S.B. 270

1

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
2 2000 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Michael G. Waddoups
5 AN ACT RELATING TO THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; PROVIDING FOR
6 DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS TO PUBLIC VIEWERS OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
7 INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET; AND CREATING A PRESUMPTION OF GOOD
8 FAITH ON THE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IN PROVIDING THE
9 INFORMATION.
10 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
11 AMENDS:
12 77-27-21.5, as last amended by Chapter 392, Laws of Utah 1998
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
14 Section 1. Section 77-27-21.5 is amended to read:
15 77-27-21.5. Sex offender registration -- Information system -- Law enforcement and
16 courts to report -- Registration -- Penalty -- Effect of expungement.
17 (1) As used in this section:
18 (a) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
19 (b) "Notification" means a person's acquisition of information from the department about
20 a sex offender, including his place of habitation, physical description, and methodology of the
21 offense, and other information as provided in Subsections (10) and (11).
22 (c) "Register" means to comply with the rules of the department made under this section.
23 (d) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state or who enters a plea in
24 abeyance for violating Section 76-7-102 , 76-9-702.5 , 76-5a-3 , 76-10-1306 , or 76-5-301.1 or of
25 committing or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit a felony, under Title 76, Chapter 5,
26 Part 4, Sexual Offenses, and any person convicted by any other state or the United States
27 government of an offense which if committed or attempted in this state would be punishable as one

28 or more of these offenses. "Sex offender" also means all persons committed to a state mental
29 hospital by reason of their mental incapacity and their commission or alleged commission of one
30 or more offenses listed in this Subsection (1)(d).
31 (2) The department, to assist in investigating sex-related crimes and in apprehending
32 offenders, shall:
33 (a) develop and operate a system to collect, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information
34 on sex offenders and sex offenses; and
35 (b) make information collected and developed under this section available to the public.
36 (3) Any law enforcement agency shall, in the manner prescribed by the department, inform
37 the department of:
38 (a) the receipt of a report or complaint of an offense listed in Subsection (1)(d), within
39 three working days; and
40 (b) the arrest of a person suspected of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d),
41 within five working days.
42 (4) Upon convicting a person of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d), or any
43 lesser included offense, the convicting court shall within three working days forward a copy of the
44 judgment and sentence to the department.
45 (5) A sex offender in the custody of the department shall be registered by agents of the
46 department upon:
47 (a) being placed on probation;
48 (b) commitment to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract to the
49 department;
50 (c) release from confinement to parole status, termination or expiration of sentence, or
51 escape;
52 (d) entrance to and release from any community-based residential program operated by or
53 under contract to the department; or
54 (e) termination of probation or parole.
55 (6) A sex offender not in the custody of the department who is confined in a correctional
56 facility not operated by or under contract to the department shall, upon release from confinement,
57 be registered with the department by the sheriff of the county in which the offender is confined.
58 (7) A sex offender confined in a state mental hospital shall be registered with the

59 department by the hospital. A sex offender committed to a state mental hospital shall be registered
60 with the department by the hospital upon admission and upon discharge.
61 (8) A sex offender shall, for ten years after termination of sentence, register annually and
62 again within ten days of every change of his place of habitation.
63 (9) An agency that registers a sex offender on parole shall inform him of his duty to
64 comply with the continuing registration requirements of this section, including:
65 (a) notification to an out-of-state agency of moving across state lines;
66 (b) notification to the state agencies in the states where the registrant presently resides and
67 plans to reside when moving across state lines; and
68 (c) verification of address at least every 60 days pursuant to a parole agreement for lifetime
69 parolees.
70 (10) A sex offender shall provide the department with the following information:
71 (a) all names or aliases the sex offender is or has been known by;
72 (b) the sex offender's name and address;
73 (c) a physical description, including the sex offender's age, height, weight, eye and hair
74 color;
75 (d) the type of vehicle or vehicles the sex offender drives; and
76 (e) a current photograph of the sex offender.
77 (11) The department shall provide the following additional information:
78 (a) the crimes the sex offender was charged with and convicted of;
79 (b) a description of the sex offender's primary and secondary targets; and
80 (c) a description of the sex offender's method of offense.
81 (12) (a) A sex offender who knowingly fails to register under this section is guilty of a
82 class A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of incarceration for not fewer than 90
83 days and also at least one year of probation.
84 (b) Neither the court nor the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a person who
85 violates this section from serving a term of at least 90 days and of completing probation of at least
86 one year. This Subsection (12)(b) supersedes any other provision of the law contrary to this
87 section.
88 (13) Notwithstanding Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management
89 Act, information in Subsections (10) and (11) collected and released under this section is public

90 information.
91 (14) (a) If a sex offender is to be temporarily sent outside a secure facility in which he is
92 confined on any assignment, including, without limitation, firefighting or disaster control, the
93 official who has custody of the offender shall, within a reasonable time prior to removal from the
94 secure facility, notify the local law enforcement agencies where the assignment is to be filled.
95 (b) This Subsection (14) does not apply to any person temporarily released under guard
96 from the institution in which he is confined.
97 (15) Notwithstanding Sections 77-18-9 through 77-18-14 regarding expungement, a person
98 convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (1)(d) is not relieved from the responsibility to
99 register under this section.
100 (16) Notwithstanding Section 42-1-1 , a sex offender may not change his name while under
101 the jurisdiction of the department and until the registration requirements of this statute have
102 expired.
103 (17) The department may make rules necessary to implement this section, including:
104 (a) the method for dissemination of the information; and
105 (b) instructions to the public regarding the use of the information.
106 (18) Any information regarding the identity or location of a victim shall be redacted by the
107 department from information provided under Subsections (10) and (11).
108 (19) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or impose any duty on any person
109 to request or obtain information regarding any sex offender from the department.
110 (20) If the department chooses to post registry information on the Internet, the website
111 shall contain a disclaimer informing the public of the following:
112 (a) the information contained on the site is obtained from sex offenders and the department
113 does not guarantee its accuracy;
114 (b) members of the public are not allowed to publicize the information or use it to harass
115 or threaten sex offenders or members of their families; and
116 (c) harassment, stalking, or threats against sex offenders or their families are prohibited
117 and doing so may violate Utah criminal laws.
118 (21) The department shall construct the website so that users, before accessing registry
119 information, must indicate that they have read the disclaimer, understand it, and agree to comply
120 with its terms.

121 (22) The department, its personnel, and any individual or entity acting at the request or
122 upon the direction of the department are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith
123 compliance with this section and will be presumed to have acted in good faith by reporting
124 information.
125 (23) The department shall redact information that, if disclosed, could reasonably identify
126 a victim.
127 (24) The website may also include information about sex offenders ordered to accept
128 notification of their registry information as part of a condition of probation or parole.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-10-00 2:35 PM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel