MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Gipson, Formby, DeBar, Arnold, Ladner
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 45-33-25, 45-33-29 AND 45-33-36, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER FROM RESIDING NEAR OR CONTACTING A MINOR VICTIM; TO REQUIRE THE SHERIFF TO PROVIDE NOTICE TO PERSONS WHO LIVE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE RESIDENCE OF A SEX OFFENDER THAT AN OFFENDER IS RESIDING IN THE AREA; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 45-33-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-25. (1) (a) Any person having a permanent or temporary residence in this state or who is employed or attending school in this state who has been convicted of a registrable offense in this state or another jurisdiction shall register with the responsible agency and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Registration shall not be required for an offense that is not a registrable sex offense or for an offender who is under fourteen (14) years of age. The department shall provide the initial registration information as well as every change of name, change of address, change of status at a school, or other change of information as required by the department to the sheriff of the county of the residence address of the registrant, the sheriff of the county of the employment address, and the sheriff of the county of the school address, if applicable, and any other jurisdiction of the registrant through either written notice, electronic or telephone transmissions, or online access to registration information. Further, the department shall provide this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, upon notification by the registrant that he intends to reside outside the State of Mississippi, the department shall notify the appropriate state law enforcement agency of any state to which a registrant is moving or has moved.
(b) Any person having a permanent or temporary residence or who is employed or attending school in this state who has been adjudicated delinquent for a registrable sex offense listed in this paragraph that involved use of force against the victim shall register as a sex offender with the responsible agency and shall personally appear at a Mississippi Department of Public Safety Driver's License Station within three (3) business days of registering with the responsible agency:
(i) Section 97-3-71 relating to rape and assault with intent to ravish;
(ii) Section 97-3-95 relating to sexual battery;
(iii) Section 97-3-65 relating to statutory rape; or
(iv) Conspiracy to commit, accessory to the commission of, or attempt to commit any offense listed in this paragraph.
(2) Any person required to register under this chapter shall submit the following information at the time of registration:
(a) Name, including a former name which has been legally changed;
(b) Street address of all current permanent and temporary residences within state or out of state at which the sex offender resides or habitually lives, including dates of temporary lodgings;
(c) Date, place and address of employment, including as a volunteer or unpaid intern or as a transient or day laborer;
(d) Crime for which charged, arrested or convicted;
(e) Date and place of conviction, adjudication or acquittal by reason of insanity;
(f) Aliases used or nicknames, ethnic or tribal names by which commonly known;
(g) Social security number and any purported social security number or numbers;
(h) Date and place of birth and any purported date and place of birth;
(i) Age, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye colors, and any other physical description or identifying factors;
(j) A brief description of the offense or offenses for which the registration is required;
(k) Driver's license or state or other jurisdiction identification card number, which license or card may be electronically accessed by the Department of Public Safety;
(l) Anticipated future residence;
(m) If the registrant's residence is a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home or manufactured home, the registrant shall also provide vehicle identification number, license tag number, registration number and a description, including color scheme, of the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home or manufactured home; if the registrant's place of residence is a vessel or houseboat, the registrant shall also provide the hull identification number, manufacturer's serial number, name of the vessel or houseboat, registration number and a description, including color scheme, of the vessel or houseboat, including permanent or frequent locations where the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, manufactured home, vessel or houseboat is kept;
(n) Vehicle make, model, color and license tag number for all vehicles owned or operated by the sex offender, whether for work or personal use, and the permanent or frequent locations where a vehicle is kept;
(o) Offense history;
(p) Photograph;
(q) Fingerprints and palm prints;
(r) Documentation of any treatment received for any mental abnormality or personality disorder of the person;
(s) Biological sample;
(t) Name of any public or private educational institution, including any secondary school, trade or professional institution or institution of higher education at which the offender is employed, carries on a vocation (with or without compensation) or is enrolled as a student, or will be enrolled as a student, and the registrant's status;
(u) Copy of conviction or sentencing order for the sex offense for which registration is required;
(v) The offender's parole, probation or supervised release status and the existence of any outstanding arrest warrants;
(w) Every online identity, screen name or username used, registered or created by a registrant;
(x) Professional licensing information which authorizes the registrant to engage in an occupation or carry out a trade or occupation;
(y) Information from passport and immigration documents;
(z) All telephone numbers, including, but not limited to, permanent residence, temporary residence, cell phone and employment phone numbers, whether landlines or cell phones; and
(aa) Any other information deemed necessary.
(3) For purposes of this chapter, a person is considered to be residing in this state if he maintains a permanent or temporary residence as defined in Section 45-33-23, including students, temporary employees and military personnel on assignment.
(4) (a) A person required to register under this chapter shall not reside within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, a child care facility, a residential child-caring agency, a children's group care home or any playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(b) A person residing within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school or a child care facility does not commit a violation of this subsection if any of the following apply:
(i) The person is serving a sentence at a jail, prison, juvenile facility or other correctional institution or facility.
(ii) The person is subject to an order of commitment under Title 41, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(iii) The person established the subject residence prior to July 1, 2006, or the school or child care facility is located within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.
(iv) The person is a minor or a ward under a guardianship.
(c) A person residing within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the real property comprising a residential child-caring agency, a children's group care home or any playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years does not commit a violation of this subsection if any of the following apply:
(i) The person established the subject residence prior to July 1, 2008, or the residential child-caring agency, a children's group care home, playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years is established within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.
(ii) Any of the conditions described in subsection (4)(b)(i), (ii) or (iv) exist.
(5) A person required to register under this chapter whose victim was a minor shall not:
(a) Reside within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of the property line of any of the offender's former victims, except as otherwise authorized by law;
(b) Come within one hundred (100) feet of any of the offender's former victims, except as otherwise authorized by law; or
(c) Contact any of the offender's former victims or the victim's immediate family members without the consent of the victim or consent of the victim's parent or guardian if the victim is a minor being contacted by telephone, in writing, by electronic mail, Internet services or any other form of electronic communication, unless otherwise authorized by law.
( * * *6) The Department of Public Safety
is required to obtain the text of the law defining the offense or offenses for
which the registration is required.
SECTION 2. Section 45-33-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-29. (1) Upon any change of address, including temporary lodging, an offender required to register under this chapter is required to personally appear at a Department of Public Safety Driver's License Station not less than ten (10) days before he intends to first reside at the new address. The Department of Public Safety shall notify the sheriff of the county where the offender is establishing a new residence. The sheriff shall confirm the residence and provide notice to all persons who reside within one (1) mile of the new residence that a person required to register as a sex offender is establishing residence in the area. The sheriff or a deputy of the sheriff shall confirm the residence of the offender by visiting the address of the residence that is provided by the offender.
(2) Upon any change in the status of a registrant's enrollment, employment or vocation at any public or private educational institution, including any secondary school, trade or professional institution or institution of higher education, the offender is required to personally appear at a Department of Public Safety Driver's License Station within three (3) business days of the change.
(3) Upon any change of employment or change of name, a registrant is required to personally appear at a Department of Public Safety Driver's License Station within three (3) business days of the change.
(4) Upon any change of vehicle information, a registrant is required to report the change on an appropriate form supplied by the department within three (3) business days of the change.
(5) Upon any change of e-mail address or addresses, instant message address or addresses, or any other designation used in Internet communications, postings or telephone communications, a registrant is required to report the change on an appropriate form supplied by the department within three (3) business days of the change.
(6) Upon any change of information deemed by the department to be necessary to the state's policy to assist local law enforcement agencies' efforts to protect their communities, a registrant is required to report the change on an appropriate form supplied by the department within three (3) business days of the change.
SECTION 3. Section 45-33-36, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-36. (1) Upon receipt of sex offender registration or change of registration information, the Department of Public Safety shall immediately provide the information to:
(a) The National Sex Offender Registry or other appropriate databases;
(b) The sheriff of the county or any other jurisdiction where the offender resides, is an employee or is a student or intends to reside, work, attend school or volunteer and the sheriff or a deputy of the sheriff shall confirm the residence by visiting the address of residence provided by the offender and the sheriff shall provide notice to all persons who reside within one (1) mile of the residence of the offender that an offender is residing in the area;
(c) The sheriff of the county or any other jurisdiction from which or to which a change of residence, employment or student status occurs;
(d) The Department of Human Services and any other social service entities responsible for protecting minors in the child welfare system;
(e) The probation agency that is currently supervising the sex offender;
(f) Any agency responsible for conducting employment-related background checks under Section 3 of the National Child Protection Act of 1993 (42 USC 5119(a));
(g) Each school and public housing agency in each jurisdiction in which the sex offender resides, is an employee or is a student;
(h) All prosecutor offices in each jurisdiction in which the sex offender resides, is an employee, or is a student; and
(i) Any other agencies with criminal investigation, prosecution or sex offender supervision functions in each jurisdiction in which the sex offender resides, is an employee, or is a student.
(2) The Department of Public Safety shall post changes to the public registry website within three (3) business days. Electronic notification will be available via the Internet to all law enforcement agencies, to any volunteer organizations in which contact with minors or vulnerable adults might occur and any organization, company or individual who requests notification pursuant to procedures established by the Department of Public Safety. This provision shall take effect upon the state's receipt and implementation of the Department of Justice software in compliance with the provisions of the Adam Walsh Act.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.