Letter opposing legislation to extend the duration of sex offender registration for most Level One registrants from 20 years to 30 years or life

SUMMARY

A working group of members of the Criminal Courts, Criminal Justice Operations, Criminal Law, and Corrections & Community Reentry Committees issued a letter in opposition to State legislation which would affect individuals currently registered as sex offenders who have been found by courts to be least likely to re-offend, i.e., “Level One” registrants. The bill’s first provision extends the duration of sex offender registration for most Level One registrants from 20 years to 30 years or life. The second overrules Court of Appeals precedent in order to permit local governments to restrict where sex offenders can live on a municipality-by-municipality basis. The committees argue that the legislation would impede public safety and violate the due process rights of individuals who successfully served their criminal sentences decades ago.

BILL INFORMATION

A.8503 (AM Murray) / S.6066 (Sen. Venditto) – relates to sex offender registration and residency restrictions (NYS 2015-16)