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PUBLIC LAWS
First Special Session of the 122nd

CHAPTER 423
H.P. 997 - L.D. 1433

An Act To Amend the Sex Offender Registration and Notification
Act of 1999

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

     Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §11202, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §5 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§11202. Application

     This chapter applies to:

     1. Maine. A person sentenced in this State on or after January 1, 1982 for a sex offense or a sexually violent offense as an adult or as a juvenile sentenced as an adult; and

     2. Other jurisdictions. A person sentenced in another jurisdiction as an adult or as a juvenile sentenced as an adult:

     Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §6 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     1-A. Conditional release. "Conditional release" means supervised release of a registrant from institutional confinement for placement on probation, parole, intensive supervision, supervised release for sex offenders, supervised community confinement, home release monitoring or release under Title 15, section 104-A or Title 17-A, chapter 50 54-G.

     Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§4-A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §10 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     4-A. Risk assessment instrument. "Risk assessment instrument" means an instrument created and modified as necessary by reviewing and analyzing precursors to a sex offense, victim populations of a registrant, living conditions and environment of a registrant and other factors predisposing a person to become a registrant, for the ongoing purpose of identifying risk factors used to provide notification of a registrant's conditional release or discharge from a state correctional facility to law enforcement agencies and to the public.

     Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§6, ¶A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 371, §2, is repealed.

     Sec. 5. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§6, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 437, §2, is amended to read:

     Sec. 6. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§7, ¶B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 553, §4, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 7. 34-A MRSA §11203, sub-§8, ¶B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. OOO, §10, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 8. 34-A MRSA §11204 is enacted to read:

§11204. Rulemaking

     The bureau may adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this chapter are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

     Sec. 9. 34-A MRSA §11221, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §17 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 10. 34-A MRSA §11221, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §19 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     6. Distribution of information to department and law enforcement agencies. The bureau shall distribute information described in subsection 1 to the department and law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over the address and location of the registrant's domicile, residence, place of employment and college or school being attended.

     Sec. 11. 34-A MRSA §11221, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 437, §2, is repealed.

     Sec. 12. 34-A MRSA §11221, sub-§9, ¶B, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §20 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 13. 34-A MRSA §11221, sub-§11 is enacted to read:

     11. Maintenance by bureau. Only the bureau may maintain a sex offender registry on the Internet for purposes of public access as described in subsection 9. Law enforcement agencies may maintain their own sex offender registries for internal use only by those agencies and may provide a link to the bureau's Internet sex offender registry.

     Sec. 14. 34-A MRSA §11222, sub-§1-A, ¶A, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §21 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 15. 34-A MRSA §11222, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §21 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is amended to read:

     1-B. Duty to notify law enforcement agency. A registrant who has a duty to register pursuant to this subchapter shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in those areas where the registrant is domiciled, resides, works or attends school within 24 hours of becoming a domiciliary or a resident or beginning work or attending school. If the location is a municipality with an organized municipal police department, the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction is the municipal police department. If the location is a school having an organized police department, the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction is the campus police department. If the location is neither a municipality nor a school with an organized police department, the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction is the sheriff's department.

     Sec. 16. 34-A MRSA §11222, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:

     2-C. Duty of registrant sentenced from January 1, 1982 to June 29, 1992 to register. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a person who meets the definition of a 10-year registrant or a lifetime registrant who has been sentenced on or after January 1, 1982 but before June 30, 1992 for a sex offense or a sexually violent offense shall register either as a 10-year registrant or a lifetime registrant, whichever is applicable, with the bureau by October 15, 2005 if the duty to register has been triggered under subsection 1-A, paragraph A, B or C, unless sooner notified in writing of a duty to register under subsection 1-A, paragraph A, B or C by the bureau, the department or a law enforcement officer, in which case the person shall register with the bureau within 5 days of notice.

     Sec. 17. 34-A MRSA §11222, sub-§§3 and 4, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §21 and affected by Pt. D, §2, are further amended to read:

     3. Transfer of initial registration information to bureau and FBI. The department, county jail, state mental health institute or court within 3 days of receipt of the information described in subsection 2 shall forward the information to the bureau. If the court orders the registrant to submit to the taking of fingerprints and a photograph at a specified law enforcement agency, the law enforcement agency shall submit the fingerprints and photograph to the bureau within 3 days. The bureau shall immediately enter the information into the registration system, notify the law enforcement agency agencies having jurisdiction where the registrant expects to be domiciled and reside and transmit the information to the FBI for inclusion in the national FBI sex offender database.

     4. Verification. During the period a registrant is required to register, the bureau shall verify a registrant's domicile require the registrant to verify registration information including domicile, residence, place of employment and college or school being attended. The bureau shall verify the domicile registration information of a 10-year registrant on each anniversary of the 10-year registrant's initial registration date and shall verify a lifetime registrant's domicile registration information every 90 days after that lifetime registrant's initial registration date. Verification of the domicile registration information of a 10-year registrant or lifetime registrant occurs as set out in this subsection.

     Sec. 18. 34-A MRSA §11222, sub-§5, last ¶, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 437, §2, is repealed.

     Sec. 19. 34-A MRSA §11223, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §22 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is further amended to read:

§11223.   Duty of person establishing domicile or residence to register

     A person required under another jurisdiction to register pursuant to that jurisdiction's sex offender registration statute or, if not so required, who has been convicted and sentenced for an offense that includes the essential elements of a sex offense or sexually violent offense sentenced in a jurisdiction other than this State who is required under that jurisdiction to register pursuant to that jurisdiction's sex offender registration statute or would have been required to register if the person had remained in the jurisdiction or, if not so required, who has been sentenced on or after January 1, 1982 for an offense that includes the essential elements of a sex offense or a sexually violent offense shall register as a 10-year registrant or lifetime registrant, whichever is applicable, within 5 days and shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction with within 24 hours of establishing domicile or residence in this State. The person shall contact the bureau, which shall provide the person with the registration form and direct the person to take the form and a photograph of the person to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The law enforcement agency shall supervise the completion of the form, take the person's fingerprints and immediately forward the form, photograph and fingerprints to the bureau.

     Sec. 20. 34-A MRSA §11224, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §22 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§11224.   Duty of person employed or attending college or school

     The following provisions govern registration duties for a person not domiciled or residing in this State but who is employed or attending college or school in this State.

     1. Time. A person who has been sentenced in a jurisdiction other than this State and who is required under that jurisdiction to register pursuant to that jurisdiction's sex offender registration statute or would have been required to register if the person had remained in that jurisdiction or, if not so required, who has been sentenced on or after January 1, 1982 for an offense that includes the essential elements of a sex offense or a sexually violent offense shall register as a 10-year registrant or lifetime registrant, whichever is applicable, within 5 days and shall notify the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction:

     2. Process for notifying bureau. The person under subsection 1 shall contact the bureau, which shall provide the person with a registration form and direct the person to take the form and a photograph of the person to the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The law enforcement agency shall supervise the completion of the form, take the person's fingerprints and immediately forward the form, photograph and fingerprints to the bureau.

     Sec. 21. 34-A MRSA §11225, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §23 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is repealed.

     Sec. 22. 34-A MRSA §11225-A is enacted to read:

§11225-A. Duration of registration

     1. Ten-year registrant convicted and sentenced in State. The following provisions apply to a 10-year registrant convicted and sentenced in this State.

     2. Ten-year registrant convicted and sentenced in another jurisdiction. The following provisions apply to a 10-year registrant convicted and sentenced in another jurisdiction and required to register in this State pursuant to section 11223, section 11224 or both.

     3. Lifetime registrant convicted and sentenced in this State. A lifetime registrant sentenced on or after January 1, 1982 in this State shall register for the duration of that registrant's life.

     4. Lifetime registrant convicted and sentenced in another jurisdiction. The following provisions apply to a lifetime registrant convicted and sentenced in another jurisdiction and required to register in this State pursuant to section 11223, section 11224 or both.

     5. Periods when domiciled or residing outside State. Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 3, during any period in which the 10-year registrant or lifetime registrant leaves this State, establishes a domicile or residence in another state and remains physically absent from this State, the bureau, pursuant to any rules the bureau may adopt, may suspend the requirement that the 10-year registrant or lifetime registrant verify registration information.

     6. Relief from duty to register. The following provisions apply to a 10-year registrant's or lifetime registrant's duty to register.

     Sec. 23. 34-A MRSA §11227, as amended by PL 2003, c. 711, Pt. C, §25 and affected by Pt. D, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§11227. Violation

     1. Failure to comply; first offense. A person to whom this chapter applies pursuant to section 11202 who in fact fails to comply with any duty imposed under this chapter or a rule adopted pursuant to this chapter commits a Class D crime.

     2. Failure to comply; 2nd offense. A person who has one prior conviction under this section and who in fact fails to comply with any duty imposed under this chapter or a rule adopted pursuant to this chapter commits a Class C crime.

     3. Failure to comply; 3rd offense. A person who has 2 or more prior convictions under this section and who in fact fails to comply with any duty imposed under this chapter or a rule adopted pursuant to this chapter commits a Class B crime.

     4. Strict liability. Violation of this section is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17-A, section 34, subsection 4-A.

     5. Prior convictions. Title 17-A, section 9-A governs the use of prior convictions when determining a sentence.

     6. Affirmative defense. It is an affirmative defense that the failure to comply with a duty imposed under this chapter or a rule adopted pursuant to this chapter resulted from just cause, except that a person to whom section 11222, subsection 2-A, 2-B or 2-C applies may not raise a defense under just cause that the person was not aware of the registration requirement.

     Sec. 24. Interim meetings authorized. The Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety is authorized to meet once, in addition to any other authorized meetings, during the 2005 legislative interim to review the criminal sentencing laws for sex offenses and the public safety issues related to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999. At this meeting the committee shall seek information and data from public and private entities as necessary to examine and recommend changes to the current laws governing the sentencing, registration, release and supervision of sex offenders. The committee may submit legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 122nd Legislature regarding the criminal sentencing laws for sex offenses and the public safety issues related to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999.

Effective September 17, 2005.

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