House File 2068 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 2068 BY HITE A BILL FOR An Act relating to the modification of sex offender registry 1 requirements. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh

H.F. 2068 Section 1. Section 692A.128, Code 2020, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 692A.128 Modification. 3 1. A sex offender who is on probation, parole, work release, 4 special sentence, or any other type of conditional release may 5 file an application in district court seeking to modify the 6 registration requirements under this chapter . 7 2. An application shall not be granted unless all of the 8 following apply: 9 a. The date of the commencement of the requirement 10 to register , or the date of the offender’s last registry 11 violation, occurred at least two years prior to the filing of 12 the application for a tier I offender an offender required 13 to register for ten years and five years prior to the filing 14 of the application for a tier II or III offender an offender 15 required to register for life . 16 b. The sex offender has successfully completed all sex 17 offender treatment programs that have been required. 18 c. A risk assessment has been completed and the sex offender 19 was classified as a low risk to reoffend. The risk assessment 20 used to assess an offender as a low risk to reoffend shall 21 be a validated risk assessment approved by the department of 22 corrections. 23 d. The sex offender is not incarcerated when the application 24 is filed. 25 e. The director of the judicial district department 26 of correctional services supervising the sex offender, or 27 the director’s designee, stipulates to the modification, 28 and a certified copy of the stipulation is attached to the 29 application. 30 3. The application shall be filed in the sex offender’s 31 county of principal residence. 32 4. Notice of any application shall be provided to the 33 county attorney of the county of the sex offender’s principal 34 residence, the county attorney of any county in this state 35 -1- LSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh 1/ 5

H.F. 2068 where a conviction requiring the sex offender’s registration 1 occurred, and the department. The county attorney where the 2 conviction occurred shall notify the victim of an application 3 if the victim’s address is known. 4 5. The court may, but is not required to, conduct a hearing 5 on the application to hear any evidence deemed appropriate by 6 the court. The court may modify the registration requirements 7 under this chapter that imposed the sentence in the underlying 8 criminal case shall conduct a hearing on the application. The 9 court shall provide all parties including the victim and all 10 other parties receiving notice under subsection 4 with the 11 opportunity to be heard . 12 a. The victim may appear at the hearing and may provide the 13 court with verbal or written testimony. 14 b. At the hearing, the sex offender must establish by 15 clear and convincing evidence the offender is not a current 16 or potential threat to public safety and it is in the best 17 interest of justice to grant the offender’s application. 18 c. In determining whether to grant or deny an application 19 for a modification, the court may consider, in addition to the 20 factors specified in subsection 2, any other evidence the court 21 deems appropriate, including but not limited to all of the 22 following: 23 (1) The sex offender’s age and level of maturity at the time 24 of the offense. 25 (2) The sex offender’s age and level of maturity at the time 26 of the application and hearing. 27 (3) Whether the sex offender has accepted responsibility 28 for the offender’s actions. 29 (4) The victim’s age and level of maturity at the time of 30 the offense. 31 (5) The nature of the offense. 32 (6) The severity of the offense. 33 (7) Any mitigating or aggravating factors surrounding the 34 offense. 35 -2- LSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh 2/ 5

H.F. 2068 (8) The sex offender’s criminal history prior to the 1 offense. 2 (9) The sex offender’s criminal history subsequent to the 3 offense. 4 (10) Any statements offered by the victim. 5 (11) Whether the sex offender has maintained a stable 6 residence. 7 (12) Whether the sex offender has maintained stable 8 employment. 9 (13) Whether the sex offender has satisfied financial 10 obligations, including but not limited to spousal support, 11 child support, tax obligations, and court-ordered financial 12 obligations. 13 (14) Whether the sex offender has adequately addressed any 14 drug or alcohol abuse or addiction. 15 (15) Whether the sex offender has adequately addressed any 16 mental health concerns. 17 (16) Any statements or letters of support. 18 (17) Any evidence of the sex offender’s community service or 19 community involvement. 20 d. After the hearing, the court may grant or deny the 21 application. 22 6. A sex offender may be granted a modification if the 23 offender is required to be on the sex offender registry as a 24 result of an adjudication for a sex offense, the offender is 25 not under the supervision of the juvenile court or a judicial 26 district judicial department of correctional services, and the 27 department of corrections agrees to perform a risk assessment 28 on the sex offender. However, all other provisions of this 29 section not in conflict with this subsection shall apply to the 30 application prior to an application being granted except that 31 the sex offender is not required to obtain a stipulation from 32 the director of a judicial district department of correctional 33 services, or the director’s designee. 34 7. If the court modifies the registration requirements 35 -3- LSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh 3/ 5

H.F. 2068 under this chapter , the court shall send a copy of the order to 1 the department, the sheriff of the county of the sex offender’s 2 principal residence, any county attorney notified in subsection 3 4 , and the victim, if the victim’s address is known. 4 8. A sex offender may file an application under this section 5 not more than once every two years. 6 EXPLANATION 7 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 8 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 9 This bill relates to the modification of sex offender 10 registry requirements. 11 Under current law, a tier I sex offender must wait two 12 years after the date of the commencement of the requirement 13 to register before filing an application for a modification 14 of the sex offender registry requirements, and a tier II or 15 III offender must wait five years. Under the bill, any sex 16 offender required to register for 10 years must wait two 17 years after the date of the commencement of the requirement 18 to register, or the date of the offender’s last registry 19 violation, to file an application for a modification, and an 20 offender required to register for life must wait five years to 21 file an application for a modification. 22 Under current law, the court receiving an application from a 23 sex offender for a modification of the sex offender registry 24 requirements is not required to conduct a hearing on the 25 application. The bill requires the court that imposed the 26 sentence in the underlying criminal case to conduct a hearing 27 and to allow all parties receiving notice of the application to 28 be heard at the hearing. The bill requires the sex offender to 29 prove by clear and convincing evidence the offender is not a 30 current or potential threat to public safety and it is in the 31 best interest of justice to grant the offender’s application. 32 The bill allows the court to consider any evidence deemed 33 appropriate and includes certain factors the court may consider 34 in determining whether to grant or deny a sex offender’s 35 -4- LSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh 4/ 5

H.F. 2068 application for modification. The bill prohibits an offender 1 from filing an application for a modification more than once 2 every two years. 3 -5- LSB 5329YH (4) 88 hf/rh 5/ 5