[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 25 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2001-S2002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Coleman, and Mr. 
        Conrad):
  S. 2154. A bill to establish a National sex offender registration 
database, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a bipartisan piece 
of legislation. As I will describe, this bill seeks to fill a gaping 
hole in our criminal justice system, made tragically evident by a 
recent tragedy in North Dakota.
  Last November, Dru Sjodin, a student at the University of North 
Dakota, was abducted in the parking lot of a Grand Forks shopping mall. 
A suspect has been arrested, and there is significant evidence that he 
was responsible for Dru's abduction. Dru has not been found.
  The tragedy of Dru's abduction is compounded by the fact that her 
alleged assailant, Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr., had been released from 
prison only six months earlier, having served a 23-year sentence for 
rape in Minnesota. And what's more, Minnesota authorities had known 
that he was at high risk of committing another sexual assault if 
released.
  The Minnesota Department of Corrections had rated Rodriguez as a 
``type 3'' offender--meaning that he was at the highest risk for 
reoffending. In an evaluation conducted in January 2003, a prison 
psychiatrist wrote that Rodriguez had demonstrated ``a willingness to 
use substantial force, including the use of a weapon, in order to gain 
compliance from his victims.''
  Despite this determination, the Minnesota Department of Corrections 
released Rodriguez in May 2003, and essentially washed its hands of the 
case. Since Rodriguez had served the full term of his sentence, the 
Department of Corrections imposed no further supervision on him at all.
  Now, the Minnesota Department of Corrections could have recommended 
that the State Attorney General seek what is known as a ``civil 
commitment.'' Under this procedure, a State court would have required 
Rodriguez to be confined as long as he posed a sufficient threat to the 
public, even if he had served his original sentence. But the State 
Attorney General was never notified that Rodriguez was getting out, and 
there was no chance for the Minnesota courts to consider the case.
  So upon his release, Mr. Rodriguez went to live in Crookston, MN, 
completely unsupervised, a short distance from the Grand Forks shopping 
mall where Dru Sjodin was abducted.
  To make matters worse, the North Dakota public had no way of knowing 
that Rodriguez had been released. There is currently no national sex 
offender registry. Each State has its own sex offender registry, which 
tracks only its own residents. So although Minnesota listed Rodriguez 
in its sex offender registry, residents of North Dakota checking their 
own State's sex offender registry would have no way of knowing this.
  For all intents and purposes, Rodriguez was free to prey on nearby 
communities in North Dakota, without fear of recognition.
  This situation is unacceptable. We must do better. A recent study 
found that 72 percent of ``highest risk'' sexual offenders reoffend 
within 6 years of being released. And the Bureau of Justice Statistics 
has determined that sex offenders released from prison are over ten 
times more likely to be arrested for a sexual crime than individuals 
who have no record of sexual assault. We cannot just release such 
individuals with no supervision whatsoever, and let them prey upon an 
unsuspecting public.
  Today, I am offering legislation to that will hopefully ensure that 
these breakdowns in our criminal justice system do not reoccur, and 
that will give our citizens the tools to better protect themselves from 
sexual offenders.
  This bill, which is co-sponsored by Senators Dayton, Coleman, and 
Conrad, does the following three things: First, it directs the 
Department of Justice to create and manage a national sex offender 
registry, which would be accessible to the general public through the 
Internet. This database would allow users of the registry to specify a 
search radius across State lines. This will give residents in the many 
states that have large population centers close to State lines, like 
North Dakota and Minnesota, a much more meaningful report on nearby 
sexual offenders.
  Second, to try to ensure that the highest risk sex offenders are not 
released at all, the bill requires that States provide automatic and 
timely notification to their States attorneys of the planned release of 
any ``high-risk'' sex offender, so that states attorneys can have a 
chance to determine whether to seek a civil commitment of that 
offender.
  And third, the bill requires intensive State supervision of ``high-
risk'' sex offenders released after serving their full sentence--that 
is, offenders who would otherwise go unsupervised--for a period of no 
less than one year.
  The cost of these steps would be shared by the Federal Government and 
the States. The Federal Government would bear the cost of maintaining 
the national sex offender registry, and the States would bear the cost 
of supervising high risk offenders upon their release from prison.
  To ensure compliance with these measures, the legislation would 
reduce Federal funding for prison construction by 25 percent for those 
states that did not comply, and would reallocate such funds to States 
that do comply with those provisions. This will be the ``stick'' that 
some States may need to ensure that they comply with these important 
protections.
  Our thoughts and prayers go to Dru Sjodin's family. I cannot 
guarantee that that passage of the legislation we are introducing today 
will prevent such tragedies from ever occurring again. But I believe 
that it will be a significant step towards making our neighborhoods 
safer for our loved ones.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, 
to secure passage of this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2154

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Sex Offender 
     Registry Act of 2004''.

[[Page S2002]]

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

       In this Act:
       (1) Criminal offense against a victim who is a minor.--The 
     term ``criminal offense against a victim who is a minor'' has 
     the same meaning as in section 170101(a)(3) of the Jacob 
     Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent 
     Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14071(a)(3)).
       (2) Minimally sufficient sexual offender registration 
     program.--The term ``minimally sufficient sexual offender 
     registration program'' has the same meaning as in section 
     170102(a) of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and 
     Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 
     14072(a)).
       (3) Sexually violent offense.--The term ``sexually violent 
     offense'' has the same meaning as in section 170101(a)(3) of 
     the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually 
     Violent Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14071(a)(3)).
       (4) Sexually violent predator.--The term ``sexually violent 
     predator'' has the same meaning as in section 170102(a) of 
     the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually 
     Violent Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14072(a)).

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall establish a 
     National sex offender registry that--
       (1) makes publicly available, via the Internet, all 
     information required to be submitted by States to the 
     Attorney General under subsection (b); and
       (2) allows for users of the registry to determine which 
     registered sex offenders are currently residing within a 
     radius, as specified by the user of the registry, of the 
     location indicated by the user of the registry.
       (b) Information from States.--
       (1) In general.--If any person convicted of a criminal 
     offense against a victim who is a minor or a sexually violent 
     offense, or any sexually violent predator, is required to 
     register with a minimally sufficient sexual offender 
     registration program within a State, including a program 
     established under section 170101 of the Jacob Wetterling 
     Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender 
     Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14017(b)), that State shall 
     submit to the Attorney General--
       (A) the name and any known aliases of the person;
       (B) the date of birth of the person;
       (C) the current address of the person and any subsequent 
     changes of that address;
       (D) a physical description and current photograph of the 
     person;
       (E) the nature of and date of commission of the offense by 
     the person; and
       (F) the date on which the person is released from prison, 
     or placed on parole, supervised release, or probation.
       (2) States without registration program.--The Federal 
     Bureau of Investigation shall collect from any person 
     required to register under section 170102(c) of the Jacob 
     Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent 
     Offender Registration Act (42 U.S.C. 14072(b)) the 
     information required under paragraph (1), and submit that 
     information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the 
     National sex offender registry established under section 2.

     SEC. 4. RELEASE OF HIGH RISK INMATES.

       (a) Civil Commitment Proceedings.--
       (1) In general.--Any State that provides for a civil 
     commitment proceeding, or any equivalent proceeding, shall 
     issue timely notice to the attorney general of that State of 
     the impending release of any person incarcerated by the State 
     who--
       (A) is a sexually violent predator; or
       (B) has been deemed by the State to be at high-risk for 
     recommitting any sexually violent offense or criminal offense 
     against a victim who is a minor.
       (2) Review.--Upon receiving notice under paragraph (1), the 
     State attorney general shall consider whether or not to 
     institute a civil commitment proceeding, or any equivalent 
     proceeding required under State law.
       (b) Monitoring of Released Persons.--
       (1) In general.--Each State shall intensively monitor, for 
     not less than 1 year, any person described under paragraph 
     (2) who--
       (A) has been unconditionally released from incarceration by 
     the State; and
       (B) has not been civilly committed pursuant to a civil 
     commitment proceeding, or any equivalent proceeding under 
     State law.
       (2) Applicability.--Paragraph (1) shall apply to--
       (A) any sexually violent predator; or
       (B) any person who has been deemed by the State to be at 
     high-risk for recommitting any sexually violent offense or 
     criminal offense against a victim who is a minor.

     SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE.

       (a) Compliance Date.--Each State shall have not more than 3 
     years from the date of enactment of this Act in which to 
     implement the requirements of sections 3 and 4.
       (b) Ineligibility for Funds.--A State that fails to submit 
     the information required under section 3(b) to the Attorney 
     General, or fails to implement the requirements of section 4, 
     shall not receive 25 percent of the funds that would 
     otherwise be allocated to the State under section 20106(b) of 
     the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 
     U.S.C. 13706(b)).
       (c) Reallocation of Funds.--Any funds that are not 
     allocated for failure to comply with this section shall be 
     reallocated to States that comply with sections 3 and 4.
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