Sex offender registration fees and penalties.

ORIGINAL
House
Bill No
.
HB0015

ENROLLED ACT NO. 86,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE
OF WYOMING
2017 General Session

AN ACT relating to sex offender registration; providing for registration and reporting fees as specified; creating the sex offender registration account; requiring rulemaking; establishing penalties; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
310 is created to read:

7
‑
19
‑
310
.

Sex offender registration account; purposes.

There is created the sex offender registration account to be administered by the division. Any state registration or reporting fees collected pursuant to W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302 shall be deposited into the account. Funds in the account shall be expended only upon appropriation by the legislature and shall not be transferred or expended for any purpose other than administering
and enforcing the
provisions of this act. Interest accruing to the account shall be retained in the account and shall be expended for the purposes provided in this section.

Section 2
.

W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
301(
a)(xv), 7
‑
19
‑
302

by creating new subsections (r) through (u)
and
7
‑
19
‑
307(a) and by creating a new subsection (e) are amended to read:

7
‑
19
‑
301
.

Definitions.

(a)

Unless otherwise provided, for the purposes of this act:

(xv)

"
This act
"
means W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
301 through
7
‑
19
‑
309
7
‑
19
‑
310
;

7
‑
19
‑
302
.

Registration of offenders; procedure; verification; fees.

(r)

Except as
provided in subsection (s) of this section, all offenders required to register or report
updated information
pursuant to this act shall

pay
fee
s
established by rules of the division.
The division shall establish fees
in accordance with the following:

(
i
)

At the time of initial registration, the offender shall pay a
state registration fee in an amount
not
to
exceed
one hundred twenty dollars
($
12
0
.00) and a
county registration fee
in an amount
equal to twenty
‑
five percent (25%) of the state registration fee;

(
i
i)

Each time the offender is required to report
updated information pursuant to subsection (e), (f), (k) or (m)
of this section,

t
he

offender shall pay
a state
reporting fee in an amount not to exceed

twenty
‑
five
dollars
($
25
.00) and
a
county reporting fee in an amount equal to twenty
‑
five percent (25%) of the state reporting fee
;

(
i
ii)

The state registration and reporting fees established by the division shall, to
the extent practicable,
generate
a total
revenue that app
roximates, but does not exceed, the direct and indirect costs of administering and enforci
ng the provisions of this act.

(s)

No fee required under subsection (r) of this section shall be charged
to
:

(
i
)

A
n offender in custody of the department, a local jail or a public or private agency pursuant to a court order

during the
period in which the offender is
in custody
;

(ii)

A
n indigent offender
,
as provided in rule
s established by the division.
The rule
s

shall
establish criteria
and procedures
for
determinations of
indigency in accordance with the following:

(A)

Standards for
ind
igency
shall be similar to the standards
used to determine indigency for the purposes of the appointment of counsel;

(B)

An offender shall apply for a determination of indigency at the time of registration or reporting
updated information
by submitting to the division or the sheriff of the county in which the offender is required to register or report, under penalty of perjury, an application and supporting documentation regarding the offender
'
s income, property owned, outstanding obli
gations, number
and ages of the offender
'
s dependents and any other factors relevant to the offender
'
s ability to pay registration and reporting fees. The application and information shall detail the offender
'
s financial status for a period of not less than one (1) year
pr
e
ceding the date of
the
application
;

(C)

If an offender is unable to submit a complete application at the time of registration or reporting
updated information
, the offender may submit an application
to the division or the sheriff of the county in which the offender is required to register or report
updated information

within thirty (30) days of registration or reporting
.
Failure to submit an application and all
required information
within thirty (30) days of
registration or reporting
updated information
shall be deemed to be a waiver of the offender
'
s ability to request a determination of indigency
and the fees required under
subsection (r) of this section shall be
payable
;

(D
)

The division shall approve or deny an application for a determination of indigency
and provide notice of the determination to the offender
within thirty (30) days of receipt
of the application
;

(
E
)

The division
'
s determination that
the
offender is indigent shall be valid for
a period of
one (1) calendar year from the registration or reporting
updated information
date for which the application was submitted.

Upon the expiration of the period, the offender may submit an application for a new determination of indigency;

(F)

If the division determines t
he offender is not indigent, the offender shall pay the fees required under subsection (r) of this section within thirty (30) days from the date
the offender receives notice of
the denial. An offender may apply for a
determination of indigency

only
once per calendar year, unless the offender can show a material change in circumstances;

(
G
)

The division
'
s determination that an offender
is not i
ndigent is
an agency action
subject to judicial review as provided under W.S. 16
‑
3
‑
114 and 16
‑
3
‑
115.

(t)

The sheriff of the county in which the offender is required to register or report
updated information
shall:

(
i
)

Collect the fees required under s
ubsection (r) of this section;

(ii)

Retain th
e county registration and reporting fees collected
to be expended
for purposes
of administering and enforcing the provisions of this act and
to cover the administrative expenses and costs of collecting and remitting the state
registration and reporting
fees;

(iii)

R
emit to the division
the state
registration and reporting fees to be deposited in the sex offender registration account created by W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
310;
and

(iv
)

Forward

to the division
any applications for a
determination of indigency.

(u)

If

an offender fails to pay the fees required under subsection (r) of this section, the sheriff of the county in which the offender is required to register or report
updated information
shall provide to the division the registration or reporting
information

required under this act
and notify the division of the offender
'
s failure to pay. Unpaid fees become delinquent thirty (30) days after
the date
the fee is imposed,
the date
the offender waives the ability to request a determination of indigency by failing to submit an application or
the date
the division
notifies
the
offender

he
does not qualify as indigent
, whichever is later
. Unpaid fees may be collected by the division as otherwise provided by law and as provided in W.S. 9
‑
1
‑
415(
a). Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the prosecution of an offender for failure to register or report
updated information
or for any other offense.

7
‑
19
‑
307
.

Penalties.

(a)

Failure to register
,

or
update any registration information
or pay
any fee required under
subsection (r) of this section
within the time required under W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302 constitutes a per se violation of this act and is punishable as provided in
subsections (c)
and

(d) of
this section. The division shall notify the appropriate authorities when it discovers that an offender fails to register
,

or
update any registration information
or pay any

fee
required under subsection (r) of this section
within the time required under W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302 or when an offender absconds.

(e)

A person who willfully fails to pay fees required under W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of
not more than
seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), imprisonment in the county jail
for not more than six (6) month
s, or both.

Section
3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2017
.

(END)

Speaker
of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
House
.

Chief Clerk

1