SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2174        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1141

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Bruce E. Tarr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to sexually violent predators.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2174        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1141

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1033 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to sexually violent predators.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 178C of Chapter 6  is hereby amended by inserting in after the lines 153-161 the definition of “sexually violent predator” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

“Sexually Violent Predator”, as determined by the board pursuant to 803 CMR 1.31 or if the offender meets any of the following criteria:

(1)A person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense or who has been adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sexually violent offense, or a person released from incarceration, parole, probation supervision or commitment under chapter 123A or custody with the department of youth services for such a conviction or adjudication, whichever last occurs, or after August 1, 1981, and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes such person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offense; or

(2)An offender who has finally been given a level 3 classification who has been convicted of a sex offense involving a child as defined in this section and or a sexually violent offense as defined in this section, or sexually violent offense pursuant to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. section 14071; or

An offender deemed a sexually violent predator and in addition to annual verification, shall appear in person every 90 calendar days at the local police department to verify the registration data on file as established under 803 CMR 1.31.

SECTION 2. Section 178M of Chapter 6  is hereby amended in line 1 by inserting after the word, “offender” the following:-

Or the Board’s General Counsel or its designee

SECTION 3. Chapter 6  is hereby amended by inserting after section 178Q the following new section:-

6:178R. Audit of the Sex Offender Registry Board

Section 178R. The auditor of the commonwealth shall annually conduct an audit of the operations of the sex offender registry board, and shall examine elements including but not limited to: (1) prioritization of cases, (2) criteria for assignment of cases; (3) manner of keeping and maintaining records pertaining to past violations for registration; (4) the manner and process for the scheduling of cases; and (4) their performance in security timely process and adjudication of classifications.

SECTION 4. Section 3 shall expire on January 1, 2023.