HSB 113 (LSB 2161YC (1) 88)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to sex offender registration requirements, sexually violent predators, and the commission of the offense of child endangerment by a sex offender, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 692A.101, subsection 14, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   14.  “Incarcerated” means to be imprisoned by placing a person in a jail, prison, penitentiary, juvenile facility, or other correctional institution or facility or a place or condition of confinement or forcible restraint regardless of the nature of the institution in which the person serves a sentence for a conviction.  “Incarcerated” does not mean placement in an adult residential correctional or treatment facility that allows a resident to leave the facility for a portion of a day or days.
    Sec. 2.  Section 692A.101, subsection 31, Code 2019, is amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
   31.  “Sexually violent predator” means a person who has been determined to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to section 229A.7.
    Sec. 3.  Section 692A.128, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   692A.128  Modification.
   1.  A sex offender who is on probation, parole, work release, special sentence, or any other type of conditional release on the registry may file an application in district court seeking to modify the registration requirements under this chapter.
   2.  An application shall not be granted unless all of the following apply:
   a.  The date of the commencement of the requirement to register occurred at least two ten years prior to the filing of the application for a tier I offender and five twenty-five years prior to the filing of the application for a tier II or III offender.
   b.  The sex offender applicant has successfully completed all sex offender treatment programs that have been required.
   c.  A risk assessment has been completed and the sex offender was classified as a low risk to reoffend. The risk assessment used to assess an offender as a low risk to reoffend shall be a validated risk assessment approved by the department of corrections.  The applicant has successfully completed any period of probation, parole, or other supervised release for the offense requiring registration, without incurring a revocation of probation, parole, or other supervised release for such offense.
   d.  The sex offender applicant is not incarcerated when the application is filed.
   e.  (1)  The director of the judicial district department of correctional services supervising the sex offender, or the director’s designee, stipulates to the modification, and a certified copy of the stipulation is attached to the application.  For a tier I offender, the applicant has had no other criminal convictions other than simple misdemeanor violations of chapter 321 or similar local violations for the ten-year period preceding the filing of the application.
   (2)  For a tier III offender, the applicant has had no other criminal convictions other than simple misdemeanor violations of chapter 321 or similar local violations for the twenty-five-year period preceding the filing of the application, and the requirement to register is based upon an adjudication in juvenile court.
   3.  The application shall be filed in the sex offender’s county of principal residence.
   4.  Notice of any application shall be provided to the county attorney of the county of the sex offender’s applicant’s principal residence, the county attorney of any county in this state where a conviction requiring the sex offender’s applicant’s registration occurred, and the department. The county attorney where the conviction occurred shall notify the victim of an application if the victim’s address is known.
   5.  The court may, but is not required to, conduct a hearing on the application to hear any evidence deemed appropriate by the court. The court may modify the registration requirements under this chapter.
   6.  a.  A sex offender may be granted a modification if the offender is required to be on the sex offender registry as a result of an adjudication for a sex offense, the offender is not under the supervision of the juvenile court or a judicial district judicial department of correctional services, and the department of corrections agrees to perform a risk assessment on the sex offender. However, all other provisions of this section not in conflict with this subsection shall apply to the application prior to an application being granted except that the sex offender is not required to obtain a stipulation from the director of a judicial district department of correctional services, or the director’s designee.  If the court grants a modification for a tier I offender, the court may modify the registration period by reducing such period by up to five years.
   b.  If the court grants a modification for a tier III offender, the court may modify the registration period by reducing such period to a term of years.
   7.  If the court modifies the registration requirements under this chapter, the court shall send a copy of the order to the department, the sheriff of the county of the sex offender’s principal residence, any county attorney notified in subsection 4, and the victim, if the victim’s address is known.
    Sec. 4.  Section 726.6, subsection 1, paragraph h, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   h.  Knowingly allows a person custody or control of, or unsupervised access to a child or a minor after knowing the person is required to register due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor or is on the sex offender registry as a sex offender due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor under chapter 692A. However, this paragraph does not apply to a person who is a parent or guardian of a child or a minor, who is and the parent or guardian is required to register as a sex offender due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor, or to a person who is married to and living with a person required to register as a sex offender due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor.
    Sec. 5.  Section 726.6, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  A person who knowingly takes custody or control of a child or minor, or who knowingly has unsupervised access to a child or minor while required to register as a sex offender for a sex offense against a minor under chapter 692A, commits child endangerment. However, this subsection does not apply to a person who is a parent or guardian of the child or minor, or to a person who is married to and living with a person who is the parent or guardian of the child or minor.
    Sec. 6.  Section 726.6, subsection 3, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   For the purposes of subsection 1 or 1A, “person having control over a child or a minor” means any of the following:
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to sex offender registration requirements, sexually violent predators, and the commission of the offense of child endangerment.
   Currently, a person required to register as a sex offender is not required to register while incarcerated including while placed in a jail, prison, penitentiary, juvenile facility, or other correctional institution or facility. The bill amends the definition of “incarcerated” in Code chapter 692A to specifically exclude placement in an adult residential correctional or treatment facility that allows a resident to leave the facility for a portion of a day or days. By excluding placement in a residential correctional or treatment facility from the definition of “incarcerated”, a sex offender placed in an adult residential correctional or treatment facility is required to register as a sex offender while placed at such a facility.
   The bill changes the definition of “sexually violent predator” in Code chapter 692A (sex offender registry) to mean a person who has been determined to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to Code section 229A.7 (civil commitment of sexually violent predator). Code section 229A.2 defines “sexually violent predator” to mean a person who has been convicted of or charged with a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts constituting sexually violent offenses, if not confined in a secure facility. A sexually violent predator is classified as a tier III offender under Code chapter 692A and must register as a sex offender for life.
   The bill amends Code section 692A.128 relating to the filing of an application to modify sex offender registration requirements. Currently, such an application shall not be granted unless the date of the commencement of the requirement to register occurred at least two years prior to the filing of the application for a tier I offender and five years prior to the filing of the application for a tier II or III offender. 
   The bill provides that an application to modify the registration requirements by a tier I offender may be granted if the requirement to register occurred at least 10 years prior to the filing of the application, and for a tier III offender such an application may be granted if the requirement to register occurred at least 25 years prior to the filing of the application. A tier II offender under the bill is no longer eligible to file an application to modify the registration requirements. 
   The bill and current law require other conditions be met prior to granting an application to modify sex offender registration requirements. The bill requires the applicant to have successfully completed any period of probation, parole, or other supervised release without incurring a revocation of probation, parole, or other supervised release. The bill requires the applicant to have no other criminal convictions other than simple misdemeanor violations of Code chapter 321 or similar local violations for a 10-year period for tier I offenders and for a 25-year period for tier III offenders required to register as juvenile offenders. The bill strikes the requirements that an applicant be assessed as a low risk to reoffend and that the applicant’s supervising agency stipulate to the modification. 
   If the application is granted, the bill allows the court to modify the registration period by reducing the registration period by up to five years for a tier I offender and by allowing the court to modify the registration period of a tier III offender to a term of years.
   The bill modifies the criminal offense of child endangerment when allowing a sex offender access to a child or certain minors. The bill specifies that a parent or guardian, or person having custody or control over a child or a minor under the age of 18 with a mental or physical disability, or a person who is a member of the household in which a child or such a minor resides, commits child endangerment, if the person knowingly allows a person custody or control of, or unsupervised access to a child or a minor after knowing the person is required to register due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor or is on the sex offender registry due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor under Code chapter 692A.
   The bill also specifies that a person who knowingly takes such custody or control or has such unsupervised access commits child endangerment but does not commit such child endangerment, if the person is the parent or guardian of the child or minor and the parent or guardian is required to register as a sex offender due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor, or if the person is married to and living with a person required to register as a sex offender due to a conviction for a sex offense against a minor. 
   The penalties for a person who commits child endangerment range from an aggravated misdemeanor to a class “B” felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison.