Senate Bill 2845

AN ACT TO CREATE SECTION 45-33-28, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO RESTRICT SEX OFFENDERS FROM LIVING WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF SCHOOLS AND CHILD CARE FACILITIES; TO ENACT EXCEPTIONS; TO SPECIFY PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 45-33-28, Mississippi Code of 1972:

45-33-28. (1) A person required to register under this chapter shall not reside within two thousand five hundred (2,500) feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school or a child care facility.

(2) (a) A person residing within two thousand five hundred (2,500) 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 section if any of the following apply:

(i) The person is required to serve 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 newly located on or after July 1, 2006.

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

(b) Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be sentenced to not more than one (1) year in jail or a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.