Resolution on Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) Exposed

The Resolution on Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was considered by ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force at the 2012 Spring Task Force Summit on May 11, 2012. This bill was part of the ALEC task force agenda between 2010 and 2012, but due to incomplete information, it is not known if the bill passed in a vote by legislators and lobbyists at ALEC task force meetings, if ALEC sought to distance itself from the bill as the public increased scrutiny of its pay-to-play activities, or if key operative language from the bill has been introduced by an ALEC legislator in a state legislature in the ensuing period or became binding law.

ALEC Draft Bill Text

Summary

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) strongly supports the application of strong state laws and strict supervision of sex offenders. However, a federal mandate that conditions unrelated federal funding on states adopting a sex offender registry that meets restrictive federal requirements is inconsistent with principles of federalism and the Tenth Amendment and places an economic burden on the states. This resolution supports state flexibility to determine the parameters of their own registries to best achieve the goals of justice, public safety, and recidivism reduction.

Model Resolution

WHEREAS, in 2006, the federal government passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (Walsh Act),which included the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), in order to centralize standards and control of sex offender registries with the federal government, after mandating that states create sex offender registries in 1994; and

WHEREAS, SORNA requires states to include juvenile offenders in their registries if the juvenile was at least 14 years old and the offense was comparable to or more severe than aggravated sexual abuse, as defined in federal law; and,

WHEREAS, the federal government provided states three years to comply with SORNA’s requirements or face cuts to federal grants, and the first state to be found compliant was Ohio in September of 2009, after which the federal government then extended the compliance deadline until 2010; and,

WHEREAS, as of July, 2011, only 14 states, one territory, and nine tribes had substantially implemented SORNA; and,

WHEREAS, the federal mandate requires certain classes of juvenile offenders to be in the state registry for their entire lifetime;

WHEREAS, the federal mandate requires that states classify individuals based on offense level without consideration of risk as many states currently do in conformity with research in the field;

WHEREAS, ALEC supports the intent behind the Walsh Act to protect the public from sex offenders; and,

WHEREAS, state efforts to protect the public and supervise sex offenders are preempted by the requirements in SORNA, which also creates an unfunded mandate upon the states as the Walsh Act does not include appropriations for implementation; and,

WHEREAS, in 2011, the Texas Legislative Budget Board determined that it would cost Texas more than $30 million to bring its registry in compliance with the federal mandate;

WHEREAS, if states do not comply with the provisions of SORNA, they face losing a share of the federal Byrne criminal justice grants that they would otherwise receive;

WHEREAS, it is essential that the states maintain authority over juveniles adjudicated in state courts, including circumstances and length of punishment, and defining the criteria for those juveniles who must register;

WHEREAS, consistent with the constitutional principles of federalism and the Tenth Amendment, state and local governments, not the federal government, should play the primary role in developing and implementing effective responses to criminal activity that does not involve international or homeland security issues, as states provide laboratories of innovation in which different approaches can be tested, adjusted, and replicated based on results; and,

WHEREAS, states should have the power to make and enforce their criminal laws, punishments, penalties, and supervisions in order to best protect their citizens; and,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that ALEC supports proper deference to state authorities in SORNA and flexibility in the implementation of SORNA while achieving the goals of the Walsh Act.