MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2019 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division B
By: Senator(s) Doty, Hill
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-33-59, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION TO CERTAIN PARENTS OR GUARDIANS OF CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18 WHO COME IN CONTACT WITH AN EMPLOYEE WHO IS REQUIRED TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER; TO AMEND SECTION 45-33-32, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM THE REQUIREMENTS FOR VOLUNTEERS; TO AMEND SECTION 45-33-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD A DEFINITION UNDER THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT IN ORDER TO REQUIRE HOMELESS OR TRANSIENT RESIDENTS TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF WHERE THAT OFFENDER HABITUALLY LIVES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 45-33-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-59. (1) (a)
Any person convicted of a sex offense who is employed in any position, or who
contracts with a person to provide personal services, where the * * * employee or * * * contractor
will * * * have direct, private and unsupervised
contact with * * *
minors under the age of eighteen (18) shall notify in writing the
employer or the person with whom the person has contracted or is employed
of his sex offender status.
(b) The employer shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the parents or guardians of any minors under the age of eighteen (18) with whom the employee or contractor will have direct, private and unsupervised contact of the offender's criminal record.
(2) This section applies to all registered sex offenders regardless of the date of conviction.
(3) An employer acting in good faith in making notification to parents or guardians under this section, or who fails in good faith to make notification, shall not be liable in any civil or criminal action as a result of the notification or failure to notify.
(4) This section does not authorize the employment of a person for a position for which employment of a sex offender is prohibited by any law.
(5) This section does not apply to an employer whose employees have only incidental contact with children because children may be present in the workplace without any formal agreement; casual or incidental contact does not trigger the duty to inform.
SECTION 2. Section 45-33-32, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-32. (1) A person convicted of a sex offense who volunteers for an organization in which volunteers have direct, private and unsupervised contact with minors under the age of eighteen (18) shall notify the organization of the person's conviction at the time of volunteering. Such notification must be in writing to the organization. Any organization which accepts volunteers must notify volunteers of this disclosure requirement upon application of the volunteer to serve or prior to acceptance of any of the volunteer's service, whichever occurs first.
(2) If the organization,
after notification by the offender as provided in subsection (1), accepts the
offender as a volunteer, the organization * * * shall make reasonable attempts to
notify the parents or guardians of any minors under the age of eighteen (18)
involved in the organization of the offender's criminal record.
(3) This section applies to all registered sex offenders regardless of the date of conviction.
(4) Any person previously registered as a sex offender and who has a continuing obligation to be registered as a sex offender shall be notified of the person's duty under this section with the first reregistration form to be sent to the person after July 1, 2004.
(5) If the registered sex offender is currently volunteering for such an organization, the sex offender must resign or notify the organization immediately upon receipt of notice or be subject to the penalties of this chapter.
(6) An organization acting in good faith in making the notification to parents or guardians under this section, or who fails in good faith to make such notification, shall not be liable in any civil or criminal action as a result of the notification or failure to notify.
SECTION 3. Section 45-33-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-23. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Conviction" means that, regarding the person's offense, there has been a determination or judgment of guilt as a result of a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere regardless of whether adjudication is withheld. "Conviction of similar offenses" includes, but is not limited to, a conviction by a federal or military tribunal, including a court-martial conducted by the Armed Forces of the United States, a conviction for an offense committed on an Indian Reservation or other federal property, a conviction in any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianna Islands or the United States Virgin Islands, and a conviction in a foreign country if the foreign country's judicial system is such that it satisfies minimum due process set forth in the guidelines under Section 111(5)(B) Public Law 109-248.
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Public Safety unless otherwise specified.
(c) "Jurisdiction" means any court or locality including any state court, federal court, military court, Indian tribunal or foreign court, the fifty (50) states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianna Islands or the United States Virgin Islands, and Indian tribes that elect to function as registration jurisdictions under Title 1, SORNA Section 127 of the Adam Walsh Child Safety Act.
(d) "Permanent residence" means a place where the person abides, lodges, or resides for a period of fourteen (14) or more consecutive days.
(e) "Registration" means providing information to the appropriate agency within the timeframe specified as required by this chapter.
(f) "Registration duties" means obtaining the registration information required on the form specified by the department as well as the photograph, fingerprints and biological sample of the registrant. Biological samples are to be forwarded to the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory pursuant to Section 45-33-37; the photograph, fingerprints and other registration information are to be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety immediately.
(g) "Responsible agency" is defined as the person or government entity whose duty it is to obtain information from a criminal sex offender upon conviction and to transmit that information to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
(i) For a criminal sex offender being released from the custody of the Department of Corrections, the responsible agency is the Department of Corrections.
(ii) For a criminal sex offender being released from a county jail, the responsible agency is the sheriff of that county.
(iii) For a criminal sex offender being released from a municipal jail, the responsible agency is the police department of that municipality.
(iv) For a sex offender in the custody of the youth court, the responsible agency is the youth court.
(v) For a criminal sex offender who is being placed on probation, including conditional discharge or unconditional discharge, without any sentence of incarceration, the responsible agency is the sentencing court.
(vi) For an offender who has been committed to a mental institution following an acquittal by reason of insanity, the responsible agency is the facility from which the offender is released. Specifically, the director of the facility shall notify the Department of Public Safety before the offender's release.
(vii) For a criminal sex offender who is being released from a jurisdiction outside this state or who has a prior conviction in another jurisdiction and who is to reside, work or attend school in this state, the responsible agency is both the sheriff of the proposed county of residence and the department.
(h) "Sex offense" or "registrable offense" means any of the following offenses:
(i) Section 97-3-53 relating to kidnapping, if the victim was below the age of eighteen (18);
(ii) Section 97-3-65 relating to rape; however, conviction or adjudication under Section 97-3-65(1)(a) when the offender was eighteen (18) years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense, shall not be a registrable sex offense;
(iii) Section 97-3-71 relating to rape and assault with intent to ravish;
(iv) Section 97-3-95 relating to sexual battery; however, conviction or adjudication under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) when the offender was eighteen (18) years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense, shall not be a registrable sex offense;
(v) Section 97-5-5 relating to enticing a child for concealment, prostitution or marriage;
(vi) Section 97-5-23 relating to the touching of a child, mentally defective or incapacitated person or physically helpless person for lustful purposes;
(vii) Section 97-5-27 relating to the dissemination of sexually oriented material to children;
(viii) Section 97-5-33 relating to the exploitation of children;
(ix) Section 97-5-41 relating to the carnal knowledge of a stepchild, adopted child or child of a cohabiting partner;
(x) Section 97-29-3 relating to sexual intercourse between teacher and student;
(xi) Section 97-29-59 relating to unnatural intercourse;
(xii) Section 43-47-18 relating to sexual abuse of a vulnerable person;
(xiii) Section 97-3-54.1(1)(c) relating to procuring sexual servitude of a minor and Section 97-3-54.3 relating to aiding, abetting or conspiring to violate Section 97-3-54.1(1)(c);
(xiv) Section 97-29-61(2) relating to voyeurism when the victim is a child under sixteen (16) years of age;
(xv) Section 97-29-63 relating to filming another without permission where there is an expectation of privacy;
(xvi) Section 97-29-45(1)(a) relating to obscene electronic communication;
(xvii) Section 97-3-104 relating to the crime of sexual activity between law enforcement, correctional or custodial personnel and prisoners;
(xviii) Section 97-5-39(1)(e) relating to contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child, felonious abuse or battery of a child, if the victim was sexually abused;
(xix) Section 97-29-51 relating to procuring or promoting prostitution when the victim is a child under eighteen (18) years of age;
(xx) Section 97-1-7 relating to attempt to commit any of the offenses referenced in this paragraph (h);
(xxi) Any other offense resulting in a conviction in another jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would be deemed to be such a crime without regard to its designation elsewhere;
(xxii) Any offense resulting in a conviction in another jurisdiction for which registration is required in the jurisdiction where the conviction was had;
(xxiii) Any conviction of conspiracy to commit, accessory to commission, or attempt to commit any offense listed in this section;
(xxiv) Capital murder when one (1) of the above-described offenses is the underlying crime.
(i) "Temporary residence" is defined as any place where the person abides, lodges, or resides for a period of seven (7) or more consecutive days which is not the person's permanent residence.
(j) "Address" means the actual physical street address of a person's permanent or temporary residence. For a person who is homeless but is subject to registration under this chapter, the address information must provide a specific description of where the person habitually lives; the term "homeless" or similar description does not constitute an address within the contemplation of this chapter.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.