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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2011
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Senate Endorses Orie's 'Adam Walsh' Child Protection Bill

(HARRISBURG) --The state Senate today passed legislation to bring Pennsylvania into compliance with federal law and ensure that Pennsylvania meets federally mandated national standards to strengthen sex offender registration and notification.

Senator Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), who sponsored Senate Bill 1183, said the bill will strengthen the state's efforts to track sex offenders, include the state as part of a national registry that law enforcement officials can access, and expands the list of sexually violent offenses covered under the law.

It is needed to bring Pennsylvania into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.  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.  "The act also provides stricter prison sentences for offenders who fail to register and keep their information current.  The convicted offender 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."

She commended three parties for their assistance in the drafting and development of the final language in Senate Bill 1183, as adopted by the Senate; the Governor's office, Senate Judiciary Chairman Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery), in particular for the provisions which close loopholes in current law that have allowed homeless and out-of-state offenders to avoid registering under the state's Megan's Law, and Senator John C. Rafferty, Jr. (R-Montgomery), who has sponsored this effort with Senator Orie for several years now and shares her commitment to seeing that these changes get adopted.

The legislation also:

• Increases the amount of information collected from each offender and requires Pennsylvania to include more information on its Megan's Law 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 juvenile offenders who commit rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit these offenses.
• Expands the list of sexually violent 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 because of a new felony conviction.

Orie said the changes will ensure that Pennsylvania meets federal requirements and makes 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 tough penalties in place and establish uniformity in how we deal with the very serious problem."

CONTACT:

Mike Sarfert
(717) 787-6538