Chapter 325
2017 -- S 0055 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 09/27/2017

A N   A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION

Introduced By: Senators Lombardi, Lynch Prata, McCaffrey, Lombardo, and Jabour
Date Introduced: January 18, 2017

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Chapter 11-37.1 of the General Laws entitled "Sexual Offender Registration
and Community Notification" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
     11-37.1-21. Duty of shelters and homeless shelters to notify law enforcement of the
presence of sex offenders.
     (a) If any person convicted of any offense that requires sex offender registration pursuant
to this title, or otherwise has a duty to register their his or her address with the law enforcement
agency in the municipality in which they reside, is provided residence in any homeless shelter,
that person shall be required to inform the shelter of their his or her status and duty to register
and to provide their his or her name and date of birth to each shelter or homeless shelter where
they he or she resides overnight.
     (b) The obligation of the sex offender to provide the information required in subsection
(a) of this section, shall be on a continuing daily and nightly basis and they he or she shall
provide said information to each and every shelter or homeless shelter at which they he or she
takes up temporary residence regardless of the length of time they he or she stays at such shelter.
     (c) The homeless shelter that receives information from any sex offender shall be
required to transmit that information to the local law enforcement agency and if there be none, to
the closest Rhode Island state police barracks before midnight of that day of the offender
registering or signing in for the day, night, or any portion of a day.
     (d) Any homeless shelter that violates the provisions of this section shall upon a first
violation, be fined a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500),; for a second violation, by
a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000); and for a third or subsequent violation, by a
civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000).
     (e) Jurisdiction over any violation by a homeless shelter shall be in the Ddistrict Ccourt
in the county in which the shelter is physically located.
     (f) Any sex offender who fails to disclose information as required by this chapter shall be
subject to the same penalties as set forth in ยง11-37.1-10.
     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC000622/SUB A/2
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