BILL ANALYSIS
SB 583
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 23, 2009
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Juan Arambula, Chair
SB 583 (Hollingsworth) - As Amended: May 5, 2009
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to record the
type of residence at which sex offenders reside and provide the
information to state agencies for law enforcement purposes
related to investigative responsibilities regarding sex
offenders. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that DOJ shall record the address at which a registered
sex offender resides with a unique identifier for the address.
2)Provides that the identifier shall consist of a description of
the nature of the dwelling, with the choices of a
single-family residence, an apartment/condominium, a
motel/hotel, or a licensed facility.
3)Specifies that each address and its association with any
specific registered sex offender shall be stored by DOJ in the
same database as the registration data recorded pursuant to
Penal Code Section 290.015.
4)States that the DOJ shall make that information available to
the Department of Social Services (DSS) or any other state
agency when the agency needs the information for law
enforcement purposes relating to investigative
responsibilities relative to sex offenders.
5)Provides that this section shall become operative on January
1, 2012.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a person convicted of specified sex offenses to
register upon release from incarceration, placement,
commitment, or release on probation. (Penal Code Section 290
et seq.)
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2)Provides that sex offender registration consists of the
following (Penal Code Section 290.15):
a) A written statement giving information required by DOJ
and giving the name and address of place of employment and
employer;
b) Fingerprints and a current photograph taken by the
registering official;
c) The license plate number of any vehicle owned, driven by
or registered to the registrant;
d) Notice that the registrant may have a duty to register
in another state upon relocation; and,
e) Adequate proof of residence.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "SB 583 will
provide state agencies with a cost-effective and efficient
tool in the monitoring of registered sex offenders and will
take this necessary step even further by requiring DOJ to make
this information available to the DSS and other specified
agencies for law enforcement and investigative purposes."
2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, "[t]o ensure that registered adult sex offenders are
not residing in licensed facilities that serve children, SB
583 would require DOJ to assign a unique identifier to each
registered address in its sex offender database, indicating
the type of residence (i.e. private residence, licensed or
unlicensed facility).
"It would also require the DOJ to develop a process that would
allow for the generation and disclosure between agencies (such
as DSS and the Department Alcohol and Drug Programs) on sex
offender residence data on an as-needed basis.
"Currently, the Sex Offender Registration Act requires that all
persons found to have committed certain sexual offenses to
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register with certain regional entities as sex offenders while
residing in California. State law generally requires the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to return
paroled sex offenders to their county of last legal residence,
unless circumstances call for a different placement. Such
individuals are required to register (provide an address) with
the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over
their place of residence within five working days of moving
there and upon each anniversary of their birth. The law
enforcement agencies forward the registration information to
the DOJ which maintains a database of sex offenders in
California. Although CDCR is not responsible for determining
where paroled sex offenders reside, it may help facilitate
placement. Further, state law requires DOJ to maintain a
registry to track certain information including the addresses
of sex offenders, but it does not require them to monitor
compliance; rather, state law holds the sex offender
responsible for ensuring compliance with registration
requirements. Restrictions apply as to how many paroled sex
offenders can live at the same address.
"DOJ's database contains addresses of registered sex offenders,
but it does not identify whether the addresses are a private
residence, a licensed residential facility or hotel because
there is no requirement to report this information."
3)State Auditor's Report : The State Auditor, in her report, Sex
Offender Placement: State Laws Are Not Always Clear, and No
One Formally Assesses the Impact Sex Offender Placement has on
Local Communities (April 2008), attempted to determine the
number of facilities that house sex offenders. However, the
Auditor was unable to make an accurate tabulation as
registrants are not required to indicate in what type of
housing they reside in, nor are licensing departments required
to indicate what type of housing registrants reside in, nor do
licensing departments track in their databases the clients who
live in their facilities. The report indicated that 49
separate instances were found in which registered addresses in
DOJ's databases were the same as the official addresses of
facilities licensed by DSS that serve children, such as family
day-care homes and foster family homes.
The Auditor's recommendation was that if the Legislature were
interested in identifying all sex offenders living in
residential facilities, "it should require Justice, Social
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Services, and Alcohol and Drug to coordinate with one another
and develop an approach that would allow them to generate such
information on an as-needed basis. For example, with the
assistance of Social Services and Alcohol and Drug, Justice
could assign a unique identifier to each registered address in
its database, which would allow it to compute the number of
sex offenders living together . . . . " (Emphasis added.)
The Auditor also recommended that DOJ should provide DSS with
the appropriate identifying information to enable DSS to
investigate those instances in which the registered addresses
of sex offenders were the same as child-care or foster-care
facilities. Further, if and when necessary, DOJ and DSS
should seek statutory changes that would permit DOJ to release
identifying information to DSS so that DSS may investigate any
matches.
4)The Responses of DOJ and DSS to the Auditor's Report : With
respect to the issue of sharing information with DSS, DOJ
responded to the Auditor's report as follows:
"The supplemental report states that the BSA has found instances
in which the registered addresses in Justice's database for 49
sex offenders were the same as the official addresses of
facilities licensed by Social Services that serve children,
such as family day care homes and foster family homes.' The
initial report states 45 such instances were identified, but
the auditor has represented that four additional cases were
overlooked in the initial review because of human error. The
auditor has stated that the 49 cases represent its final
conclusion.
"The DOJ has examined its records and confirmed that of the 49
'matches' identified by the auditor, the DOJ has no record
that 46 were ever the subject of a DSS pre-licensing inquiry
for state or national level criminal history search. Under
California law, a criminal history search is required as a
condition 'to operate or provide direct care services in a
community care facility, foster family home, or a certified
family home of a licensed foster family agency.; (Health &
Safety Code Section 1522.) The DOJ promptly performs this
search when requested, but the DOJ has no record that a
request was ever made for these 46 cases. As to the remaining
three (of the 49), the DOJ has examined each case's specific
circumstances and concluded it provided the necessary
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information to the DSS in a timely manner as required by law.
"The DOJ has actively worked with the DSS to satisfy the
report's recommendation that 'Justice should consult with
Social Services to investigate those instances in which the
registered addresses of sex offenders were the same as these
facilities.' The DOJ and DSS continue to cooperate with each
other to find a solution to the issue to protect the public
and ensure the safety of every person at risk."
In its response to the audit, the DSS stated in part: "The DOJ
is responsible for notifying DSS of the complete criminal
record history information, based on fingerprints submitted
for adults working or residing in a facility seeking a
license. If DSS finds that the license applicant or any
individual who works or resides in a licensed facility (other
than the residential facility clients themselves) has been
convicted of any crime, other than a minor traffic violation,
the license application shall be denied, unless the director
grants an exemption. Subsequent criminal conviction
information may also result in a revocation of the license or
exclusion of an individual from the licensed facility. In
addition, upon enrollment of their children in a licensed
child day care facility, all parents are notified by DSS in
the parents' rights notification form of the sex offender
registry website and the parents may check the registry if
they are further concerned with the neighborhood they have
selected for their child care.
"The draft audit indicates that in reviewing the addresses of
licensed facilities for children, the auditor discovered 46
resident address matches in a DOJ database for 49 registered
sex offenders. Pursuant to the definition provided in the
audit draft, this would mean that 46 of the approximately
70,000 licensed facilities serving children could be
compromised.
"In light of the existing authority for the exchange of criminal
record information between DOJ and DSS, members of the
Committee and the author may wish to explore whether the
information found by the audit - specifically, that in 49
cases the addresses for registered sex offenders matched the
addresses for DSS-licensed child facilities - supports the
need for a new database or, in the alternative, might better
be addressed through more rigorous accountability practices
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and procedures at DSS."
5)Prior Legislation : AB 2593 (Adams), of the 2007-08
Legislative Session, would have established the Registered Sex
Offender Address Matching Act of 2008, which would have
required DSS to develop and implement a Web site that would
match addresses of registered sex offenders and specified
licensed and residential facilities. AB 2593 would have also:
(a) required DSS and counties to check the Megan's Law
Internet Web site prior to making certain placements and
licensing of care facilities. DSS and counties would have
been authorized to take appropriate actions upon finding a
match; (b) authorized a loan from the Federal Trust Fund to
initiate activities; and, (c) authorized an increase in
fingerprinting fees paid by applicants for licensure to fund
some of the program costs and to repay the loan. AB 2593 was
gutted and amended into this form in the Senate, failed
passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee, and was never
heard by the Assembly.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California District Attorneys Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744