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SF0028 • 2022

Sex offender termination of duty to register-amendments.

AN ACT relating to criminal history records; clarifying that time when a sex offender was not required to register under law shall count toward the registration periods for purposes of seeking discretionary relief from the registration requirement; requiring notice of filed petitions for relief to the division of criminal investigation; authorizing the division to file responsive pleadings; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Judiciary
Last action
2022-02-21
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2022

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the exact conditions under which a sex offender can be relieved of registration requirements, only that they must maintain a clean record for ten or twenty-five years as applicable.

Amendments to Sex Offender Registration Requirements

This act changes how time periods are counted for sex offenders seeking relief from registration requirements and sets rules for notifying authorities about petitions for relief.

What This Bill Does

  • Clarifies that any period when a sex offender was not required by law to register counts towards the ten-year or twenty-five-year requirement needed to petition for relief from registration.
  • Requires that notices of filed petitions for relief be sent to the division of criminal investigation and prosecuting attorneys.
  • Allows the division of criminal investigation and prosecuting attorneys to file responses within thirty days after receiving a notice of a petition.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Sex offenders who have been registered for at least ten years (for certain offenses) or twenty-five years (for other specified offenses).
  • District courts handling petitions from sex offenders seeking relief from registration.
  • The division of criminal investigation and prosecuting attorneys involved in the process.

Terms To Know

petition for relief
A request made by a registered sex offender to be relieved of the duty to continue registering with authorities.
division of criminal investigation
The agency responsible for investigating crimes and maintaining records related to criminal history in Wyoming.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill did not pass during its session.
  • It does not specify the exact conditions under which a sex offender can be relieved of registration requirements, only that they must maintain a clean record for ten or twenty-five years as applicable.

Bill History

  1. 2022-02-21 Senate

    S COW:Failed 9-21-0-0-0

  2. 2022-02-18 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  3. 2022-02-18 Senate

    S01 - Judiciary:Recommend Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0

  4. 2022-02-15 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S01 - Judiciary 24-6-0-0-0

  5. 2022-01-19 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  6. 2022-01-12 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
22LSO-0186
2022
STATE OF WYOMING
22LSO-0186
Numbered
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0028

Sex offender termination of duty to register-amendments.

Sponsored by: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to criminal history records; clarifying that time when a sex offender was not required to register under law shall count toward the registration periods for purposes of seeking discretionary relief from the registration requirement; requiring notice of filed petitions for relief to the division of criminal investigation; authorizing the division to file responsive pleadings; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

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

Section 1
.

W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
304(a)(i), (ii)(intro) and (iii) is amended to read:

7
‑
19
‑
304.

Termination of duty to register.

(a)

The duty to register under W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302 shall begin on the date of sentencing and continue for the duration of the offender's life, subject to the following:

(i)

An offender specified in W.S. 7
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19
‑
302(g) or adjudicated as a delinquent for offenses specified in W.S. 7
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19
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302(j), who has been registered for at least ten (10) years, exclusive of periods of confinement and periods in which the offender was not registered as required by law
but inclusive of any other period of time that an offender was not required to register under this act
, may petition the district court for the district in which the offender is registered to be relieved of the duty to continue to register if the offender has maintained a clean record as provided in subsection (d) of this section.

Upon a showing that the offender has maintained a clean record as provided in subsection (d) of this section for ten (10) years, the
district court may order the offender relieved of the duty to continue registration;

(ii)

An offender specified in W.S. 7
‑
19
‑
302(h) who has been registered for at least twenty
‑
five (25) years, exclusive of periods of confinement and periods in which the offender was not registered as required by law
but inclusive of any other period of time that an offender was not required to register under this act
, may petition the district court for the district in which the offender is registered to be relieved of the duty to continue to register if the offender has maintained a clean record as provided in subsection (d) of this section. Upon a showing that the offender has maintained a clean record as provided in subsection (d) of this section for twenty
‑
five (25) years, the district court may order the offender relieved of the duty to continue registration; and

(iii)

A petition filed under this subsection shall be served on the
division and the
prosecuting attorney for the county in which the petition is filed.

The court shall not grant a petition that was not served on
the prosecuting attorney
or the division
. The prosecuting attorney
and the division
may file a responsive pleading within thirty (30) days after service of the petition.

Section 2.

The provisions of this act shall apply to all offenders sentenced before, on or after the effective date of this act.

Section 3
.

This act is
effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0028