Adam Walsh Policy
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) agrees with the overall purpose of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, P.L. 109-248, to protect the public, particularly children, from violent sex offenders. States have recognized the need to deter sex offenders, provide law enforcement with means for identifying and tracking locations of sex offenders and increase public protection from dangerous offenders with laws that require released sex offenders to register with law enforcement or other state agencies. Each state has sex offender registration laws, and, since inception of these laws many states have expanded requirements to include more categories of offenders, extended the duration of registration for the most serious offenders, added requirements for updating and verifying registry information, and established penalties for non-compliance.
NCSL objects to the Adam Walsh Act’s one-size-fits all approach to classifying, registering and, in some circumstances, sentencing sex offenders. These provisions preempt many state laws and create an unfunded mandate for states because there are no appropriations in the Act or in any appropriations bill. Many of the provisions of the Adam Walsh Act were crafted without state input or consideration of current state practices. The mandates imposed by the Adam Walsh Act are inflexible and, in some instances, not able to be implemented.
NCSL urges Congress, in partnership with the States, to amend the Adam Walsh Act as follows:
1. Delay the implementation date of the Act until three years from the date final registration guidelines have been issued so that states know with what they are to comply.
2. Reinstitute the incentive grant provisions of the Act to permit States to submit application for determination of compliance.
3. Clarify that the Adam Walsh Act is applicable only to currently registered sex offenders or qualifying offenders who are in corrections custody in the states and not to those who, under state law, have fulfilled their registration requirement. This serves to respect state sovereignty for very fundamental aspects of state sex offender registration law.
4. Permit states to classify sex offenders according to their current state laws. The imposition of federally-defined tier classifications are confusing when compared to state crime classes and definitions, and therefore are overly-burdensome for states.
5. Permit states to penalize sex offenders according to their current state laws, including penalties for failure to register as required.
6. Incorporate flexibility in the implementation of the registration and publication requirements so as not to run afoul of any state’s constitution or statutory provisions. Every state has means by which registration information is publicly accessible, in accordance with state law.
7. Remove responsibility placed on states to interpret foreign convictions and place this responsibility with federal law enforcement where it properly belongs.
8. Allow states to define which juvenile offenders meet criteria for sex offender registration. States must preserve authority for which juvenile offenders are treated like adults, under what circumstances and for how long.
9. Recognize that states assuming the responsibility of tribal registries under the act may face increased compliance difficulties. Permit additional compliance time for states in that circumstance.
10. Provide that technological record-keeping requirements be contingent upon appropriations of sufficient funding to states to implement these changes.
11. Incorporate language establishing a stakeholder advisory board of state and local national associations, like NCSL, to provide guidance and counsel to the Office of Justice Programs SMART office that is responsible for regulations and compliance under the Adam Walsh Act.
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