a)] this chapter, and who is eligible at that time for any unsupervised work detail, release into the community following secure psychiatric care, or other assignment which may bring the offender into contact with members of the public. These statements shall include the information set forth in [subparagraphs II(b)(1)(A), (B), and (C)] subparagraph IV(a)(2), and may also include the information set forth in [subparagraphs II(b) (2)(A)-(D)] subparagraph IV(a)(3). In no event shall the statements include the identity of any victim. These statements shall be incorporated by the division into the list maintained under paragraph [II] IV.

3 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Availability of Information to the Public. Amend RSA 651-B:7, IV to read as follows:

IV.(a)(1) At least once each month, the [division shall provide a copy of the list described in this section] department shall furnish a list of all sexual offenders and offenders against children who are required to register under this chapter to each local law enforcement agency [at periodic intervals], through written, electronic, computerized, or other accessible means[, but in no event less frequently than once each month]. The list shall be made available to [interested members of] the public upon request to a local law enforcement agency. The department [of safety may] shall make the list available to [interested members of] the public through the [use of the] department’s official public Internet access site. The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, establishing procedures for the collection of information described in this section, the transmission of the information from the division to the local law enforcement agencies, and the conditions under which the list shall be made available to the public. These rules shall enable the public to request information about a named individual or about all listed individuals residing or confined in the state. The rules may also include provisions for the imposition of a reasonable fee to defray the administrative costs of collecting the information and making the information available to the public.

(2) The list required under subparagraph IV(a)(1) shall include:

(A) The name, address, and date of birth of the registered individual.

(B) The offense for which the individual is required to register.

(C) The date and court of the adjudication on the offense for which the individual is registered.

(D) Outstanding arrest warrants, and the information listed in subparagraphs (a)(2)(A)-(C), for any sexual offender or offender against children who has not complied with the obligation to register under this chapter.

(E) A photograph or physical description of the individual, if available.

(3) Where such information is available, the list may also include:

(A) The date and court of the individual’s other adjudications, if any.

(B) Information on the profile of the victim or victims of the individual’s offense or offenses.

(C) The method of approach utilized by the individual.

(4) In no event shall the list include the identity of any victim. Sexual offenders convicted under RSA 632-A:2 shall be listed on the public list in a manner which does not disclose, directly or indirectly, that the victim and the defendant were related or members of the same household. For sexual offenders convicted under RSA 632-A:1, I, no specific reference to any statutory subparagraph shall appear on the public list.

(5) In no event shall the list made available to the public pursuant to this section include a sexual offender or offender against children who has been adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent, unless the court finds that the case complies with one of the conditions set forth in RSA 651-B:1, VII (a)(3) or (4).

(b) Local law enforcement agencies may photograph, at the time of the registration, any individual who is required to be registered pursuant to this chapter. The consent of the registrant shall not be necessary. Such photographs may be used in the performance of any valid law enforcement function.

(c) In the discretion of the local law enforcement agency, such agency may affirmatively notify the public that an offender who is included on the public list received by the agency pursuant to subparagraph IV(a) is residing in the community.

4 Registration of Criminal Offenders; Availability of Information to the Public. Amend RSA 651-B:7, VI(a) to read as follows:

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, any individual required to be registered whose name and information is contained on the list described in [subparagraph II(a)] paragraph IV and who is required to register as a result of any violation or attempted violation of RSA 632-A:2, III or RSA 632-A:3, II, provided that the age difference between the individual required to register and the victim was 3 years or less at the time of the offense and the person has no prior adjudications requiring registration under RSA 651-B:2, may file with the clerk of the superior court for the county in which the judgment was rendered an application for review of the public registration requirement contained in RSA 651-B:7. This application shall not be filed prior to the completion of all the terms and conditions of the sentence and in no case earlier than 10 years after the date of release. After review of the application, the court may schedule a hearing. Prior to granting any petition to remove an offender from the public list, the court shall provide notice to the county attorney who prosecuted the case, the victim advocate, and the victim or victim’s family and permit those parties to be heard on the petition. If the court denies the offender’s petition, the offender may not file another application pursuant to this paragraph for 5 years from the date of the denial and shall include a risk assessment prepared at the offender’s expense.

5 Repeal. RSA 651-B:7, II, relative to the public availability of information on offenders against children, is repealed.

6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.