NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9608
SPONSOR: Levenberg TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to restricting sex
offenders from residing near the residence of their victim
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to restrict sex offenders from resid-
ing within 1,500 feet of the residence of their victim.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
SECTION 1. Section 168-w of the Correction Law is renumbered section
168-x, and a new section 168-w is added that makes it unlawful for level
2 and 3 sex offenders to knowingly reside within 1,500 feet of their
victim's residence as long as the sex offender is still classified as
such. Any prosecution pursuant to this section shall be an affirmative
defense if, after conviction, the victim establishes a residence within
1,500 feet of the sex offender's residence. A victim is not required to
disclose or notify a sex offender of their location. Violators will be
guilty of a Class E Felony.
SECTION 2. Establishes the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Not applicable at this time.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to a report in the Journal News, in 2011, a level three sex
offender in Putnam County was released from prison after serving approx-
imately sixteen months in jail. Following his release, the offender,
whose victims were eight and nine years old at the time the abuse took
place, was permitted to reside next door to one of the victims of his
abuse. It is important to note that level three sex offenders have a
high risk of a repeat offense and are also considered a threat to public
safety.
This legislation would prohibit a level two or three sex offender from
residing within 1500 feet of the residence of their victim in order to
prevent instances such as the one detailed above. The victims and their
families should not have to bear the burden or costs of moving because
of the offender returning to the neighborhood.
Additionally, victims often live in fear and should not have to tolerate
the emotional distress that may be caused from encountering or being in
the presence of their abuser.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.583 and S.1773 of 2021/2022
A.432 and S.1953 of 2019/2020
A.860 and S.968 of 2017/2018
A.752 and S.2950 of 2015/2016
A.9025-A and S.6778-A (uni-bill) 2013/2014
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the passage of this
legislation.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9608
IN ASSEMBLY
March 26, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LEVENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to restricting sex
offenders from residing near the residence of their victim
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 168-w of the correction law, as renumbered by chap-
2 ter 604 of the laws of 2005, is renumbered section 168-x and a new
3 section 168-w is added to read as follows:
4 § 168-w. Level two and level three sex offender residence limitation;
5 penalty. 1. It shall be unlawful for any level two or level three sex
6 offender to knowingly reside within fifteen hundred feet of the resi-
7 dence of a victim of his or her sex offense or sexually violent offense.
8 2. The residence prohibition established by subdivision one of this
9 section shall remain in effect for as long as the offender is classified
10 as a level two or three sex offender.
11 3. In any prosecution pursuant to this section, it shall be an affir-
12 mative defense that, after the sex offender's conviction of a sex
13 offense or sexually violent offense, the victim of such offense estab-
14 lished a residence within fifteen hundred feet of the sex offender's
15 residence.
16 4. No provision of this section shall be deemed to require the disclo-
17 sure or notification of the address of any victim to a sex offender.
18 5. A sex offender who violates the provisions of subdivision one of
19 this section shall be guilty of a class E felony.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
21 it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04674-01-3
