CO House Bill 11-1278 Sex Offender Registry Changes added 03/08

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HB11-1278          Sex Offender Registration Changes

 

HOUSE SPONSORSHIP          Gardner B.

SENATE SPONSORSHIP        Morse

 

House Committees

Judiciary

 

CONCERNING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION.

 

Bill Summary

 

     Sections 1 and 2. Under current law, a person may be designated as a sexually violent predator in Colorado based on such a finding or its equivalent in another jurisdiction. The bill defines equivalent and provides notice and the right to appeal when a person is designated as a sexually violent predator in Colorado based on such a finding or its equivalent in another jurisdiction.

     Section 3. If a defendant is convicted of second degree kidnapping and the person kidnapped is a victim of sexual assault, the defendant would be required to register as a sex offender.

     Section 4. If a defendant is convicted in a tribal or territorial jurisdiction of a sex offense requiring sex offender registration, the defendant would be required to register as a sex offender.

     Section 5. The sheriff of a county jail would submit sex offender re-registration information for a person who is required to register and is held in jail for more than 5 days or is sentenced to jail for any offense.

     Section 6. Under current law, a law enforcement agency can charge a fee to sex offenders for registration services. The fee would be capped at $25 for annual and quarterly registration and could not be charged when an offender updates his or her registration information. If the offender is unable to pay the fee at the time of registration, the fee debt may be sent to civil collections. Under current law, when a person required to register as a sex offender moves into a different jurisdiction, the offender must cancel registration with the law enforcement agency in his or her former home and register with the law enforcement agency in his or her new home. In addition, the bill would require the law enforcement agency in the new home to notify the law enforcement agency in the former home regarding the cancellation of the registration. Under current law, the date of a person's registration after initial registration is his or her birthday. The bill provides a 5-day grace period for the registration date.

     Section 7. Under current law, an adult sex offender who successfully completes a deferred sentence for an offense requiring sex offender registration or a juvenile who discharges his or her sentence for certain offenses requiring sex offender registration may petition to discontinue registration. The bill would require the court to consider whether to discontinue the registration requirement when it dismisses the charges in a deferred sentence case or when it discharges a juvenile's sentence. In the case of a juvenile on parole, the division of youth corrections would petition on behalf of the juvenile to discontinue registration before the juvenile's parole is discharged.

     Section 8. The bill adds the county in which an offender completed his or her last sex offender registration as a proper venue for a failure to register as a sex offender charge.

     Sections 9 and 10. Under current law, a person convicted of failure to register as a sex offender who is on probation or parole is subject to intensive supervised probation or parole. The bill would make the use of intensive supervised probation or parole discretionary with the court or parole board. The bill creates an affirmative defense to a failure to register charge if uncontrollable circumstances prevented timely registration and the defendant registered as soon as the uncontrollable circumstances ceased to exist.