Bill > A3716

Introduced Session

This bill makes it a crime of the fourth degree for registered sex offenders to reside within 1,000 feet of their victim's home or workplace. The residential ban established under the bill would not apply to a sex offender who is serving a sentence at a jail, prison, juvenile facility, or other correctional institution or facility that is located within 1,000 feet of the victim's home or workplace; is receiving treatment at a mental health facility located within 1,000 feet of the victim's home or workplace; or established the residence prior to the bill's effective date. A crime of the fourth degree is punishable by imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. It is the sponsor's intent in introducing this bill to close a loophole in Megan's Law which does not explicitly prohibit a sex offender from residing near his or her victim. At least five other states (Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia) have enacted laws prohibiting sex offenders from residing within a certain distance of their victims, and Oklahoma has introduced similar legislation.

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Ronald Dancer (R)*,  Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee (on 03/16/2020)