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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2011
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Senate Judiciary Committee Amends, Passes Senator Orie's 'Adam Walsh' Bill 

(HARRISBURG) The Senate Judiciary Committee today amended and reported out from committee Sen. Jane Orie's "Adam Walsh" legislation, which would ensure that Pennsylvania meets federally mandated national standards to strengthen sex offender registration and notification.

Senate Bill 1183, as amended, would bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, part of the Adam Walsh Act. Pennsylvania must bring its law into "substantial compliance" or suffer a 10 percent reduction in federal crime protection grants.

"The Adam Walsh Act is crucial to protecting our children from predators because it seeks to create a national sex offender registry that will be available on the Internet and have uniform enforcement," Orie said. "Sex offenders will have to register in person, and the worst offenders will have to check in more frequently – ensuring that they don't slip through the cracks."

In addition the amended legislation:

• Increases the amount of information collected from each offender and requires Pennsylvania to include more information on its Internet website. In addition, Pennsylvania State Police would be required to communicate registration information with federal, state and local police departments more quickly than they currently do.
• Extends the registration requirement to the most serious juvenile sex offenders - those who commit rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and aggravated indecent assault.
• Expands the list of sexual offenses subject to the law and groups offenders into multiple classifications, depending on the severity of the offense.
• Recaptures back into Megan's Law offenders with prior convictions for sexual offenses but not currently subject to registration, if the offender re-enters the criminal justice system for a conviction for a felony.

The bill also requires notification to the federal government if the offender intends to travel abroad and requires transient sexual offenders to register and update their registration information. 

Senator Orie also commended Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart Greenleaf, fellow sponsor Senator John Rafferty, and Governor Corbett's administration for supporting and working together to move this proposal forward. 

Orie said the changes will ensure that Pennsylvania meets federal requirements. They also make the system more uniform, more inclusive, more informative, and more readily available to the public.

"We need to have a strong and coordinated system in place to protect our children from predators," Orie said. "This legislation will put tougher standards in place and establish uniformity in how we deal with this serious problem."

CONTACT:

Mike Sarfert
(717) 787-6538