AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION (Makes it a felony for any person required to register as a sex offender to live within three hundred feet (300’) of a school as defined in § 11-37.1-2.)

S2281

2026 -- S 2281
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LC004363
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND
COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION

Introduced By:
Senators Patalano, Ciccone, Tikoian, Thompson, LaMountain, Dimitri,
de la Cruz, Appollonio, Burke, and Famiglietti

Date Introduced:
January 23, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 11-37.1-10 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-37.1 entitled "Sexual
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Offender Registration and Community Notification" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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11-37.1-10. Penalties.
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(a) Any person who is required to register or verify
his or her

the person's
address or give
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notice of a change of address or residence who knowingly fails to do so shall be guilty of a felony
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and, upon conviction, be imprisoned not more than ten (10) years, or fined not more than ten
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thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.
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(b) Any person who is required to register or verify
his or her

the person's
address or give
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notice of a change of address or residence who knowingly fails to do so shall be in violation of the
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terms of
his or her

the person's
release, regardless of whether or not the term was a special condition
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of
his or her

the person's
release on probation, parole, home confinement or other form of
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supervised release.
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(c)
Except in the case of a level-three (3) sex offender, any

Any
person who is required to
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register or verify
his or her

the person's
address, who knowingly resides within three hundred feet
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(300′) of any school as defined in § 11-37.1-2, which distance shall be measured
from the nearest
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boundary line of the real property supporting the residence of the person to the nearest boundary
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line of the real property that supports or upon which there exists a school

in a straight line, without
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regard for intervening structures or objects, from the nearest portion of the property on which the

1
person subject to this section resides, to the nearest property line of the premises of any school
shall
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be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned not more than five (5) years, or fined
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not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.
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(d) Any level-three (3) sex offender who knowingly resides within one thousand feet
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(1,000′) of any school as defined in § 11-37.1-2, which distance shall be measured from the nearest
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boundary line of the real property supporting the residence of the person to the nearest boundary
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line of the real property that supports or upon which there exists a school shall be guilty of a felony
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and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or fined not more than
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five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- SEXUAL OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND
COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION
***
1
This act would make it a felony for any person required to register as a sex offender to live
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within three hundred feet (300’) of a school as defined in § 11-37.1-2.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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