House Judiciary Committee
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Bills discussed (5)
| Bill | Title | Sponsor | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
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HB1246
· 2 mentions in transcript
Matched: “…an, I do want to ask the chairs to leave that we would move House Bill 1246 to the deferred list, please. Thank you.”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1051
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…Bill 1061 for a special order of business followed by House House Bill 1051, both for special orders of business on February the 8th. T…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1061
· 1 mention in transcript
Matched: “…ers of business, and without objection, I would like to set House Bill 1061 for a special order of business followed by House House Bil…”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
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HB1230
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1230”
|
Pre-2017 bill | ||
|
HB1278
· 1 mention in chapter
Matched: “HB1278”
|
Pre-2017 bill |
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Speaker 2
0:00
We do have a couple of announcements. Vice
Speaker 1
0:04
Chair Wilkins. Vice Chair Wilkins. Vice Chair Wilkins. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'd be happy to bring a message this morning if it is agreed that we also would take an offering. Mr. Chairman, I do want to ask the chairs to leave that we would move House Bill 1246 to the deferred list, please. Thank you.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
0:32
Without objection, we will move House Bill 1246 to the deferred
list. Members, there's been a request for two special orders of business, and without objection, I would like to set House Bill 1061 for a special order of business followed by House House Bill 1051, both for special orders of business on February the 8th. That's Tuesday, February the 8th at 10 a.m. Representative Sanders has – David Sanders has some folks coming down to testify on that
bill as well as Representative Altus has folks coming in to testify for 1051. So both of those will be set for special order of business on February
the 8th, Tuesday, February the 8th. Without objection, we'll do that. We're going to do both of them on the same day, right back
to back. I believe we should be able to get both of those out, and then we'll follow the agendas printed after that.
here have any bill before us they'd like to present because I don't think we have anything else representative Rogers you recognize this Roger presenting
Representative Tiffany Rogers
Unverified
2:08
thank you members of committee. I'm not going to start out by telling you that this is a small bill because I think
it's huge in a lot of respects. It pertains to our sexual predators registration. It would require them not only in their reporting of all the other identification and information when registering, it would require them to disclose also any email, internet addresses or any types of identities that they may have in that respect as well whether it be in this
day and age with the technology that we have and the social media that's out there this seems to be a way that the predators are targeting people these days and so this would be one more reporting mechanism that would keep them in check. I'll be happy to
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
3:11
answer any questions. Thank you, Representative Rogers, for that explanation. Members, are there any questions for Representative Rogers?
Seeing no questions, we have one person signed up to speak against the bill, Robert Combs. Would you like to come forward and identify yourself and who you're with and speak against the bill? Good morning, Mr. Chairman,
Robert Combs
Unverified
3:44
members of the committee, Representative Rogers. My name is Robert Combs with Arkansas Time After Time.
And I need to take issue with sexual predator registration. There is no sexual predator registration, there's sex offense registration. According to testimony here in the last two days, sexual predators constitute less than 10% of those on the sex offender registry. So to classify all sex offenders as sexual predators, classifies more than 90% as to what less than 10% are adjudicated as. In terms of the bill itself, I was surprised to see that every six months a registered
sex offender must report changes to their race, to their gender, to their date of birth. I suppose these things can be changed, but it's difficult to ascertain. The addition of computer information is, in the view of Arkansas time after time, a violation of the privacy of the people who were not involved in computer-oriented crimes. The vast majority of those on the sex offender registry were not accused of using a computer
in their offense, forcing people who were convicted of public urination to register their privacy information in the same status as enforcing those who were convicted of a computer crime seems unreasonable, and that's all I have to say. MR. Thank you, Mr.
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
5:23
Combs. Just for clarity, you understand that the requirement to register your name, age, race, et cetera, that's currently in the law. That's not what's before us right now. MR.
I understand. MR. Okay, correct. Any questions for Mr. Combs?
Speaker 19
5:39
Representative Branskin. Representative Branskin. Mr. Coffman, what is your organization
Robert Combs
Unverified
5:43
Time After Time? Arkansas Time After Time is a grassroots organization that supports sex offender education and advocacy. We're affiliated with three national organizations, SOSEN, SOSEN Sex Offender Support and Education Network, RSOL Reform Sex Offender Laws, and Cure Sort, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, Sex Offenders Reintegration Through Treatment.
Our main goal is to create safer communities and to reduce recidivism. Our mission is to help people understand that the label sex offender is not a catch-all label. When we label members of a specific group in society that damages that group, we need to make sure that there's a difference understood between people who are convicted of public urination and multiple rapists. People who are convicted of child molestation or teenagers receiving a sexed message from their girlfriend. Now they're all lumped into the same group, sex offenders, or sex predators, if you want.
And our job is to let people understand that there is a difference, that people who are sex offenders live next door. Thank you. Male Speaker 2, President Shepard, do you recognize for a
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
6:53
question? Male Speaker 2, President Shepard, Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now
Speaker 27
6:58
as I understand it, these... Male Speaker 2, President Shepard, Thank you for elevating me, Mr. Shepard, but I'm only the chairman
Speaker 29
7:08
today. Well, just trying to curry some favor. So noted, it's done.
Representative Matthew Shepherd
Unverified
7:15
I guess that's what a two-hour drive from Eldorado this morning. Trying to be here on time will do to you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Now, I just want to be clear about this and make sure I'm understanding correctly. This bill applies only to sex offenders who are subject to lifetime registration. Is that right? That's correct. Now, are you suggesting that someone who's convicted of public urination has to register for a lifetime? Is that the current state of the law? Yes. And then the second part of it is with regard to this is sexually violent predators as well.
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
7:50
Yes. That's the second part of it. Yeah. Thank you. Mr. Walker, do you want to ask for a question? Maybe you're not the person for me to address this question to, but did you say that a person who's convicted of public urination is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his or her life?
Robert Combs
Unverified
8:20
After 15 years on the registry, they can seek relief.
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
8:23
What if it's an emergency and a person just happens to be in a situation where there are no facilities. That person has to register for the rest of his or her life? You have to join the rapists and
Speaker 16
8:32
the child molestation. All right. How long has that law been on the books? Again, I'm not the one
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
8:43
to answer that. All right. Thank you, Mr. Walker. I see Brad Cazort in the audience. I know, Brad, you don't want to be
drugging this. I think you can bring some clarity to this issue if you don't mind coming and helping us out here.
I'm sorry to drag you into this. Brad, would you state your name and who you represent and help answer some
Speaker 42
9:06
of these questions about the requirements? MR. Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Brad Cazor with the Arkansas Crime Information Center. To answer your question, the sex offender law was enacted in 1997, so it's coming up on its 14th year in existence. In the sex offender law, there's 18 or 19 specified named offenses that if you're convicted
of one of those offenses you are required to register as a sex offender one of those offenses is indecent exposure somebody who is in public urination it's going to be up to the for the police or the prosecutor want to charge him with indecent exposure for that act indecent exposure in and of itself is
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
9:50
a registrable mister walker you recognize now i'm aware that at certain points in the lives of people as they evolve with age
uh... they may be said not to be able to pay it by a bathroom uh... and in some circumstances uh... they have no control for those persons are also uh... in a situation where they may be required to register for lifetime for
an act of nature for the walkers that we
Speaker 42
10:21
don't in we're not the agency that enforces that law that that is going to be a decision based upon the discretion of
police who make an arrest and whether or not the prosecutor wants to charge our job is to maintain the records of those who are convicted of of sex offenses but we don't charge anybody with any violation of crime as that a sex offense when one
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
10:42
has to your name and then there's no place to do it other than in the always that may be
Speaker 42
10:48
all I can tell you, Representative Walker, is that the current law provides indecent exposure as a named defense. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Gazzard. I'm sorry
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
10:55
to go afoul, Representative Rogers. I wanted to try to clarify what was said by the Speaker.
I know it's not necessarily directly related to your bill, so let's – and I apologize for moving the committee a little past this bill. Let's focus our questions back on this bill. We have David Raup from the Attorney
General's Office who's signed up to speak on the bill. I'm not sure if it's for or against. I'm
sorry. For the bill. Thank you, David. Please identify
Speaker 54
11:28
yourself. David Raup from the Attorney General's Office.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice Chair, members. This is a bill from the Attorney General's package, and we support this bill. This codifies actually some current practice from the Crime Information Center requiring this information. We think it's vitally important that people who are already registered, this bill doesn't address who should register, but people who are already convicted and required to register
to provide this information, as one of the members has already pointed out, two different groups, lifetime registrants every six months, sexual predators every three months, which is current law. And this is information that is helpful to track criminal activity that these sexual offenders might commit on the Internet and through Internet-type media. That's why email addresses, screen names, things like that.
And so the attorney general fully supports this bill. It's part of his package, and I'm happy to answer a question if
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
12:44
there are any. MR. Mr. Raup, the attorney general's office has recently created a cyber crimes unit. Is that correct? MR. That's correct. MR. And is this bill intended to further your efforts in that regard? MR. Yes. MR. Okay. Thank you. Representative Hammer,
Representative Kim Hammer
Unverified
13:03
I think you had a question earlier. Representative Rogers, if I understood the conversation that's taking place today, there's
a group of individuals, I think 15 was the number of the type of violations like Mr. Walker was referring to that you can be grouped in. Are there any statistics or does anything drive the necessity to add this to the bill that shows that somebody that may start off as public indecency just because they were maybe exercising privileges on the side of the road gravitate and that this information would be valuable to help identify those people that are, you know, becoming repeat offenders,
maybe starting off at the least of the levels that
Representative Tiffany Rogers
Unverified
13:44
are progressing up? I can't speak specifically to statistics myself, and someone else in the audience may be able to, but I think it's definitely out there that the methods of social media and the Internet have opened up opportunities for people to
Representative Kathy Webb
Unverified
14:01
be able to do this type of activity behind closed doors literally have a motion
Speaker 29
14:08
appropriate time please thank us and hammer
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
14:11
how representative shepherd you recognize for question
Speaker 8
14:20
any questions for mr. route versus rogers would you
Representative Tiffany Rogers
Unverified
14:27
like to close for your bill appreciate the committee's consideration and I would just offer that uh... when this bill went into existence some fourteen years ago it was not we didn't have the methods of social media that we have today and open up that type and it becomes necessary to add this as just a further
deterrent in the registration process and with that i would ask for
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
14:51
a good vote thank you rogers hammer has made a motion i would like to recognize for motion you pass you pass was a hammer as a motion of do pass uh... all those in favor i opposed no congratulations rogers you have passed your bill members the rest of the bills that are on our active agenda uh... the sponsors
either are in committee and cannot get out to run them or they've been asked that we hold them for a while. Unless there's any additional business before this committee, we stand adjourned until Tuesday. Thank you.
Agenda
HB1278
HB1230
Documents
No documents posted.
Speakers
Speaker 2
Speaker 1
Representative Darrin Williams
Unverified
Speaker 9
Representative Tiffany Rogers
Unverified
Robert Combs
Unverified
Speaker 19
Speaker 27
Speaker 29
Representative Matthew Shepherd
Unverified
Representative John W. Walker
Unverified
Speaker 16
Speaker 42
Speaker 54
Representative Kim Hammer
Unverified
Representative Kathy Webb
Unverified
Speaker 8