HCS HB 1698, 1236, 995, 1362 & 1290 -- SEXUAL OFFENDERS

SPONSOR:  Lipke

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Public Safety by a vote of 12 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding sexual offenders.  In
its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Increases the penalty from a minimum of five years
imprisonment to a minimum of 25 years for the crimes of forcible
rape and forcible sodomy if the victim is younger than 12 years
of age;

(2)  Increases the crime of child molestation in the second
degree from a class A misdemeanor to a class D felony.
Subsequent convictions of this crime are increased from a class D
felony to a class C felony as well as instances in which the
perpetrator inflicts serious physical injury on any person;
displays a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument in a threatening
manner; or the offense was committed as part of a ritual or
ceremony;

(3)  Specifies that no sexual offender will be present or loiter
within 500 feet of the real property of any school or in any
conveyance owned, leased, or contracted by a school when persons
younger than 18 years of age are present unless the offender is a
parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the person and has
obtained permission from the school administration;

(4)  Adds community residential programs to the list of places
where a sex offender cannot establish residency within 1,000
feet;

(5)  Increases the penalty for the crimes of enticement of a
child or attempt to commit enticement of a child to a term of
imprisonment of no less than five years and no more than 30
years;

(6)  Limits the definition of "child abuse" to only those
instances in which a person knowingly inflicts cruel and inhuman
punishment on a younger than 17 years of age;

(7)  Creates the crime of harboring a sexual predator, a class A
misdemeanor;

(8)  Allows an individual that has been required to register on
the sex offender registry for a crime that he or she committed
while younger than 21 years of age or who has committed certain
other crimes to petition to have his or her name removed;

(9)  Establishes procedures for search warrants where
notification of the existence of the search warrant causes an
adverse result including danger to the life or physical safety of
an individual, flight from prosecution, the destruction or
tampering with evidence, the intimidation of witnesses, or
serious jeopardy to an investigation;

(10)  Specifies that records sought under the search warrant be
produced within five business days of receipt of the warrant or a
showing of good cause by a foreign corporation that an extension
of time will not cause an adverse result;

(11)  Specifies that any attempt made to quash the warrant must
be made in the court that issues the warrant within the time
required for production of the records;

(12)  Requires Missouri corporations providing electronic
communication services, when served with a warrant from another
state, to produce records pertaining to customer identification,
data stored by or on behalf of the customer, the customer's usage
of those services, or the destination or content of the
communications as if the warrant had been issued by a Missouri
court;

(13)  Gives immunity to Missouri corporations providing records
sought under a search warrant as specified in the substitute;

(14)  Permits the Board of Probation and Parole to access
information on the home computer of a registered sexual offender;

(15)  Requires sexual offenders to provide the date of their
birth; their physical description and that of their vehicle;
nature and dates of the offenses requiring the offender to
register; and the date in which the offender was released from
the Department of Health, prison, or jail or placed on parole,
supervised release, or probation;

(16)  Requires any individual that has been required to register
on the sex offender registry who commits a third sexual offense
to be electronically monitored for a period of 10 years and an
additional 10-year period for each subsequent offense; and

(17)  Requires the Department of Corrections to notify the State
Highway Patrol of any offender who is required to be
electronically monitored.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of Less than
$440,460 in FY 2007, Less than $863,391 in FY 2008, and Less than
$1,226,824 in FY 2009.  No impact on Other State Funds in
FY 2007, FY 2008, and FY 2009.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill increases penalties for
those predators who victimize children younger than 12 years of
age.  If there are high mandatory minimums for all sexual crimes,
prosecutors will lose convictions and the ability to track those
offenders.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Lipke; Missouri
Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; Missouri Coalition Against
Domestic Violence; and Office of the Attorney General.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Kristina Jenkins, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:44 am