HB 120: Sex Offender Registration
2007 General Session

Sponsor: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee

HB 120 amended a number of provisions related to required registration of convicted sex offenders. Until now, convicted sex offenders had to register within 10 days of moving to Wyoming or changing residence in the state. HB 120 reduced the time in which an offender must register to three days.

HB 120 eliminated district court hearings to determine the level of risk for re-offense that an offender may pose. The bill eliminated the risk levels for re-offense that exist in current statute, and required all levels of sexual offenders to register. Registration information about all offenders will be provided to the general public through a public registry.

Before the passage of HB 120, aggravated sex offenders (as defined by statute) or recidivists (repeat offenders) were required to register for the duration of their life. Those convicted of less serious sexual offenses had to register for 10 years after serving their sentence. HB 120 increased the time of required registration for these offenders to 15 years.

Finally, HB 120 increased the penalties for failure to register to felony status punishable by a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment up to five years, or both.

Opponents of this bill argued that it would remove due process safeguards, take away judicial discretion, and treat all sexual offenders including adolescents as sexual predators, with no consideration for specific case circumstances or likelihood of re-offense. They also worried that requiring all sex offenders to register, regardless of the seriousness of the crime, would actually dilute the value of the sex offender registry by obscuring the most heinous sexual predators from easy public notice.

The House passed HB 120, 58-2. The Senate passed the bill, 25-4 (1 excused). The votes listed below are the House and Senate third reading (final passage) votes. A YES vote means the legislator wanted to expand the required registration of sex offenders, and to do away with risk levels for re-offense. A NO vote means the legislator did not want to make these changes related to sex offender registration.

LSO HEA 0113 (Enrolled version of HB 120)