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SORNA Final Guidelines Highlights
July 2008
The Adam Walsh Child Protection Act (AWA) of 2006 was signed into law on July 27, 2006.
Section 124 of the AWA specifically requires that all jurisdictions implement the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requirements within 3 years: July 27, 2009.
Section 125(a) allows for a 10 percent Byrne Justice Assistance Grant fund reduction for
any state, the District of Columbia, or territory that fails to substantially implement the
SORNA requirements by July 27, 2009. Currently, no state is substantially compliant. The
SORNA Final Guidelines were released by the U.S. Department of Justice on July 2, 2008. The
following information highlights section by section the changes from the proposed guidelines.
Title I
No changes.
Title II
Sex offenders must be registered where they live, go to school, and work.
- Redefined “jurisdiction”
- Redefined “imprisonment” – any type of incarceration”
- SORNA is a floor, not a ceiling – no preemptive language to indicate otherwise.
- Retroactivity – Jurisdictions don’t have to seek out pre-SORNA convicted sex
offenders and re-register them. This does not impact substantial compliance. If a person
re-offends or enters back into the judicial system for any crime, the individual will need
to register under SORNA guidelines.
- Software rollout will take place at the SORNA symposium in July. Community notification
software can be put on to any state registry and is available without costs to states. Any person
can register up to 5 addresses and receive an email notice when a sex offender registers near those
addresses. The software also provides a zip code or geographic area search.
- Substantial implementation means a jurisdiction cannot completely exclude a title
of SORNA and hope to be in substantial compliance.
Title III Tribes
- Can form cooperative agreements with any type of governmental agency the tribe chooses.
- If implementation is turned over to states, then the tribe cannot do anything that
conflicts with state compliance.
- Tribal names are different than English names and offenders must be registered under
the name most commonly known by in the community.
Title IV
- Sealed records are still convictions and are subject to registration requirements.
- Juvenile Sex Offenders were changed from the proposed guidelines.
- This includes any most egregious acts.
- Engaging in a sexual act with a child under 12 has been dropped.
- Registration based solely on the age of the child and lesser sexual acts have been
dropped.
- No changes to foreign convictions provisions.
Title V
- Jurisdictions do not have to look behind the conviction to determine tier level. The
face of the conviction is enough expect to determine victim’s age.
- States do not have to mirror federal tiers – these are minimum standards that must be
met to be in substantial compliance.
Title VI
No changes.
Title VII
- Specific information to be included in the registry is not the same as information to be
taken from the sex offender for law enforcement use.
- Tier I sex offenders do not have to be included on a registry unless the crime was
against a minor.
- School and employment must be on the registry.
Title VIII
- Definition of “habitually lives” is up to interpretation by jurisdictions.
Title IX
No changes.
Title X
- In person changes to registry is only required for changes of name, residence, employment,
or school attendance. Other changes can be made in any manner the jurisdiction sees fit.
Title XI
No significant changes.
Title XII
- Tolling of registry requirements while sex offender is incarcerated is discretionary
with illustration.
Title XIII
No changes.
For more information, NCSL's Criminal Justice Program in Denver, Colorado is at 303-364-7700
or cj-info@ncsl.org.
NCSL's Law and Criminal Justice Federal Affairs Counsel in Washington, D.C. is at 202-624-5400.
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