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H.B. 348 Enrolled
AN ACT RELATING TO THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; AMENDING
PROVISIONS ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION; REQUIRING NOTICE OF
CONVICTION BY THE COURT TO THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN THREE DAYS;
AND EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF SEX OFFENDER TO INCLUDE OTHER
OFFENSES AGAINST MINORS.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
77-27-21.5, as last amended by Chapter 221, Laws of Utah 1996
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 77-27-21.5 is amended to read:
77-27-21.5. Sex offender registration -- Information system -- Law enforcement and
courts to report -- Registration -- Penalty -- Petition for Notification -- Temporary releases
-- Effect of expungement.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
(b) "Notification" means a person's, as authorized in Subsection (13)(a), or a petitioner's
acquisition of information from the department about a sex offender, including his place of
habitation, physical description, and methodology of the offense, and other information as
provided in Subsections (10) and (11), obtainable upon the request of a person or a petitioner.
(c) "Petitioner" means a natural person who requests in writing for information about a sex
offender from the department. The petitioner shall be a victim of a sexual offense or a resident in
a location where a sex offender is suspected to reside.
(d) "Register" means to comply with the rules of the department made under this section.
(e) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state or who enters a plea in
abeyance for violating Section 76-7-102 [
of committing or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit a felony, under Title 76, Chapter
5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses, and any person convicted by any other state or the United States
government of an offense which if committed or attempted in this state would be punishable as one
or more of these offenses. "Sex offender" also means all persons committed to a state mental
hospital by reason of their mental incapacity and their commission or alleged commission of one or
more offenses listed in this subsection.
(2) The department, to assist in investigating sex-related crimes and in apprehending
offenders, shall:
(a) develop and operate a system to collect, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information
on sex offenders and sex offenses;
(b) make information collected and developed under this section available to law
enforcement agencies in this state, petitioners, the State Office of Education[
(c) establish security systems to ensure that only authorized personnel and petitioners may
gain access to information gathered under this section.
(3) Any law enforcement agency shall, in the manner prescribed by the department, inform
the department of:
(a) the receipt of a report or complaint of an offense listed in Subsection (1)(e), within three
working days; and
(b) the arrest of a person suspected of violating any of the offenses listed in Subsection
(1)(e), within five working days.
(4) Upon convicting a person of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(e), or any lesser
included offense, the convicting court shall within [
judgment and sentence to the department.
(5) A sex offender in the custody of the department shall be registered by agents of the
department upon:
(a) being placed on probation;
(b) commitment to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract to the
department;
(c) release from confinement to parole status, termination or expiration of sentence, or
escape;
(d) entrance to and release from any community-based residential program operated by or
under contract to the department; or
(e) termination of probation or parole.
(6) A sex offender not in the custody of the department who is confined in a correctional
facility not operated by or under contract to the department shall, upon release from confinement,
be registered with the department by the sheriff of the county in which the offender is confined.
(7) A sex offender confined in a state mental hospital shall be registered with the department
by the hospital. A sex offender committed to a state mental hospital shall be registered with the
department by the hospital upon admission and upon discharge.
(8) A sex offender shall, for ten years after termination of sentence, register annually and
again within ten days of every change of his place of habitation.
(9) An agency that registers a sex offender on parole shall inform him of his duty to comply
with the continuing registration requirements of this section, including:
(a) notification to an out-of-state agency of moving across state lines;
(b) notification to the state agencies in the states where the registrant presently resides and
plans to reside when moving across state lines; and
(c) verification of address at least every 60 days pursuant to a parole agreement for lifetime
parolees.
(10) A sex offender shall provide the department with the following information:
(a) all names or aliases the sex offender is or has been known by;
(b) the sex offender's name and address;
(c) a physical description, including the sex offender's age, height, weight, eye and hair
color;
(d) the type of vehicle or vehicles the sex offender drives;
(e) any conditions or restrictions, upon the sex offender's probation, parole, postprison
supervision, or conditional release;
(f) a current photograph of the sex offender; and
(g) the name or telephone number of the sex offender's parole and probation officer.
(11) The department shall provide the following additional information:
(a) the crimes the sex offender was charged with and convicted of;
(b) a description of the sex offender's primary and secondary targets; and
(c) a description of the sex offender's method of offense.
(12) (a) A sex offender who knowingly fails to register under this section is guilty of a class
A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of incarceration for not fewer than 90 days
and also at least one year of probation.
(b) Neither the court nor the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a person who violates
this section from serving a term of at least 90 days and of completing probation of at least one year.
This subsection supersedes any other provision of the law contrary to this section.
(13) (a) Information collected under this section is classified as private, controlled, or
protected under Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and is
available to the following:
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the department for access.
(14) (a) If a sex offender is to be temporarily sent outside a secure facility in which he is
confined on any assignment, including, without limitation, firefighting or disaster control, the
official who has custody of the offender shall, within a reasonable time prior to removal from the
secure facility, notify the local law enforcement agencies where the assignment is to be filled.
(b) This subsection does not apply to any person temporarily released under guard from the
institution in which he is confined.
(15) Notwithstanding Sections 77-18-9 through 77-18-14 regarding expungement, a person
convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (1)(e) is not relieved from the responsibility to register
under this section.
(16) Notwithstanding Section 42-1-1, a sex offender may not change his name while under
the jurisdiction of the department and until the registration requirements of this statute have expired.
(17) (a) As provided in Subsection (13)[
to receive information about a sex offender. The petition shall be in writing with a return address
and telephone number. If the petitioner changes his residence, it is the petitioner's obligation to file
another petition with a current return address and telephone number.
(b) The department shall determine if the petition is approved, and if approved, provide
notification to the petitioner of the information as provided in Subsections (10) and (11).
(c) If the department determines to deny a petition, it shall respond in writing to the
petitioner, stating its reasons for denial of the petition.
(18) The department may make rules necessary to implement this section, including:
(a) criteria for approval of a petition as provided in Subsection (17);
(b) the method for dissemination of the information; and
(c) instructions to the petitioner regarding the use of the information.
(19) The notification provisions in this section shall not be retroactive.
(20) Any information regarding the identity or location of a victim shall be redacted by the
department from information provided under Subsections (10) and (11).
(21) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or impose any duty on a petitioner
or any other person to petition the department for information regarding any sex offender.
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