BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1022
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1022 (Fletcher) - As Amended: April 25, 2011
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes state and local law enforcement to provide
information available on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) web
site of registered sex offenders (RSOs), upon request, by email
or other electronic notification.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Significant one-time (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars)
and minor ongoing (likely in the tens of thousands of dollars)
GF cost pressures to state law enforcement entities (primarily
DOJ and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation) to
develop, implement and maintain an information system to
provide email notification regarding RSO status changes.
The bill does not require such active notifications, but the
authorization will create significant pressure for the state
to do so.
2)Similar non-state-reimbursable cost pressures to local law
enforcement agencies.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author and sponsor, the County of San Diego,
contend that people concerned about the movement of RSOs
should not have to use DOJ's web site, which provides
information on RSOs, but should be able to receive e-mail
notification when there are changes to a RSO's status or
address.
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According to the author, "Megan's law Internet website
provides registered sex offender information that can be
accessed any time by the public. The public must actively seek
out the information. There is no system notifying interested
residents that sex offenders have moved in or out of given
neighborhoods. That prompted the County to explore
establishing a web-based subscription service by which
residents could designate geographic areas and receive email
alerts of changes to sex offender information within the
specified areas.
"However, California Penal Code sections 290.45 and 290.46
restrict local law enforcement's use of an internet website to
disseminate information about registered sex offenders. These
statutes allow a local law enforcement agency to post certain
sex offender information only when the local agency
determines, based upon specific information concerning that
specific offender, that such dissemination is necessary to
ensure the public safety. "
According to San Diego County, "The Megan's Law website is a
valuable public service but members of the public must
pro-actively seek out the information it provides. When
changes in the database occur, such as a registered sex
offender moving in or out of an area, the public is not
pro-actively informed. Unless a person is continually
monitoring the website, and recalls what information may or
may not have been listed before, she or he would not know what
sex offender information may have changed. Local law
enforcement may only use the internet to provide registered
sex offender information when the local agency determines,
based on specific information concerning that specific
offender, that such dissemination is necessary to ensure
public safety. Local agency notification of simple sex
offender residency changes is prohibited.
"AB 1022 would change existing law and allow local governments
to be able to use internet websites and email to actively
notify subscribing members of the public of important Megan's
Law database changes - especially changes in registered sex
offender residency. This measure would use only information
that is currently available via the Megan's Law website. Such
a change would enhance community awareness of dangerous
predators, improve community safety, and help parents keep
their children safe."
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2)Current law :
a) Authorizes any designated law enforcement entity to
provide information to the public about a person required
to register as a sex offender, as specified, by whatever
means the entity deems appropriate, when necessary to
ensure the public safety based upon information available
to the entity concerning that specific person.
b) Requires DOJ, with respect to a person who has been
convicted of specified sex offenses, to make available to
the public via a web site, the RSO's name and known
aliases, a photograph, a physical description, including
gender and race, date of birth, criminal history, prior
adjudication as a sexually violent predator, the address at
which the person resides, and any other information that
DOJ deems relevant, as specified.
3)Opposition . The CA Public Defenders Association contends this
request-based, active notification system is unnecessary,
ineffective, and prone to abuse. "As the law presently exists,
anyone who has legitimate concerns can easily access the
Megan's Law website and obtain the information available about
290 registrants. As is, there have been instances of
vigilantism as a result of the information being made
available to the public...
"Allowing individuals to make a onetime request and then be
emailed every time data is updated on Megan's Law listing will
breed hysteria and vigilantism. Further, stranger victim is
not the typical risk. According to the U.S. Department of
Justice, 86% of all sexual assault cases reported to law
enforcement were committed by someone known to the victim - a
family member or acquaintance (Bureau of Justice Statistics
2000). The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 93% of
victims under the age of 17, and 73% of victims age 18 and
older, were assaulted by someone they knew."
4)Additional Concerns.
a) This bill authorizes state law enforcement to provide
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active notification. Presumably a person who requests RSO
email updates is concerned about local residents. The
author may wish to exempt the state from this
authorization, which would be costly and redundant.
b) Nothing in the bill prevents individuals from requesting
notification for offenders statewide. Moreover, to date it
is not clear that counties other than San Diego are
interested in pursuing this type of RSO active
identification. The author may wish to consider a San Diego
County pilot project with a three-year sunset and
evaluation.
c) Current law authorizes law enforcement to make RSO
information available by any means when necessary to
protect public safety. The author may wish to require that
local law enforcement similarly determine that the active
notification is necessary to ensure the public safety. Such
an amendment also has the value of ensuring that the
Megan's Law web site is a regulatory effort, not a punitive
one, which is important in terms of protecting the
constitutionality of the existing system.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081