[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 291 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 291
To establish a National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task Force to
create guidelines for the establishment of a risk-based sex offender
classification system for use in sex offender registries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mr. Gillmor introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task Force to
create guidelines for the establishment of a risk-based sex offender
classification system for use in sex offender registries.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Safe NOW Act of
2007''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a National
Sex Offender Risk Classification Task Force to create guidelines for
the establishment of a risk-based sex offender classification system
that will--
(1) classify sex offenders based on the threat of danger
each sex offender poses to the public; and
(2) allow law enforcement agencies and the public to
identify the most dangerous sex offenders listed in sex
offender registries by using the classification system.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Sex offender registry.--The term ``sex offender
registry'' means a registry of sex offenders, and a
notification program, maintained by a jurisdiction.
(2) Jurisdiction.--The term ``jurisdiction'' means any of
the following:
(A) A State.
(B) The District of Columbia.
(C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(D) Guam.
(E) American Samoa.
(F) The Northern Mariana Islands.
(G) The United States Virgin Islands.
(H) Any Federally recognized Indian tribe.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER RISK CLASSIFICATION TASK FORCE.
(a) Task Force Established.--There is established, under the
general authority of the Attorney General, the National Sex Offender
Risk Classification Task Force (referred to in this Act as the ``Task
Force'').
(b) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Task Force shall--
(A) create preliminary guidelines for the
establishment of a risk-based sex offender
classification system;
(B) administer the demonstration program under
section 4; and
(C) create final guidelines for the establishment
of a risk-based sex offender classification system that
shall be made available to jurisdictions for use in
accordance with section 7, and that shall be created
using the information gathered through--
(i) the demonstration program under section
4; and
(ii) the activities of the working groups
under paragraph (3).
(2) Creation of guidelines.--In creating the guidelines
required under this subsection, the Task Force shall consider--
(A) empirically-based assessment tools available to
assess the dangers posed by sex offenders;
(B) the methods used to classify sex offenders for
the purposes of sex offender registries in use by
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies as
of the date of enactment of this Act, and how those
methods differ from a risk-based sex offender
classification system;
(C) means by which information regarding the risk-
based classification of sex offenders may be
comprehensively and consistently disseminated to
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and
the public;
(D) opportunities available to sex offenders
(especially those who are not under court supervision)
to change their risk-based classification, including
voluntary participation in sex offender treatment and
monitoring programs; and
(E) any negative consequences that have resulted
from Megan's Law (Public Law 104-145; 110 Stat. 1345),
and steps that might be taken to reduce such negative
consequences.
(3) Working groups.--The Chair shall designate 5 working
groups within the Task Force, each of which shall conduct one
of the following activities:
(A) Survey the methods of risk classification used
by each jurisdiction, as of the date of enactment of
this Act, and identify changes to such methods that
jurisdictions could implement to improve the
efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of sex offender
registries.
(B) Research and analyze the effectiveness of the
most recently developed tools available (as of the date
of enactment of this Act) to assess the dangers posed
by sex offenders and to classify sex offenders based on
risk.
(C) Identify the strengths and weaknesses of
Federal, State, and local sex offender registration and
notification procedures in use as of the day before the
date of enactment of this Act, and propose methods to
improve any such weaknesses.
(D) Analyze Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agency procedures for community
notification regarding sex offenders (as of the date of
enactment of this Act), and determine the most
appropriate procedures to notify communities regarding
sex offenders of varying risk-based classifications.
(E) Develop a resource guide that Federal, State,
and local law enforcement agencies may use to educate
the public about the prevention of sex offenses, the
dangers posed by sex offenders, the systems used to
classify sex offenders, and the access and use of sex
offender registries.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Task Force shall consist of 20
members, who shall be appointed by the Attorney General within
45 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and who shall
include--
(A) the Chair;
(B) one representative from each of the following:
(i) the Safe NOW Project;
(ii) the National Association to PROTECT
Children;
(iii) Parents For Megan's Law, Inc.;
(iv) the Association for the Treatment of
Sexual Abusers;
(v) the National Sheriffs' Association;
(vi) the National Association of Police
Organizations;
(vii) the American Probation and Parole
Association;
(viii) the American Psychological
Association;
(ix) the National Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers;
(x) the Washington State Institute for
Public Policy;
(xi) the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children;
(xii) the Office for Victims of Crime;
(xiii) the Center for Sex Offender
Management;
(xiv) the National Law Enforcement and
Corrections Technology Center;
(xv) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
and
(xvi) the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention; and
(C) three representatives of the academic community
who specialize in risk assessment of sex offenders.
(2) Selection criteria.--The Attorney General shall appoint
to the Task Force a Chair and a diverse group of members who
are knowledgeable in the fields of sex offender management,
community education, risk assessment of sex offenders, and sex
offender victim issues.
(3) Terms; vacancies.--The term of office for members shall
be for the life of the Task Force. A vacancy in the Task Force
shall not affect the powers of the Task Force, and shall be
filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was
made.
(4) Compensation.--
(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the
Chair and members of the Task Force shall be paid at
the rate of $500 per day for each day, including travel
time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual
performance of duties vested in the Task Force.
(B) A member of the Task Force who is a full-time
officer or employee of the United States or a Member of
Congress shall receive no additional pay, allowances,
or benefits by reason of his or her service to the Task
Force.
(C) All members of the Task Force shall be
reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary
expenses incurred by them in the performance of their
duties to the extent authorized by chapter 57 of title
5, United States Code.
(d) Meetings.--
(1) Frequency.--The Task Force shall meet not less than 4
times per year, at the call of the Chair. The Attorney General
shall call the first meeting of the Task Force within 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, or within 30 days
after the date on which legislation is enacted making
appropriations to carry out this Act, whichever date is later.
(2) Record.--The Task Force shall maintain records of an
active roster of membership, meeting minutes, and any other
information the Chair may require.
(3) Public meetings; notice.--Task Force meetings shall be
open to the public, except as determined otherwise by the Chair
(or other official to whom the authority has been delegated by
the Chair). Notice of all meetings shall be published in the
Federal Register not later than 30 days before the date of such
meeting.
(4) Closed meetings.--No later than 7 days after any Task
Force meeting (or a portion of such a meeting) is closed to the
public, a report shall be prepared for the Attorney General by
a designated member the Task Force who was present for the
entirety of such meeting, which shall contain, at a minimum, a
list of individuals present and the activities conducted at
such closed meeting.
SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Task Force is authorized to carry out a
demonstration program under which the Task Force shall award one grant
to each of 5 selected jurisdictions to carry out the activities under
subsection (b).
(b) Program Activities.--A selected jurisdiction shall use a grant
awarded under subsection (a) to--
(1) use the preliminary guidelines created by the Task
Force under section 3(b) to implement a risk-based sex offender
classification system to classify sex offenders registered in
the jurisdiction's sex offender registry;
(2) demonstrate the extent to which such preliminary
guidelines provide for the successful implementation of an
effective risk-based sex offender classification system; and
(3) identify ways such preliminary guidelines may be
improved to provide better guidance for the successful
implementation of an effective risk-based sex offender
classification system.
(c) Applications.--A jurisdiction desiring to participate in the
demonstration program shall submit an application to the Task Force at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Task
Force may require.
(d) Selection of Jurisdictions.--
(1) Not later than 9 months after the date of the first
meeting of the Task Force, the Task Force shall select 5
jurisdictions to participate in the demonstration program from
the applications received under subsection (c).
(2) The Task Force shall develop criteria to select
jurisdictions to participate in the demonstration program. In
developing such criteria and selecting jurisdictions, the Task
Force shall consider--
(A) the importance of the participation of
demographically and geographically diverse
jurisdictions in the demonstration program; and
(B) the willingness and ability of jurisdictions
to--
(i) collaborate with officials in such
jurisdiction responsible for the management of
sex offenders;
(ii) report to the Task Force on the
effectiveness of the preliminary guidelines
created under section 3(b);
(iii) provide recommendations to the Task
Force regarding the improvement of such
preliminary guidelines and the creation of
final guidelines; and
(iv) provide information about their
participation in the demonstration program to
other jurisdictions implementing a risk-based
sex offender classification system.
(e) Duration.--A grant awarded under this subsection shall be for
the one-year period beginning on the date one year after the date of
the first meeting of the Task Force, and shall not be renewable.
(f) Assistance and Review.--The Task Force shall provide technical
assistance as necessary to the jurisdictions selected to participate in
the demonstration program, and shall document the demonstration program
experience of each selected jurisdiction in the final report required
under section 5.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
(a) The Task Force shall provide to the Attorney General and to the
relevant committees of Congress--
(1) not later than one year after the date of the first
meeting of the Task Force, an initial report containing--
(A) preliminary guidelines for the establishment of
a risk-based sex offender classification system to be
used for the demonstration program under section 3;
(B) a list of the jurisdictions selected to
participate in such demonstration program; and
(C) a summary of the activities conducted by, and
the findings of, each working group under section
3(b)(3); and
(2) not later than 6 months after the date of the
expiration of the demonstration program grants made under
section 4, a final report containing--
(A) final guidelines for the establishment of a
risk-based sex offender classification system, as
required under section 3(b); and
(B) a summary of the information gathered through
the demonstration program under section 4, including
any information provided by the jurisdictions that
participated in such program that was considered by the
Task Force in the creation of the final guidelines
under subparagraph (A).
SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF TASK FORCE.
The Task Force shall terminate 90 days after the final report under
section 5 is provided to the Attorney General and the relevant
committees of Congress.
SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING USE OF GUIDELINES.
It is the sense of Congress that each jurisdiction should use the
final guidelines created by the Task Force under this Act to implement
a risk-based sex offender classification system to classify sex
offenders registered in such jurisdiction's sex offender registry.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act (except for section 4), $1,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2008, 2009, and 2010.
(b) Demonstration Program.--There are authorized to be appropriated
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the demonstration program
under section 4.
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