Sex offender registry; person to designate location where spending night if no legal residence, etc. (HB912)

Introduced By

Del. Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Definition of residence for the purposes of the sex offender registry.  Provides that "residence" means, for any sex offender who declares himself homeless and has no permanent physical address, any single location described by him, which can be located with reasonable specificity, where he routinely spends the night. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Passed

History

DateAction
01/13/2010Committee
01/13/2010Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/10 10103409D
01/13/2010Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety
01/21/2010Assigned MPPS sub: #2
01/28/2010Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (4-Y 0-N)
01/28/2010Subcommittee recommends referring to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/29/2010Reported from Militia, Police and Public Safety with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
01/29/2010Committee substitute printed 10104767D-H1
01/29/2010Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/29/2010Assigned Courts sub: #1 Criminal
02/08/2010Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (8-Y 0-N)
02/10/2010Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/12/2010Read first time
02/15/2010Read second time
02/15/2010Committee substitute agreed to 10104767D-H1
02/15/2010Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB912H1
02/16/2010Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (99-Y 0-N)
02/16/2010VOTE: BLOCK VOTE PASSAGE (99-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
02/17/2010Constitutional reading dispensed
02/17/2010Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
02/25/2010Assigned Courts sub: Criminal
03/08/2010Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (14-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
03/09/2010Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
03/10/2010Read third time
03/10/2010Reading of amendment waived
03/10/2010Committee amendment agreed to
03/10/2010Engrossed by Senate as amended
03/10/2010Passed Senate with amendment (40-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
03/10/2010Placed on Calendar
03/11/2010Senate amendment agreed to by House (98-Y 0-N)
03/11/2010VOTE: --- ADOPTION (98-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
03/22/2010Enrolled
03/22/2010Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB912ER)
03/22/2010Signed by Speaker
03/25/2010Signed by President
04/13/2010Governor's recommendation received by House
04/20/2010Placed on Calendar
04/21/2010House concurred in Governor's recommendation (95-Y 0-N)
04/21/2010VOTE: --- ADOPTION (95-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
04/21/2010Senate concurred in Governor's recommendation (39-Y 0-N) (see vote tally)
04/21/2010G Governor's recommendation adopted
04/21/2010Reenrolled
04/21/2010Reenrolled bill text (HB912ER2)
04/21/2010Signed by Speaker as reenrolled
04/21/2010Signed by President as reenrolled
04/21/2010Enacted, Chapter 843 (effective 7/1/10)
04/21/2010G Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0843)

Video

This bill was discussed on the floor of the General Assembly. Below is all of the video that we have of that discussion, 1 clip in all, totaling 40 seconds.

Comments

Mary writes:

We called the Virginia State Police Sex Offender information phone number over a month ago and asked what the procedure was for a homeless RSO’s. They told us, “If a registrant becomes homeless they have 3 days to notify the Virginia State Police in person of a stationary location like a parking lot, street corner, motel or tent in the woods where they are staying". So why
would Delegate Bell file this bill?
We suggest that if the homeless bill passes ALL homeless RSO's in Virginia camp out in the parking space of their district's Delegate or Senator or even move onto their local VSP Barracks property and pitch a tent. Then the VSP will know their comings and goings. Remember some VSP Barracks are 1, 2 or 3 hours away from some RSO's homes/locations, so how is a homeless person suppose to be able to get to and from their homeless spot to a VSP Barracks when they have no transportation? If this is the direction Virginia wants to go in then they need to fund homeless shelters for Registered Sex Offenders across the state. Currently NO homeless shelter in Virginia will accept a RSO.

VA Men's Accountability Network writes:

The need for HB912 is perplexing. One one level, it fails to understand the nature homelessness: When you're homeless, sleeping in the same place every night is a luxury.

Best guess: Rob Bell is planning ahead for widespread homelessness that will result should HB1004 get enacted as currently written. The fiscal impact analysis needs to take into account the additional State Police manpower that will be required to track the transitory realities of being homeless, and the public housing needed when these folks are separated from their families.

Kudos to Rob Bell for anticipating that a definition is needed--his challenge now is to craft something based in reality, and provide funding for the problems created when you use retroactively-applied laws to kick offenders out of their homes and support systems.