National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators

SORNA; Coming Soon to a State Near You

By Thomas Robertson, President, National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators
Executive Secretary, Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinators Council

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. It requires numerous changes to state sex offender registration laws by July 27, 2009, or a state will face a ten percent penalty reduction in Byrne funds. Based upon the proposed U.S. DOJ guidelines, following are some of the significant requirements that may affect your state.

Offender Classification

Offenders will be classified into three tiers: Tier 1 offenders must be registered for 15 years, Tier 2 for 25 years and Tier 3 for life. A state can have less than three tiers, but lower level offenders must be folded into the registration period of the higher level.

• Registration will be required for juvenile sex offenders.
• Registration for criminal activity against an adult victim will no longer be limited to sexual penetration. Registration will also be required for sexual contact cases.
• Foreign convictions from British common law countries will require registration.
• Post conviction set-aside programs, such as Michigan’s Youthful Trainee Act (in which a person can have a conviction set aside if he pleads guilty and keeps out of trouble) will require registration.
• Video voyeurism of a minor, and Internet crimes involving a minor are now included.

Registration Requirements

Offenders must register in multiple locations; residence, place of employment or school.

• Any stay of 30 or more days requires registration. For example, a Michigan offender who spends 30 days in sunny Florida every January must register in both states.
• Homeless offenders must provide the location where they usually reside.
• Changes in registration information must be reported within three business days in every jurisdiction in which the offender is registered.
• Offenders must confirm their registration in person annually if they are in Tier 1, every six months if they are in Tier 2, and quarterly if in Tier 3.
• Penalties for registration violations must exceed one year.

Database Requirements

The offender registration database must include 14 categories of information about the offender, including employers, Internet names, professional licenses, vehicles, and school.

Some of the information required is exempt from the public. The public information must be delivered to targeted recipients within three days of receipt. This can be accomplished through an automatic e-mail notification system.

This is just a broad overview. The minutia involved in each of these new requirements can be staggering, but be advised that your prosecutor coordinator is just an e-mail away from the collective wisdom of their peers. NAPC’s e-mail list enables instant assistance on common legislative and legal problems. As we all struggle with implementing SORNA over the next two years, we will work together to develop effective and efficient implementation across the country.