Bill Text: CT HB05411 | 2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: An Act Concerning Verification Of A Sexual Offender's Residence Address.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-12 - Public Hearing 03/16 [HB05411 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2018-HB05411-Introduced.html

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General Assembly		Raised Bill No. 5411
February Session, 2018		LCO No. 1908
		*01908_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)

AN ACT CONCERNING VERIFICATION OF A SEXUAL OFFENDER'S RESIDENCE ADDRESS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 54-257 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(a) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, not later than January 1, 1999, establish and maintain a registry of all persons required to register under sections 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 and 54-254. The department shall, in cooperation with the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, the Department of Correction and the Psychiatric Security Review Board, develop appropriate forms for use by agencies and individuals to report registration information, including changes of residence address. Upon receipt of registration information, the department shall enter the information into the registry and notify the local police department or state police troop having jurisdiction where the registrant resides or plans to reside. If a registrant notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection that such registrant is employed at, carries on a vocation at or is a student at a trade or professional institution or institution of higher learning in this state, the department shall notify the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over such institution. If a registrant reports a residence in another state, the department shall notify the state police agency of that state or such other agency in that state that maintains registry information, if known. The department shall also transmit all registration information, conviction data, photographic images and fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in such form as said bureau shall require for inclusion in a national registry.

(b) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may suspend the registration of any person registered under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 while such person is incarcerated, under civil commitment or residing outside this state. During the period that such registration is under suspension, the department is not required to verify the residence address of the registrant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and may withdraw the registration information from public access. Upon the release of the registrant from incarceration or civil commitment or resumption of residency in this state by the registrant, the department shall reinstate the registration, redistribute the registration information in accordance with subsection (a) of this section and resume verifying the residence address of the registrant in accordance with subsection (c) of this section. Suspension of registration shall not affect the date of expiration of the registration obligation of the registrant under section 54-251, 54-252 or 54-253.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall verify the residence address of each registrant by mailing a nonforwardable verification form to the registrant at the registrant's last reported residence address. Such form shall require the registrant to sign a statement that the registrant continues to reside at the registrant's last reported residence address and return the form by mail by a date which is ten days after the date such form was mailed to the registrant. The form shall contain a statement that failure to return the form or providing false information is a violation of section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, as the case may be. In the case of a registrant who resides (1) in a town in which mail delivery is effectuated by one or more post offices located in one or more different towns, or (2) at a residence address for which there is no residential mail delivery, the local police department or the state police troop having jurisdiction where the registrant resides shall verify in person such registrant's residence address. Each person required to register under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 shall have such person's residence address verified in such manner every ninety days after such person's initial registration date. In the event that a registrant fails to return the residence address verification form, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall notify the local police department or the state police troop having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported residence address, and that agency shall apply for a warrant to be issued for the registrant's arrest under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, as the case may be. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall not verify the residence address of registrants whose last reported residence address was outside this state.

(d) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall include in the registry the most recent photographic image of each registrant taken by the department, the Department of Correction, a law enforcement agency or the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department and shall retake the photographic image of each registrant at least once every five years.

(e) Whenever the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection receives notice from a superior court pursuant to section 52-11 or a probate court pursuant to section 45a-99 that such court has ordered the change of name of a person, and the department determines that such person is listed in the registry, the department shall revise such person's registration information accordingly.

(f) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall develop a protocol for the notification of other state agencies, the Judicial Department and local police departments whenever a person listed in the registry changes such person's name and notifies the commissioner of the new name pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 or whenever the commissioner determines pursuant to subsection (e) of this section that a person listed in the registry has changed such person's name.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 54-258 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2018):

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, except subdivisions (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection, the registry maintained by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall be a public record and shall be accessible to the public during normal business hours. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall make registry information available to the public through the Internet. Not less than once per calendar quarter, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall issue notices to all print and electronic media in the state regarding the availability and means of accessing the registry. Each local police department and each state police troop shall keep a record of all registration information transmitted to it by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and shall make such information accessible to the public during normal business hours.

(2) (A) Any state agency, the Judicial Department, any state police troop or any local police department may, at its discretion, notify any government agency, private organization or individual of registration information when such agency, said department, such troop or such local police department, as the case may be, believes such notification is necessary to protect the public or any individual in any jurisdiction from any person who is subject to registration under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254.

(B) (i) Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or whenever a registrant changes such registrant's residence address and notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by electronic mail, notify the superintendent of schools for the school district in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release or new residence address, and provide such superintendent with the same registry information for such registrant that the department makes available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(ii) Whenever a registrant is released into the community, or whenever a registrant changes such registrant's residence address and notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection of such change pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, by electronic mail, notify the chief executive officer of the municipality in which the registrant resides, or plans to reside, of such release or new residence address, and provide such chief executive officer with the same registry information for such registrant that the department makes available to the public through the Internet under subdivision (1) of this subsection.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, state agencies, the Judicial Department, state police troops and local police departments shall not disclose the identity of any victim of a crime committed by a registrant or treatment information provided to the registry pursuant to sections 54-102g and 54-250 to 54-258a, inclusive, except to government agencies for bona fide law enforcement or security purposes.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, registration information the dissemination of which has been restricted by court order pursuant to section 54-255 and which is not otherwise subject to disclosure, shall not be a public record and shall be released only for law enforcement purposes until such restriction is removed by the court pursuant to said section.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, a registrant's electronic mail address, instant message address or other similar Internet communication identifier shall not be a public record, except that the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may release such identifier for law enforcement or security purposes in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. The department shall adopt regulations in accordance with chapter 54 to specify the circumstances under which and the persons to whom such identifiers may be released including, but not limited to, providers of electronic communication service or remote computing service, as those terms are defined in section 54-260b, and operators of Internet web sites, and the procedure therefor.

(6) When any registrant completes the registrant's term of registration or is otherwise released from the obligation to register under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall notify any state police troop or local police department having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported residence address that the person is no longer a registrant, and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, state police troop and local police department shall remove the registrant's name and information from the registry.

This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2018	54-257
Sec. 2	October 1, 2018	54-258(a)

Statement of Purpose:

To ensure that a registered sexual offender has registered his or her actual residence address.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]