HCS SB 184 -- SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION

SPONSOR:  Bartle (Mayer)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Public Safety by a vote of 15 to 0.

This substitute makes several changes in the laws relating to
criminal records.  The substitute:

(1)  Requires the State Highway Patrol to maintain a web site
containing all of the registered sex offenders within the state,
including photographs of the offenders, their last known address,
and the crimes for which they were convicted.  The web site must
have the capability of allowing an Internet user to find the
registered sex offenders living within a given distance from the
Internet user's address;

(2)  Adds computer and Internet-based crimes to the provision
allowing political subdivisions to pool resources in the forming
of crime task forces;

(3)  Requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to
include a search of the registered sex offender list as part of
the registration process for anyone seeking to be placed on the
Family Care Safety Registry beginning January 1, 2004;

(4)  Requires each county sheriff to forward the county's sex
offender registration list to the law enforcement agency of any
college or university located within the county;

(5)  Requires sex offenders to include in their registration
information whether they are enrolled in a college and to update
their registration information within seven days of changing
their enrollment or employment with a college within the state;

(6)  Allows the subject of a criminal record in the central
repository to challenge the accuracy of the record;

(7)  Creates the crime of unlawful disclosure of criminal history
information, a class A misdemeanor.  The crime is committed when
a person obtains criminal history record information from the
central repository under false pretenses or disseminates the
information to anyone other than the original requester for its
intended purpose;

(8)  Expands the definition of licensed day care "provider" and
defines "qualified entity" as a person or entity that provides
health care, education, or recreation for children, the elderly,
or the disabled;

(9)  Amends the process by which qualified entities, rather than
youth services agencies, may obtain a criminal record review of a
provider;

(10)  Adopts the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact,
which is an agreement to facilitate the exchange of criminal
history information for noncriminal justice purposes;

(11)  Adds several state agencies to the list of entities
requiring applicants to submit fingerprints for a criminal
history check;

(12)  Allows the Department of Health and Senior Services and the
Department of Mental Health to use registry information.  Current
law allows only the Department of Social Services to use it;

(13)  Requires school bus driver permit applicants to submit
fingerprints for a background check with the State Highway Patrol
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  This section becomes
effective on January 1, 2004;

(14)  Expands the list of government entities which may have
access to closed arrest records;

(15)  Allows a criminal justice agency receiving a request for
criminal history information to require positive identification,
including fingerprints, before releasing closed records;

(16)  Adds fingerprinting to the requirements for a person
wishing to have an arrest expunged from his or her record;

(17)  Allows mental health facilities to disclose confidential
records to the Department of Health and Senior Services when
reporting abuse, neglect, or rights violations of patients;

(18)  Disqualifies an applicant from working in a mental health
facility when the person has pled guilty to a felony with a
suspended imposition of sentence.  In addition, existing law
allows the director to grant an exception for some applicants
with felony convictions, but the substitute adds several felonies
to the list of crimes for which no exception may be granted;

(19)  Requires applicants for a direct care position at a mental
health facility to sign a consent form to conduct a criminal
background check and disclose his or her criminal history.  The
applicant is also required to disclose if he or she is listed on
the employee disqualification list;

(20)  Makes it a class A misdemeanor for a job applicant at a
mental health facility to knowingly fail to disclose his or her
criminal history;

(21)  Makes it a class A misdemeanor for a provider to knowingly
hire a person who has been disqualified from employment at a
mental health facility;

(22)  Repeals a provision that prohibits the fingerprinting of
juvenile offenders; and

(23)  Repeals a sunset clause for several provisions relating to
the protection of children.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Cost to General Revenue Fund of
$1,291,288 in FY 2004, $600,899 in FY 2005, and $663,912 in FY
2006.  Missouri State Highway Patrol costs subject to
appropriation.  Estimated Net Income to Criminal Records Systems
Fund of $1,697,022 in FY 2004, $206,025 in FY 2005, and $200,881
in FY 2006.  Estimated Net Cost to Highway Fund of $6,360 in FY
2004, $0 in FY 2005, and $0 in FY 2006.  Estimated Net Effect on
Urban and Teacher Education Revolving Fund of $0 in FY 2004, FY
2005, and FY 2006.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the list of registered sex
offenders is currently kept at each county sheriff's office and
is not easily accessible by the public.  Some states, cities, and
counties have already put their registered sex offender
information onto the Internet.  This bill would take that
statewide.  The site would include a photo of the offender to
help guard against mistaken identity.

Testifying for the bill was Senator Bartle.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Richard Smreker, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:13 am