HB2998 SD2

SECTION 1. The federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Public Safety Act of 2006, Public Law No. 248-109, (Adam Walsh Act). The Adam Walsh Act requires the fifty states, the District of Columbia, the five principal United States territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes that function as sex offender registration jurisdictions to conform their laws by July 29, 2009, to guidelines for sex offender registration adopted by the Department of Justice. If a jurisdiction fails to substantially comply with the guidelines, the jurisdiction faces the loss of ten per cent of any federal funds it may receive pursuant to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established the Adam Walsh Act compliance working group. The working group shall be composed of the following:

(1) The attorney general;

(2) The director of public safety;

(3) The director of the office of youth services;

(4) The state public defender;

(5) The administrative director of the courts;

(6) The chief of police of the city and county of Honolulu;

(7) A member of the Hawaii Prosecuting Attorneys Association;

(8) A representative of a victim advocacy program who is not employed with an agency or entity otherwise represented on the working group and who shall be selected by the attorney general;

(9) A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union; and

(10) A representative of the Hawaii Criminal Defense Attorneys Association.

(b) The working group shall:

(1) Determine which Hawaii laws, including chapter 846E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, need to be amended and whether any new laws need to be enacted to comply with the Adam Walsh Act and the Department of Justice guidelines implementing it;

(2) Identify what resources are necessary for the State to implement any new or amended laws to comply with the Adam Walsh Act and the Department of Justice guidelines implementing it;

(3) Identify all sources of funding, including federal grants and legislative appropriations, that may be available to implement programs necessary for compliance with the Adam Walsh Act and the Department of Justice guidelines implementing it;

(4) Consider whether the additional costs that may be incurred to comply with the Adam Walsh Act and the Department of Justice guidelines implementing it outweigh the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funds that would be retained by compliance and any other benefits attributable to compliance;

(5) Review the provisions of House Bill No. 3040 (2008) and House Bill No. 3040, H.D. 1 (2008), as those measures pertain to the sex offender registry laws; and

(6) Draft proposed legislation necessary to bring the State into compliance with the Adam Walsh Act and the Department of Justice guidelines implementing it.

(c) The department of the attorney general shall convene the working group and provide the administrative, technical, and clerical support services necessary to assist the working group in achieving its purpose as required under this Act.

(d) The working group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation to the legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2009.

(e) The Adam Walsh Act compliance working group shall cease to exist after June 30, 2009.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2998
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 2