Senator Mike Nozzolio announced the enactment of legislation in the New York State Senate which would help keep communities safer from sexual predators.

"As Chairman of the Senate Codes Committee and former Chairman of the Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee, protecting our children and our communities from dangerous sexual predators is of the greatest importance to me," said Nozzolio.  "These measures will help do just that by making it easier for police, schools, and members of the community to keep track of sex offenders living in their localities, and by curbing instances where sex offenders can be present around children."

The seven bills that were adopted in the State Senate will help to prevent the most dangerous offenders from having contact with children and college students, require more stringent residency reporting requirements for the sex offender registry, strengthen penalties for those who help sex offenders evade registration requirements, and create a public awareness program to educate schools, community groups, and clergy on issues related to sex offenders.

A full list of the bills that were adopted is below:

• Senate Bill 851: Prohibits Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from being placed in temporary and emergency housing or homeless shelters where children are present;
• Senate Bill 869:  Makes it a crime for anyone to knowingly harbor, house, or employ a sex offender who has failed to register or verify residence or employment and fails to contact their local law enforcement agency;
• Senate Bill 2084: Prohibits a sexually violent or Level 3 sex offender who committed a crime against a child from being granted custody and unsupervised visitation with a child.  These sex offenders would remain ineligible from visitation unless they provide clear and convincing evidence that custody or limited visitation would benefit the child;
• Senate Bill 1608: Requires the reporting of multiple residences when a sex offender is living somewhere part-time. Under current law, offenders are only required to register their primary residence with the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). The bill also requires DCJS to develop a notification system to report offenders who have multiple residences;
• Senate Bill S.396:  Requires the Commissioner of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities to contact local officials and school superintendents when a sex offender is transferred to a community program or residence within their municipality;
• Senate Bill S.833:  Prohibits Level 3 sex offenders from living in student housing on college campuses and makes it a class A misdemeanor upon conviction of a first offense, and a class D felony upon conviction for a second or subsequent offense;
• Senate Bill S.845  Establishes a sex offender public awareness outreach program. This program would provide educational outreach to schools, community groups, and clergy on issues related to sex offenders;

These bills will now be sent to the Assembly.

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