Senator Frank Padavan (R-C, Bellerose) lauds the Senate passage of the "Tenth Anniversary Omnibus Sex Offender Registration Reform Act," S.4793-B. The bill adds measures that strengthen Megan's Law, which created the New York State's Sex Offender Registry 10 years ago. The new law would mandate notification by police when a registered sex offender moves into a community. The bill also requires lifetime registration of all sex offenders, information about all levels of sex offenders be posted on the Internet and GPS monitoring for the worst offenders.

The legislation was crafted at the conclusion of three public hearings, which were held by the Senate Majority in Albany, Long Island and Brooklyn. Law enforcement officials, teachers, school officials, parents and advocates participated in the hearings, discussing a variety of issues surrounding sex offenders and Megan's Law. Megan's mother, Maureen Kanka, who partnered with Senator Skelos in 1995 to champion the passage of Megan's Law in both houses of the Legislature, spoke at the first hearing in Albany.

"Megan's Law has provided our entire community with a vital tool that helps combat dangerous sexual predators, providing greater security for our families," Senator Padavan said. "Built from 10 years of success of the original Megan's law, the Omnibus Sex Offender Registration Reform Act was created to better empower the community and provide a safer environment for our children.

"The Omnibus Sex Offender Registration Reform Act, which passed the Senate, builds on Megan's Law by improving on more than 20 different aspects of the original law. The Omnibus Megan's Law Reform Act reflects 10 years of applied experience and technological advances to help ensure greater safety for our families and children. And, the strong public support at our public hearings demonstrates the need, and want, for increased security and public notification of any sexual offenders living in a community.

"Now, what New York needs most is for the Assembly to take our children's safety to heart, protecting New Yorkers from sexual predators by acting on the Omnibus Sex Offender Registration Reform Act swiftly," Padavan urged. "Statistics have shown that sexual predators cannot be rehabilitated, with studies showing that they have the highest recidivism rates. The answer is clear - for our children - we need to improve Megan's Law now!"

The "Tenth Anniversary Omnibus Sex Offender Registration Reform Act" would mandate community notification by police when a registered sex offender moves into a community. Currently, it is up to police discretion whether they notify community members about the presence of a sex offender. It would also require lifetime registration of all sex offenders. Currently, most sex offenders are registered for only 10 years, after which, they drop off the registry. Next year alone, more than 3,200 sex offenders will be dropped from the registry because they met the 10-year mandate to keep police posted of their whereabouts.

The act will also require Level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders be posted on the Internet. Currently, only Level 3 offenders are posted online. It would require GPS monitoring for all Level 3 sex offenders. Level 3 offenders would be required to wear an electronic monitor to track their movements for the duration of their registration. If the offender enters an area where they are prohibited from being, a notification will be sent to DCJS.

The act will also require offenders convicted of endangering the welfare of a child - where the act involves sexual activity - to register as a sex offender. It would create the new crime of unlawfully residing or entering upon school grounds, create the new crime of sexual assault against a child in a position of trust, establish the statute of limitations for a child under the age of 17 who is sexually assaulted as 15 years after the child reaches the age of 18 and allow a court to conduct a registration hearing should the offender fail to appear.

Since enacting Megan's Law in 1995, the Senate has acted on 68 separate occasions to pass legislation strengthening Megan's Law and 180 times on other legislation dealing with sex offenders.