2015 Montana Legislature

HOUSE BILL NO. 88

INTRODUCED BY S. LASZLOFFY

BY REQUEST OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS REGARDING SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION; REQUIRING THE OFFENDER TO PROVIDE E-MAIL ADDRESSES AND SOCIAL MEDIA SCREEN NAMES WHEN REGISTERING; REQUIRING OFFENDERS CONVICTED IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT DO A RISK LEVEL ASSESSMENT TO UNDERGO A PSYCHOSEXUAL EVALUATION; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 46-18-111, 46-18-222, 46-23-502, 46-23-504, AND 46-23-509, MCA.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 46-18-111, MCA, is amended to read:

"46-18-111. Presentence investigation -- when required. (1) (a) Upon the acceptance of a plea or upon a verdict or finding of guilty to one or more felony offenses, the district court shall direct the probation officer to make a presentence investigation and report. The district court shall consider the presentence investigation report prior to sentencing.

(b) If the defendant was convicted of an offense under 45-5-310, 45-5-311, 45-5-502, 45-5-503, 45-5-504, 45-5-507, 45-5-601(3), 45-5-602(3), 45-5-603(2)(b), 45-5-625, 45-5-627, or 45-8-218 or if the defendant was convicted under 46-23-507 and the offender was convicted of failure to register as a sexual offender pursuant to Title 46, chapter 23, part 5, the investigation must include the investigation must include a psychosexual evaluation of the defendant and a recommendation as to treatment of the defendant in the least restrictive environment, considering the risk the defendant presents to the community and the defendant's needs, unless the defendant was sentenced under 46-18-219. The evaluation must be completed by The evaluation must be completed by a sex offender therapist sexual offender evaluator who is a member of the Montana sex offender treatment association or has comparable credentials acceptable to the department of labor and industry. The psychosexual evaluation must be made available to the county attorney's office, the defense attorney, the probation and parole officer, and the sentencing judge. All costs related to the evaluation must be paid by the defendant. If the defendant is determined by the district court to be indigent, all costs related to the evaluation are the responsibility of the district court and must be paid by the county or the state, or both, under Title 3, chapter 5, part 9. The district court may order subsequent psychosexual evaluations at the request of the county attorney. The requestor of any subsequent psychosexual evaluations is responsible for the cost of the evaluation.

(c) If the defendant was convicted of an offense under 45-5-212(2)(b) or (2)(c), the investigation may include a mental health evaluation of the defendant and a recommendation as to treatment of the defendant in the least restrictive environment, considering the risk the defendant presents to the community and the defendant's needs. The evaluation must be completed by a qualified psychiatrist, licensed clinical psychologist, advanced practice registered nurse, or other professional with comparable credentials acceptable to the department of labor and industry. The mental health evaluation must be made available to the county attorney's office, the defense attorney, the probation and parole officer, and the sentencing judge. All costs related to the evaluation must be paid by the defendant. If the defendant is determined by the district court to be indigent, all costs related to the evaluation are the responsibility of the district court and must be paid by the county or the state, or both, under Title 3, chapter 5, part 9.

(d) When, pursuant to 46-14-311, the court has ordered a presentence investigation and a report pursuant to this section, the mental evaluation required by 46-14-311 must be attached to the presentence investigation report and becomes part of the report. The report must be made available to persons and entities as provided in 46-18-113.

(2) The court shall order a presentence investigation report unless the court makes a finding that a report is unnecessary. Unless the court makes that finding, a defendant convicted of any offense not enumerated in subsection (1) that may result in incarceration for 1 year or more may not be sentenced before a written presentence investigation report by a probation and parole officer is presented to and considered by the district court. The district court may order a presentence investigation for a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor only if the defendant was convicted of a misdemeanor that the state originally charged as a sexual or violent offense as defined in 46-23-502.

(3) The defendant shall pay to the department of corrections a $50 fee at the time that the report is completed, unless the court determines that the defendant is not able to pay the fee within a reasonable time. The fee may be retained by the department and used to finance contracts entered into under 53-1-203(5)."

Section 2. Section 46-18-222, MCA, is amended to read:

"46-18-222. Exceptions to mandatory minimum sentences, restrictions on deferred imposition and suspended execution of sentence, and restrictions on parole eligibility. Mandatory minimum sentences prescribed by the laws of this state, mandatory life sentences prescribed by 46-18-219, the restrictions on deferred imposition and suspended execution of sentence prescribed by 46-18-201(1)(b), 46-18-205, 46-18-221(3), 46-18-224, and 46-18-502(3), and restrictions on parole eligibility prescribed by 45-5-503(4), 45-5-507(5), 45-5-601(3), 45-5-602(3), 45-5-603(2)(b), and 45-5-625(4) do not apply if:

(1) the offender was less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense for which the offender is to be sentenced;

(2) the offender's mental capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense for which the offender is to be sentenced, was significantly impaired, although not so impaired as to constitute a defense to the prosecution. However, a voluntarily induced intoxicated or drugged condition may not be considered an impairment for the purposes of this subsection.

(3) the offender, at the time of the commission of the offense for which the offender is to be sentenced, was acting under unusual and substantial duress, although not such duress as would constitute a defense to the prosecution;

(4) the offender was an accomplice, the conduct constituting the offense was principally the conduct of another, and the offender's participation was relatively minor;

(5) in a case in which the threat of bodily injury or actual infliction of bodily injury is an actual element of the crime, no serious bodily injury was inflicted on the victim unless a weapon was used in the commission of the offense; or

(6) the offense was committed under 45-5-310, 45-5-311, 45-5-502(3), 45-5-503(4), 45-5-507(5), 45-5-601(3), 45-5-602(3), 45-5-603(2)(b), or 45-5-625(4) and the judge determines, based on the findings contained in a sexual offender psychosexual evaluation report prepared by a qualified sexual offender evaluator pursuant to the provisions of 46-23-509, that treatment of the offender while incarcerated, while in a residential treatment facility, or while in a local community affords a better opportunity for rehabilitation of the offender and for the ultimate protection of the victim and society, in which case the judge shall include in its judgment a statement of the reasons for its determination."

Section 3. Section 46-23-502, MCA, is amended to read:

"46-23-502. Definitions. As used in 46-18-255 and this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Department" means the department of corrections provided for in 2-15-2301.

(2) "Mental abnormality" means a congenital or acquired condition that affects the mental, emotional, or volitional capacity of a person in a manner that predisposes the person to the commission of one or more sexual offenses to a degree that makes the person a menace to the health and safety of other persons.

(3) "Municipality" means an entity that has incorporated as a city or town.

(4) "Personality disorder" means a personality disorder as defined in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders adopted by the American psychiatric association.

(5) "Predatory sexual offense" means a sexual offense committed against a stranger or against a person with whom a relationship has been established or furthered for the primary purpose of victimization.

(6) "Registration agency" means:

(a) if the offender resides in a municipality, the police department of that municipality; or

(b) if the offender resides in a place other than a municipality, the sheriff's office of the county in which the offender resides.

(7) (a) "Residence" means the location at which a person regularly resides, regardless of the number of days or nights spent at that location, that can be located by a street address, including a house, apartment building, motel, hotel, or recreational or other vehicle.

(b) The term does not mean a homeless shelter.

(8) "Sexual offender evaluator" means a person qualified under rules established by the department to conduct sexual offender and sexually violent predator psychosexual evaluations of sexual offenders and sexually violent predators.

(9) "Sexual offense" means:

(a) any violation of or attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a violation of 45-5-301 (if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim), 45-5-302 (if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim), 45-5-303 (if the victim is less than 18 years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim), 45-5-310, 45-5-311, 45-5-502(3) (if the victim is less than 16 years of age and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim), 45-5-503, 45-5-504(1) (if the victim is under less than 18 years of age and the offender is 18 years of age or older), 45-5-504(2)(c), 45-5-507 (if the victim is under less than 18 years of age and the offender is 3 or more years older than the victim or if the victim is 12 years of age or younger and the offender is 18 years of age or older at the time of the offense), 45-5-601(3), 45-5-602(3), 45-5-603(1)(b) or (2)(b), or 45-5-625; or

(b) any violation of a law of another state, a tribal government, or the federal government that is reasonably equivalent to a violation listed in subsection (9)(a) or for which the offender was required to register as a sexual offender after an adjudication or conviction.

(10) "Sexual or violent offender" means a person who has been convicted of or, in youth court, found to have committed or been adjudicated for a sexual or violent offense.

(11) "Sexually violent predator" means a person who:

(a) has been convicted of or, in youth court, found to have committed or been adjudicated for, a sexual offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality or a personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexual offenses; or

(b) has been convicted of a sexual offense against a victim 12 years of age or younger and the offender is 18 years of age or older.

(12) "Transient" means an offender who has no residence.

(13) "Violent offense" means:

(a) any violation of or attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit a violation of 45-5-102, 45-5-103, 45-5-202, 45-5-206 (third or subsequent offense), 45-5-210(1)(b), (1)(c), or (1)(d), 45-5-212, 45-5-213, 45-5-302 (if the victim is not a minor), 45-5-303 (if the victim is not a minor), 45-5-401, 45-6-103, or 45-9-132; or

(b) any violation of a law of another state, a tribal government, or the federal government reasonably equivalent to a violation listed in subsection (13)(a)."

Section 4. Section 46-23-504, MCA, is amended to read:

"46-23-504. Persons required to register -- procedure. (1) Except as provided in 41-5-1513, a sexual or violent offender:

(a) shall register immediately upon conclusion of the sentencing hearing if the offender is not sentenced to confinement or is not sentenced to the department and placed in confinement by the department;

(b) must be registered as provided in 46-23-503 at least 10 days prior to release from confinement if sentenced to confinement or sentenced to the department and placed in confinement by the department;

(c) shall register within 3 business days of entering a county of this state for the purpose of residing or setting up a temporary residence for 10 days or more or for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days in a calendar year; and

(d) who is a transient shall register within 3 business days of entering a county of this state.

(2) Registration under subsection (1)(a), (1)(c), or (1)(d) must be with the appropriate registration agency. If an offender registers with a police department, the department shall notify the sheriff's office of the county in which the municipality is located of the registration. The probation officer having supervision over an offender required to register under subsection (1)(a) shall verify the offender's registration status with the appropriate registration agency.

(3) At the time of registering, the offender shall sign a statement in writing giving the information required by subsections (3)(a) through (3)(g) (3)(h) and any other information required by the department of justice. The registration agency shall fingerprint the offender, unless the offender's fingerprints are on file with the department of justice, photograph the offender, and obtain a DNA sample from the offender. Within 3 days, the registration agency shall send copies of the statement, fingerprints, and photographs to the department of justice. The registration agency shall send the DNA sample to the department of justice for analysis and entry of the DNA record into the DNA identification index. The registration agency shall require an offender given a level 2 or level 3 designation to appear before the registration agency for a new photograph every year. The information collected from the offender at the time of registration must include the:

(a) the name of the offender and any aliases used by the offender;

(b) the offender's social security number;

(d) the name and address of any business or other place where the offender is or will be an employee;

(e) the name and address of any school where the offender will be a student;

(f) the offender's driver's license number; and

(g) the description and license number of any motor vehicle owned or operated by the offender.; and

(h) all of the offender's e-mail addresses and social media screen names.

(4) (a) If, at the time of registration, the offender regularly resides in more than one county or municipality, the offender shall register with the registration agency of each county or municipality in which the offender resides. If an offender resides in more than one location within the same county or municipality, the registration agency may shall require the offender to provide all of the locations where the offender regularly resides and to designate one of them as the offender's primary residence.

(b) Registration of more than one residence pursuant to this section is an exception from the single residence rule provided in 1-1-215.

(5) A transient shall report monthly, in person, to the registration agency with which the transient registered pursuant to subsection (1)(d). The transient shall report on a day specified by the registration agency and during the normal business hours of that agency. On that day, the transient shall provide the registration agency with the information listed in subsections (3)(a) through (3)(g) (3)(h). The registration agency to which the transient reports may also require the transient to provide the locations where the transient stayed during the previous 30 days and may stay during the next 30 days.

(6) (a) The department of justice shall mail a registration verification form:

(i) each 90 days to an offender designated as a level 3 offender under 46-23-509;

(ii) each 180 days to an offender designated as a level 2 offender under 46-23-509; and

(iii) each year to a violent offender or an offender designated as a level 1 offender under 46-23-509.

(b) If the offender is a transient, the department of justice shall mail the offender's registration verification form to the registration agency with which the offender last registered.

(c) The form must require the offender's notarized signature. Within 10 days after receipt of the form, the offender shall complete the form and return it to the registration agency where the offender last registered or, if the offender was initially registered pursuant to subsection (1)(b), to the registration agency in the county or municipality in which the offender is located. A sexual offender shall return the form to the appropriate registration agency in person, and at the time that the sexual offender returns the registration verification form, the registration agency shall take a photograph of the offender and collect a DNA sample if one has not already been collected. The registration agency shall send the DNA sample to the department of justice for analysis and entry into the DNA identification index.

(7) Within 3 days after receipt of a registration verification form, the registration agency shall provide a copy of the form and most recent photograph to the department of justice.

(8) The offender is responsible, if able to pay, for costs associated with registration. The fees charged for registration may not exceed the actual costs of registration. The department of justice may adopt a rule establishing fees to cover registration costs incurred by the department of justice in maintaining registration and address verification records. The fees must be deposited in the general fund.

(9) The clerk of the district court in the county in which a person is convicted of a sexual or violent offense shall notify the sheriff in that county of the conviction within 10 days after entry of the judgment."

Section 5. Section 46-23-509, MCA, is amended to read:

"46-23-509. Sexual offender evaluations and designations -- rulemaking authority. (1) The department shall adopt rules for the qualification of sexual offender evaluators who conduct sexual offender and sexually violent predator psychosexual evaluations of sexual offenders and sexually violent predators and for determinations by sexual offender evaluators of the risk of a repeat offense and the threat that an offender poses to the public safety.

(2) Prior to sentencing of a person convicted of a sexual offense, the department or a sexual offender evaluator shall provide the court with a sexual offender psychosexual evaluation report recommending one of the following levels of designation for the offender:

(a) level 1, the risk of a repeat sexual offense is low;

(b) level 2, the risk of a repeat sexual offense is moderate;

(c) level 3, the risk of a repeat sexual offense is high, there is a threat to public safety, and the sexual offender evaluator believes that the offender is a sexually violent predator.

(3) Upon sentencing the offender, the court shall:

(a) review the sexual offender psychosexual evaluation report, any statement by a victim, and any statement by the offender;

(b) designate the offender as level 1, 2, or 3; and

(4) An offender designated as a level 2 offender or given a level designation by another state, the federal government, or the department under subsection (6) that is determined by the court to be similar to level 2 may petition the sentencing court or the district court for the judicial district in which the offender resides to change the offender's designation if the offender has enrolled in and successfully completed the treatment phase of either the prison's sexual offender treatment program or of an equivalent program approved by the department. After considering the petition, the court may change the offender's risk level designation if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offender's risk of committing a repeat sexual offense has changed since the time sentence was imposed. The court shall impose one of the three risk levels specified in this section.

(5) If, at the time of sentencing, the sentencing judge did not apply a level designation to a sexual offender who is required to register under this part and who was sentenced prior to October 1, 1997, the department shall designate the offender as level 1, 2, or 3 when the offender is released from confinement.

(6) If an offense is covered by 46-23-502(9)(b), the offender registers under 46-23-504(1)(c), and the offender was given a risk level designation after conviction by another state or the federal government, the department of justice may give the offender the risk level designation assigned by the other state or the federal government. All offenders convicted in another state or by the federal government who are not currently under the supervision of the department or the youth court and were not given a risk level designation after conviction shall provide to the department of justice all prior risk assessments and psychosexual evaluations done to evaluate the offender's risk to reoffend. Any offender without a risk assessment or psychosexual evaluation shall, at the offender's expense, undergo a psychosexual evaluation with a sexual offender evaluator who is a member of the Montana sex offender treatment association or has comparable credentials acceptable to the department of labor and industry. The results of the sex offender evaluation may be requested by the attorney general or a county attorney for purposes of petitioning a district court to assign a risk level designation.

(7) The lack of a fixed residence is a factor that may be considered by the sentencing court or by the department in determining the risk level to be assigned to an offender pursuant to this section.

(8) Upon obtaining information that indicates that a sexual offender who is required to register under this part does not have a level 1, 2, or 3 designation, the attorney general, the county attorney that prosecuted the offender and obtained a conviction for a sexual offense, or the county attorney for the county in which the offender resides may, at any time, petition the district court that sentenced the offender for a sexual offense or the district court for the judicial district in which the offender resides to designate the offender as level 1, 2, or 3. Upon the filing of the petition, the court may order a sexual offender psychosexual evaluation report at the petitioner's expense. The court shall provide the offender with an opportunity for a hearing prior to designating the offender. The petitioner shall provide the offender with notice of the petition and notice of the hearing."

- END -

Latest Version of HB 88 (HB0088.ENR)
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