[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 46 (Friday, March 8, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10758-10759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5509]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of the Attorney General

[OAG 103P; A.G. Order No. 2563-2002]
RIN 1105-AA81


Guidelines for the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act Amendment to 
the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent 
Offender Registration Act

AGENCY: Department of Justice.

ACTION: Proposed guidelines.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Justice is publishing Proposed 
Guidelines to implement an amendment to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes 
Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act enacted 
by the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 7, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to David J. Karp, Senior Counsel, 
Office of Legal Policy, Room 4503, Main Justice Building, 950 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control 
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub. L. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796, 2038 
(codified at 42 U.S.C. 14071) contains the Jacob Wetterling Crimes 
Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (the 
``Wetterling Act''). The Wetterling Act sets minimum national standards 
for state sex offender registration and community notification 
programs, and directs the Attorney General to issue guidelines for such 
programs. The current Wetterling Act guidelines were published on 
January 5, 1999, in the Federal Register (64 FR 572, with corrections 
at 64 FR 3590). States that fail to comply with the Wetterling Act's 
requirements (as implemented and explained in the Attorney General's 
guidelines) are subject to a mandatory 10% reduction of the formula 
grant funding available under the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local 
Law Enforcement Assistance Program (42 U.S.C. 3756), which is 
administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the Department of 
Justice.
    Subsequent to the publication of the current Wetterling Act 
guidelines, the Wetterling Act was amended by the Campus Sex Crimes 
Prevention Act (the ``CSCPA''), Pub. L. 106-386, div. B, Sec. 1601, 114 
Stat. 1464, 1537 (2000). The CSCPA provides special requirements 
relating to registration and community notification for sex offenders 
who are enrolled in or work at institutions of higher education. These 
supplementary guidelines are necessary to take account of the CSCPA 
amendment to the Wetterling Act. The deadline for state compliance with 
the CSCPA amendment is October 27, 2002.

Proposed Guidelines

    The CSCPA provisions appear in subsection (j) of the Wetterling Act 
(42 U.S.C. 14071(j)). As provided in subsection (j), any person 
required to register under a state sex offender registration program 
must notify the state concerning each institution of higher education 
(i.e., post-secondary school) in the state at which the person is a 
student or works, and of each change in enrollment or employment status 
of the person at such an institution. States can comply with the 
Wetterling Act's requirements concerning these registrants, in part, 
by: (1) Advising registrants concerning these specific obligations when 
they are generally advised of their registration obligations, as 
discussed in part II.A of the January 5, 1999, Wetterling Act 
guidelines (64 FR 572, 579), (2) including in the registration 
information obtained from each registrant information concerning any 
expected enrollment or employment at an institution of higher education 
in the state, and (3) establishing procedures for registrants to notify 
the state concerning any subsequent commencement or termination of 
enrollment or employment at such an institution. The failure of a 
registrant to notify the state concerning enrollment or employment at 
an institution of higher education or the termination of such 
enrollment or employment would constitute a failure to register or keep 
such registration current for purposes of subsection (d) of the 
Wetterling Act (42 U.S.C. 14071(d)), and must be subject to criminal 
penalties as provided in that subsection.
    Under the requirements of subsection (j) of the Wetterling Act, 
state procedures must also ensure that information concerning a 
registrant enrolled or working at an institution of higher education is 
promptly made available to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction 
where the institution is located, and entered into the appropriate 
state records or data system. This requirement applies both to any 
information initially obtained from registrants concerning enrollment 
or employment at institutions of higher education in the state, and 
information concerning subsequent changes in such enrollment or 
employment status.
    Subsection (j)'s requirement to promptly make the information 
available to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the 
institution is located is supplementary to the requirement under 
subsection (b)(2)(A) and (4) of the Wetterling Act (42 U.S.C. 
14071(b)(2)(A), (4)) to promptly make information concerning 
registrants available to a law enforcement agency having jurisdiction 
where the registrant resides. The legislative history of the Campus Sex 
Crimes Prevention Act explains subsection (j)'s requirement as follows:
    Once information about an offender's enrollment at, or 
employment by, an institution of higher education has been provided 
to a state's sex offender registration program, that information 
should be shared with that school's law enforcement unit as soon as 
possible.
    The reason for this is simple. An institution's law enforcement 
unit will have the most direct responsibility for protecting that 
school's community and daily contact with those that should be 
informed about the presence of the convicted offender.
    If an institution does not have a campus police department, or 
other form of state recognized law enforcement agency, the sex 
offender information could then be shared with a local law 
enforcement agency having primary jurisdiction for the campus.

146 Cong. Rec. S10216 (Oct. 11, 2000) (remarks of Senator Kyl).

    Thus, if an institution of higher education has a campus police 
department or other form of state recognized law enforcement agency, 
state procedures must ensure that information concerning the enrollment 
or employment of registrants at that institution (and subsequent 
changes in registrants' enrollment or employment status) is promptly 
made available to the campus police department or law enforcement 
agency. If there is no such department or agency at the institution, 
then state procedures must ensure that this information is promptly 
made available to some other law enforcement agency having jurisdiction 
where the institution is located. Regardless of whether an institution 
of higher education has its own law enforcement unit, the Wetterling 
Act does not limit the discretion of states to make information 
concerning registrants enrolled or working at the institution

[[Page 10759]]

available to other law enforcement agencies as well.
    The language of subsection (j) refers specifically to any 
registrant who ``is employed, carries on a vocation, or is a student'' 
at an institution of higher education in the state. These terms have 
defined meanings set forth in subsection (a)(3)(F)-(G) of the 
Wetterling Act (42 U.S.C. 14071(a)(3)(F)-(G)). In light of these 
definitions, the registrants to whom the requirements of subsection (j) 
apply are those who: (1) Are enrolled in any institution of higher 
education in the state on a full-time or part-time basis, or (2) have 
any sort of full-time or part-time employment at an institution of 
higher education in the state, with or without compensation, for more 
than 14 days, or for an aggregate period exceeding thirty days in a 
calendar year.
    The CSCPA provisions in subsection (j) of the Wetterling Act are 
supplementary to, and do not limit or supersede, the provisions in 
subsection (b)(7)(B) of the Wetterling Act that require states to 
accept registration information from offenders who reside outside a 
state but come into the state in order to work or attend school. 
Subsection (b)(7)(B) applies only to non-resident workers and students, 
but it is not limited in scope to those who work at or attend 
institutions of higher education (as opposed to other places of 
employment or schools). The requirements under subsection (b)(7)(B) are 
explained in part of V.B.2 of the January 5, 1999, Wetterling Act 
guidelines (64 FR 572, 585).
    The CSCPA's effective date for its amendment to the Wetterling Act 
is two years after enactment. States accordingly have until October 27, 
2002, to come into compliance with subsection (j) of the Wetterling 
Act. States that fail to come into compliance within the specified time 
period will be subject to a mandatory 10% reduction of Byrne Formula 
Grant funding, and funds that are not allocated to noncomplying states 
will be reallocated to states that are in compliance.
    If a state's funding is reduced because of a failure to comply with 
the CSCPA amendment to the Wetterling Act or other Wetterling Act 
requirements by an applicable deadline, the state may regain 
eligibility for full funding in later program years by establishing 
compliance with all applicable requirements of the Wetterling Act in 
such later years.
    States are encouraged to submit information concerning existing and 
proposed sex offender registration provisions relating to compliance 
with the CSCPA amendment with as much lead-time as possible. This will 
enable the reviewing authority to assess the status of state compliance 
with the CSCPA provisions and to suggest any necessary changes to 
achieve compliance before the funding reduction goes into effect. At 
the latest, states should aim to submit to the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance by August 27, 2002, information that shows compliance with 
the requirements of subsection (j) of the Wetterling Act. After the 
reviewing authority has determined that a state is in compliance with 
the Wetterling Act, the state has a continuing obligation to maintain 
its system's consistency with the Wetterling Act's standards, and will 
be required as part of the Byrne Formula Grant application process in 
subsequent program years to certify that the state remains in 
compliance with the Wetterling Act.
    These guidelines relate solely to the provisions of the CSCPA that 
amended the Wetterling Act, and hence affect state eligibility for full 
Byrne Grant funding. In addition to adding subsection (j) to the 
Wetterling Act, the CSCPA amended federal education laws to ensure the 
availability to the campus community of information concerning the 
presence of registered sex offenders. Explanation for these provisions 
will be provided in regulations issued by the Department of Education.
    As noted above, the general guidelines for the Wetterling Act were 
published on January 5, 1999, and appear at 64 FR 572. The new CSCPA 
provisions in subsection (j), which these supplementary guidelines 
address, are only one part of the Wetterling Act. States must comply 
with all of the Wetterling Act's requirements in order to maintain 
eligibility for full Byrne Grant funding.

    Dated: March 1, 2002.
John Ashcroft,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 02-5509 Filed 3-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-19-P