MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2020 Regular Session

To: Labor; Judiciary, Division B

By: Senator(s) Doty

Senate Bill 2654

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-33-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER; 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 or who has been acquitted by reason of insanity 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.  There is a presumption that a registrant owes a duty of updating registration information if:

              (i)  The registrant remains away from a registered address for seven (7) or more consecutive days; or

              (ii)  If the registrant remains at another address between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. for more than seven (7) consecutive days;

          (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 three thousand (3,000) 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 three thousand (3,000) 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 before July 1, 2006.

              (iv)  The school or child care facility is established within three thousand (3,000) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.

              (v)  The person established the subject residence between July 1, 2006, and January 1, 2014, in a location at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from the school or child care facility.

              (vi)  The person is a minor or a ward under a guardianship.

          (c)  A person residing within three thousand (3,000) 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 before July 1, 2008.

              (ii)  The residential child-caring agency, children's group care home, playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years is established within three thousand (3,000) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.

              (iii)  The person established the subject residence between July 1, 2008, and January 1, 2014, in a location at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from the residential child-caring agency, children's group care home, playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.

              (iv)  Any of the conditions described in subsection (4)(b)(i), (ii) or (vi) exist.

     (5)  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.

     (6)  A person required to register under this chapter shall be disqualified from serving as a volunteer firefighter in the State of Mississippi.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.