GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

EXTRA SESSION 1994

S	2 

SENATE BILL 170
Select Committee on Courts Committee Substitute Adopted 2/23/94

Short Title:  Sex Offender Registration.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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February 15, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE REGISTRATION OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF CERTAIN CRIMINAL SEXUAL OFFENSES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Subchapter VII of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"ARTICLE 27A.
"Sexual Offender Registration Program.
"§ 14-208.5.  Purpose.
The General Assembly recognizes that sex offenders often pose a high risk of engaging in sex offenses even after being released from incarceration or commitment and that protection of the public from sex offenders is of paramount governmental interest.  Further, the General Assembly recognizes that local law enforcement officers' efforts to protect their communities, conduct investigations, and quickly apprehend offenders who commit sex offenses are impaired by the lack of information available to law enforcement agencies about convicted sex offenders who live within the agency's jurisdiction.  Persons found to have committed a sex offense have a reduced expectation of privacy because of the public's interest in public safety and in the effective operation of government.  Release of information about sex offenders to law enforcement agencies and under limited circumstances to authorized requesters, will further the governmental interests of public safety so long as the information released is rationally related to the furtherance of those goals.
Therefore, it is the purpose of this Article to assist local law enforcement agencies' efforts to protect their communities by requiring sex offenders to register with local law enforcement agencies and to require the exchange of relevant information about sex offenders among law enforcement agencies and to authorize the release of necessary and relevant information about sex offenders to authorized requesters as provided in this Article.
"§ 14-208.6.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	'Division' means the Division of Criminal Statistics of the Department of Justice.
(2)	'Penal institution' means a detention facility operated under the jurisdiction of the Division of Prisons of the Department of Correction, or a county jail.
(3)	'Released' means discharged, paroled, or placed on probation.
(4)	'Reportable conviction' means:
a.	A conviction for violation of G.S. 14-27.2 (first degree rape), 14-27.3 (second degree rape), 14-27.4 (first degree sexual offense), 14-27.5 (second degree sexual offense), 14-27.6 (attempted rape or sexual offense), 14-27.7 (intercourse and sexual offense with certain victims), 14-178 (incest between near relatives), 14-179 (incest between uncle and niece, nephew and aunt), 14-190.6 (employing or permitting minor to assist in offenses against public morality and decency), 14-190.16 (first degree sexual exploitation of a minor), 14-190.17 (second degree sexual exploitation of a minor), 14-190.17A (third degree sexual exploitation of a minor), 14-190.18 (promoting prostitution of a minor), 14-190.19 (participating in prostitution of a minor), or 14-202.1 (taking indecent liberties with children).
		b.	The fourth conviction for a violation of G.S. 14-190.9 (indecent exposure).
c.	A conviction in another state of an offense, which if committed in this State, would have been a sex offense as defined by the sections of the General Statutes set forth in paragraphs a. and b. of this subsection.
	(5)	'Sheriff' means the sheriff of a county in this State.
"§ 14-208.7.  Registration.
	(a)	A person who has a reportable conviction shall register with the sheriff of the county where the person resides or intends to reside for more than seven days.  The person shall register within 30 days of establishing residence in this State, or if a current resident, within 10 days of being convicted, released from a penal institution, or arriving in a new county.
(b)	The Division shall provide each sheriff with forms for registering persons as required by this Article.  The registration form shall require:
(1)	The person's full name, each alias, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, eye color, hair color, social security number, drivers license number, and home address;
(2)	The type of offense for which the person was convicted, the date of conviction, and the sentence imposed;
(3)	A current photograph; and
(4)	Any other information required by the Division, including fingerprints or other corroborative information.
(c)	Not later than the third day after a person registers, the sheriff with whom the person registered shall send the registration information to the Division in a manner determined by the Division.  The sheriff shall retain the original registration form and other information collected.
"§ 14-208.8.  Prerelease notification.
	(a)	At least 10 days, but not earlier than 30 days, before a person who will be subject to registration under this Article is due to be released from a penal institution, an official of the penal institution shall:
(1)	Inform the person of the person's duty to register under this Article and require the person to sign a written statement that the person was so informed or, if the person refuses to sign the statement, certify that the person was so informed;
(2)	Obtain the registration information required under G.S. 14-208.7 (b)(1) and (2), as well as the address where the person expects to reside upon the person's release; and
(3)	Send the Division and the sheriff of the county in which the person expects to reside the information collected in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection.
	(b)	If a person who is subject to registration under this Article receives probation, suspended sentence, or only a fine, the court pronouncing sentence shall conduct the prerelease notification specified in subsection (a) of this section on the day of sentencing, and the person shall register with the sheriff before being released.
"§ 14-208.9.  Change of address.
If a person required to register changes address, the person shall provide written notice not later than the tenth day after the change to the sheriff of the county with whom the person had last registered.  Not later than the third day after receipt of the notice, the sheriff shall forward this information to the Division.  If the person moves to another county in this State, the Division shall inform the sheriff of the new county of the person's residence.
"§ 14-208.10.  Access to registration information.
(a)	The information required for registration under this Article is not a matter of public record except for use by a law enforcement officer or agency, except that a sheriff shall verify, upon request, to an authorized requester as defined in subsection (b) of this section, whether a person has registered as a sex offender in this State.
(b)	Any person representing a public or private agency engaged on a regular basis in the education or care of minors, or a facility licensed or registered with the State as a nursing home, domiciliary care facility, or mental health facility shall be authorized to obtain verification of registration status from the sheriff, upon approval of an application filed with the Division as an authorized requester in accordance with rules adopted by the Attorney General.
"§ 14-208.11.  Failure to register.
A person required by this Article to register who fails to register shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense of violation of this Article, and a Class I felony for a subsequent conviction of a violation of this Article.
"§ 14-208.12.  Exemption.
A person who has a reportable conviction may petition the district court in the county where the person resides or intends to reside for an exemption from this Article.  The person shall serve a copy of the petition on the district attorney.  If the person shows for good cause, by clear and convincing evidence, that registration will not serve the purposes of this Article, the court shall grant the exemption.
"§ 14-208.13.  File with Police Information Network.
The Division shall include the registration information in the Police Information Network as set forth in G.S. 114-10.1."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 114-10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 114-10.  Division of Criminal Statistics.
The Attorney General shall set up in the Department of Justice a division to be designated as the Division of Criminal Statistics.  There shall be assigned to this Division by the Attorney General duties as follows:
(1)	To collect and correlate information in criminal law administration, including crimes committed, arrests made, dispositions on preliminary hearings, prosecutions, convictions, acquittals, punishment, appeals, together with the age, race, and sex of the offender, and such other information concerning crime and criminals as may appear significant or helpful.  To correlate such information with the operations of agencies and institutions charged with the supervision of offenders on probation, in penal and correctional institutions, on parole and pardon, so as to show the volume, variety and tendencies of crime and criminals and the workings of successive links in the machinery set up for the administration of the criminal law in connection with the arrests, trial, punishment, probation, prison parole and pardon of all criminals in North Carolina.
(2)	To collect, correlate, and maintain access to information that will assist in the performance of duties required in the administration of criminal justice throughout the State.  This information may include, but is not limited to, motor vehicle registration, drivers' licenses, wanted and missing persons, stolen property, warrants, stolen vehicles, firearms registration, sexual offender registration as provided under Article 27A of Chapter 14, drugs, drug users and parole and probation histories. In performing this function, the Division may arrange to use information available in other agencies and units of State, local and federal government, but shall provide security measures to insure that such information shall be made available only to those whose duties, relating to the administration of justice, require such information.
(3)	To make scientific study, analysis and comparison from the information so collected and correlated with similar information gathered by federal agencies, and to provide the Governor and the General Assembly with the information so collected biennially, or more often if required by the Governor.
(4)	To perform all the duties heretofore imposed by law upon the Attorney General with respect to criminal statistics.
(5)	To perform such other duties as may be from time to time prescribed by the Attorney General."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification and applies to convictions occurring on or after January 1, 1995, and persons released from a penal institution on or after January 1, 1995.