Massachusetts Sex Offenders Omnibus Bill
Sex Offenders Omnibus Bill Sunday, December 4, 2005 - Updated: 12:01 AM EST Following are some of the highlights of the Sex Offenders Omnibus Bill being proposed by state Rep. Jim Vallee, D-Franklin, and Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, the lead sponsors. Sex offender registration *Any convicted sex offender working in Massachusetts would be required to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board, or SORB (currently a person is only required to register if they work in the state for 14 days or an aggregate of 30 days in any calendar year). *All instances where "home address" is used will be changed to "primary address" or "secondary addresses." "Primary address" is defined as the legal address of the place where an offender lives, abides, lodges or resides for 14 or more consecutive days. "Secondary addresses" are the addresses of all places where a sex offender lives, abides, lodges or resides for an aggregate of 14 days in any calendar year. *Removes any language that would relieve an offender of their obligation to register. *Requires the custodial agency that has custody of the sex offender to send the offender’s registration data to the SORB within five days of receiving sentence (current law is 90 days prior to release). The custodial agency must also provide SORB (within five days after receiving custody of offender) with the maximum release date and the earliest possible release date of the offender. The SORB will immediately send information to the police department where the offender lives, works and where the offense was committed. Information shall also be sent to the FBI. Offenders must also be informed of their duty to register. The offender must register with the SORB 10 days prior to his/her release. No sex offender will be released unless the registration has been filled out, signed and mailed to SORB. Sex offender classification *Changes the designation of certain offenders. If a level 2 offender is convicted of a sex offense involving a minor they shall be given a level 2a designation and will be subject to the level 3 community notification plan. If a level 2 offender committed an offense that did not involve a minor, they will be given a level 2b designation and subject to level 2 requirements. *Sex offenders will be classified before their release from prison. Community notification *Requires information of both level 2 and level 3 offenders to be posted on the sex offender internet database (currently only information of level 3 offenders is on the database). Will also require offender to provide a photograph for viewing on the sex offender internet database. *An annual public service campaign shall be established by SORB to raise awareness about the sex offender registry and encouraging citizens to utilize the internet database and to visit local police stations to get information on sex offenders living in their cities or towns. *A notification advisory council will be established to conduct a comprehensive review of the guidelines to determine whether any changes or revisions are necessary. Upon completion of review, the council shall be terminated. For a more full summary of the bill, or a copy of the bill itself, contact Rep. Vallee’s office or Sen. Brown’s office at the State House at 617-722-2800. Metro West Daily News