The Dobbs Wire: New SORNA regulations issued – effective Jan. 7, 2022
Headsup! New SORNA regulations were issued today – take effect Jan. 7, 2022. They will impact everybody on a sex offense registry.
In the last months of the Trump administration the Department of Justice (DOJ) suddenly issued draft regulations under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The draft regulations were published as required and hundreds of comments received. After the comment period ended there was no response from the government. The silence continued as Trump exited and Biden took office. Any hopes that Biden might simply do nothing and leave the regulations in limbo evaporated. Today’s Federal Register has the finalized regulations. They’re lengthy and complicated, lots of questions as to what they mean and how they will be enforced. Without a doubt these federal regulations will make life even more hellish for the hundreds of thousands (900,000+ in 2018 according to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) listed on state sex offense registries –counting their families and significant others, several million people will be impacted. While the states are at the center of registration matters, these changes expand the responsibilities that registrants have under federal law, creating more trip wires and opportunities for prosecution. The screws are being tightened, again. The existing registry regime has produced no benefit to public safety. A more draconian regime will not change that. As of 2021 every state has had a registry for 25 years. There’s still no coherent cry to get rid of these ineffective, destructive laws. I hope these SORNA changes will bring more people into this fight.
The regulations are linked below as published in the Federal Register. They’re online here:
Registration Requirements Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (OAG 157; RIN 1105-AB52)
Also attached is a letter from Daniel Hansmeier, Appellate Chief of the Kansas Federal Public Defender to the Department of Justice that gives perspective on the changes. Excerpt: “The proposed rule defines crimes Congress never envisioned. It seeks to punish offenders who are plainly compliant with SORNA. The regulations do not interpret SORNA; they expand SORNA by defining lawful acts (or impossible acts) as crimes.”
Bill Dobbs, Publisher The Dobbs Wire [email protected] 85 Fed. Reg. 49332 - FPD Comment 2021-26420
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If only Florida would replace its version of SORNA with the federal one. I imagine the registered citizens in many other states are finding this quite stressful, but there’s absolutely nothing in this that Florida doesn’t already require.
In fact, if Florida were to completely replace its sex offender registration laws with Federal SORNA, my period of registration would expire on April 27, 2024 (in under 3 years, since I initially registered on April 27, 1999, when sentenced to community control followed by probation and am a Tier II offender under Federal SORNA). According to Florida’s current law, I won’t be eligible to petition for removal until December 17, 2030 (20 years since my probation was terminated, since Florida starts counting from the end of probation and not from when it started, like federal SORNA), and there is of course no guarantee that the petition will be granted. Under Federal SORNA, it’s automatic.
So when is one person’s obligation done with Federal Sorna?
How would that even work in Florida?
This will be very interesting given that some courts are currently ruling such changes to these registries violate ex post facto.
Saddened but not surprised. I feel three factors are against us.
1) Both political parties currently view us a “peripheral” issue.
2) As with local politics, any candidate appearing to be soft on crime will face decreased public support (which is a huge factor in picking which agendas to champion) and will probably get clobbered in the next elections. The opposing party runs on law-and-order issues. So, for the current administration, championing our cause will face a more significant pushback from opposing candidates.
3) This is the most important one. Public opinion. If we can continue to educate and are able to get enough voters to understand a public registry does not work and that our tax dollars are better spent on other effective crime fighting techniques, then politicians, on both sides of the aisle, will have more room to do the right, evidence-based thing. Get rid of a public registry.
We have lost a battle, but we must not feel deflated. This is further proof we must all increase our advocacy and continue to educate! If we each able to get change the misperception of one person, we have doubled our base, and if they do the same, we had tripled it, and so on, and so on! We need to spread our education.
Other social and criminal justice reform movements have done this. We can too. We just need to keep educating and advocating!
No administration is going to commit political suicide to change sex offense laws in a way to make them less harsh. I don’t know what fantasy world you democrats live in when you literally have liberal feminists claiming every man is a rapist with the #metoo movement and the #justbelieveher movement.
Spare me.
It has nothing to do with being democrat or republican but more so with how the public or constituents see their “candidate” be hard on “sex crimes”. So please stop defining one political segment as aligning with those thoughts.
Just imagine if a Presidential candidate, regardless of affiliation comes in live TV and says ” I will get rid of the sex offender registration”….Do you imagine that the individual will get elected?…..We all know, he/she not only will get clobbered, ostracized, killed from the get go but surely will not win any nomination now and forever. Period.
I hope this enforces registrants to get off the sidelines and out of the I can’t rock the boat mentally. We must band together and fight this injustice for ourselves, loved ones, and our supporters. Nothing our government does surprises me; however screw both parties. Let’s get some accountability and actions of the government violating our rights.
I’ve been saying this for many years that anyone with a sex offense conviction is too scared to do anything. I made a stink about it in a local newspaper back in my home state of CT. My probation officer at the time was not happy about it but I told her I stood by every word I said in the article. Stop being SCARED!
can anyone put this in laymans terms ??
For those of us without a law degree can someone summerize what the new set of rules states?
On the document mentioned go down to Section 72 and begin reading from there. That’s where the law has been codified and is in easier to understand terms.
If you’re in Florida, nothing of substance. It prevents hotel hopping for more than 7 days, but that’s pretty much it. Everything else is already required by Florida law and in most cases, Florida law is substantially more burdensome than federal SORNA. If you’re in another state and your period of registration has not yet expired under federal SORNA, then it might negatively impact you severely, depending on the specifics. However, if your period of registration has already expired under federal SORNA, then it won’t affect you at all. There are many registered sex offenders in Florida whose period of registration has already expired under federal SORNA. Mine will expire in less than 3 years.
I came here for this exact question
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/08/2021-26420/registration-requirements-under-the-sex-offender-registration-and-notification-act
since we do not have tiers, i am guessing florida is either sex offender= tier 2 and predator = tier 3,
“The required registration periods are generally 15 years for a tier I sex offender, 25 years for a tier II sex offender, and life for a tier III sex offender. See 34 U.S.C. 20915(a); 73 FR at 38068. Paragraph (a) in § 72.5 reproduces these requirements.”
Despite a conviction over 25 years ago I think they could hamstring the situation by saying registration in Florida began 24 years ago (1997) so nobody could be on year 25 yet.
Florida does not technically have tiers, but it has three de facto categories of offenders: (1) those required to register twice per year, some of whom can petition to be removed from the registry 20/25 years upon completion of sentence (including probation); (2) those required to register four times per year for life; and (3) sexual predators, so designated by court order pursuant to F.S. 775.21. Thus, Florida kinda sorta has three tiers, even though they’re not called that.
Federal SORNA has three tiers, and all sex offenders are assigned to one of those three tiers irrespective of what any state does based on their qualifying offense(s). This is relevant for their “independent duty to register” imposed by federal SORNA. The whole point of these regulations is that there are two parallel duties to register: those imposed by the states, and that imposed by federal SORNA. Depending on how “compliant” a state is, the state and federal duties may slightly overlap or mostly/completely overlap (as is the case for Florida). Your duty to register under federal SORNA could expire, while Florida still requires you to register for life. You would still be required to comply with all of Florida’s registration requirements while living in or present in the state, and you very well might have to comply with registration requirements in other states, depending on your offense and their laws. However, your “independent duty to register” under federal SORNA expires (or doesn’t expire) depending on your federal tier level. Florida does not have any felony sex offenses that are categorized under federal SORNA Tier I and Florida does not require registration for its handful of misdemeanor “sex offenses” such as soliciting prostitution (of an adult) or “unnatural and lascivious acts” (F.S. 800.02); this is not the case in every state. All Florida sex offenses are felonies and fall under federal SORNA Tier II or III. The dual duties to register are explained in the “Overview” section of the regulations in the Federal Register.
GL, there is a provision also that allows a Tier 1 to be removed at 10 years IF he/she shows successful completion of sex offender re-education (ie therapy)
Hello, What do you mean by hotel hopping?
My understanding is that if I visit Florida from my home state in the northeast, where I’m not required to register, I must report my visit in Florida if my visit will last 3 days or longer. Could I legally hop hotels every two days and stay, say 10 continuous days, without reporting my visit -since I won’t be living in any one place (hotel) for 3 days?
Also, it seems from the new regs that if you’re no longer subject to federal SORNA that the 21-day notice of international travel doesn’t apply to you …. Is this your interpretation as well?
Thanks very much for any feedback.
If you don’t live in Florida, you have to report any visit over 2 days to the sheriff of the county you are visiting. Only residents get away with the ‘hotel hopping” for now.
You are asking for legal advice. You would need to contact a licensed Florida attorney for guidance. There is a difference between stating or analyzing a statute and giving an opinion on its general ramifications (not legal advice) and advising someone to take a specific course of action in order to comply with the law (legal advice, which only an attorney can do).
Lo and behold, the newly released DOJ SORNA “Rules and Regulations” explicitly state that the International Travel Notification, like other SORNA registration requirements at the Federal level, applies for as long as the individual is subject to federal registration.
on page 9 of the newly promulgated regs, it states –
“International Megan’s Law added the international travel reporting requirements of SORNA and related authorities, appearing in 34 U.S.C. 20914(a)(7), (c) and implemented by §§ 72.6(d), 72.7(f) of this rule. In common with the other requirements under SORNA appearing in this rule, those requirements continue to apply until the end of the SORNA registration period. Whether registration jurisdictions choose to impose such requirements for longer periods than the registration periods prescribed by SORNA is within their discretion. See 73 FR at 38046.” [emphasis added]
in other words, as far as Federal SORNA is concerned, the IML Travel Notice requirement ends when the individual’s registration term ends under SORNA (per one’s Tier). However, individual jurisdictions can extend the requirements if they choose, for those required under their jurisdictions to register.
So, it seems settled -if your time of registration is over per your Federal offense tier, no need to provide this International Travel Notice as far as Federal SORNA goes (though check if your state separately may require it).
If you’re no longer required to register in your home state, why would you go to FL and tell them you USED TO BE on a registry?
I’m not giving “legal advice”, I’m speaking in terms of common sense. When you’re released from registry obligations, why would you assume you need to go register in a place you’re only visiting for a vacation?
Here’s what lawyers need to do; Fight this bullshit because when people have completed their probations and registry requirements, the idea in his/her mind is “Yes! Finally free to live my life again!” No one, and I mean NO ONE is thinking “Gee, I should probably get myself caught up again in this bs by telling another state I was once on the registry in my home state.”
That’s like having been on probation for a DUI, going on a vacation somewhere and going to their local law enforcement to say “Hey, keep an eye on me. I have been known to drink and drive. Put me on probation while I’m here visiting, thanks.”