1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to sex offenders; regulating the placement of 
  1.3             high-risk sex offenders after release from prison; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.5             244.052, subdivisions 3 and 4a. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.8   244.052, subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [END-OF-CONFINEMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE.] (a) The 
  1.10  commissioner of corrections shall establish and administer 
  1.11  end-of-confinement review committees at each state correctional 
  1.12  facility and at each state treatment facility where sex 
  1.13  offenders are confined.  The committees shall assess on a 
  1.14  case-by-case basis the public risk posed by sex offenders who 
  1.15  are about to be released from confinement. 
  1.16     (b) Each committee shall be a standing committee and shall 
  1.17  consist of the following members appointed by the commissioner: 
  1.18     (1) the chief executive officer or head of the correctional 
  1.19  or treatment facility where the offender is currently confined, 
  1.20  or that person's designee; 
  1.21     (2) a law enforcement officer; 
  1.22     (3) a treatment professional who is trained in the 
  1.23  assessment of sex offenders; 
  1.24     (4) a caseworker experienced in supervising sex offenders; 
  1.25  and 
  2.1      (5) a victim's services professional. 
  2.2      Members of the committee, other than the facility's chief 
  2.3   executive officer or head, shall be appointed by the 
  2.4   commissioner to two-year terms.  The chief executive officer or 
  2.5   head of the facility or designee shall act as chair of the 
  2.6   committee and shall use the facility's staff, as needed, to 
  2.7   administer the committee, obtain necessary information from 
  2.8   outside sources, and prepare risk assessment reports on 
  2.9   offenders. 
  2.10     (c) The committee shall have access to the following data 
  2.11  on a sex offender only for the purposes of its assessment and to 
  2.12  defend the committee's risk assessment determination upon 
  2.13  administrative review under this section: 
  2.14     (1) private medical data under section 13.42 or 144.335, or 
  2.15  welfare data under section 13.46 that relate to medical 
  2.16  treatment of the offender; 
  2.17     (2) private and confidential court services data under 
  2.18  section 13.84; 
  2.19     (3) private and confidential corrections data under section 
  2.20  13.85; and 
  2.21     (4) private criminal history data under section 13.87. 
  2.22     Data collected and maintained by the committee under this 
  2.23  paragraph may not be disclosed outside the committee, except as 
  2.24  provided under section 13.05, subdivision 3 or 4.  The sex 
  2.25  offender has access to data on the offender collected and 
  2.26  maintained by the committee, unless the data are confidential 
  2.27  data received under this paragraph. 
  2.28     (d)(i) Except as otherwise provided in item (ii), at least 
  2.29  90 days before a sex offender is to be released from 
  2.30  confinement, the commissioner of corrections shall convene the 
  2.31  appropriate end-of-confinement review committee for the purpose 
  2.32  of assessing the risk presented by the offender and determining 
  2.33  the risk level to which the offender shall be assigned under 
  2.34  paragraph (e).  The offender and the law enforcement agency that 
  2.35  was responsible for the charge resulting in confinement shall be 
  2.36  notified of the time and place of the committee's meeting.  The 
  3.1   offender has a right to be present and be heard at the meeting.  
  3.2   The law enforcement agency may provide material in writing that 
  3.3   is relevant to the offender's risk level to the chair of the 
  3.4   committee.  The committee shall use the risk factors described 
  3.5   in paragraph (g) and the risk assessment scale developed under 
  3.6   subdivision 2 to determine the offender's risk assessment score 
  3.7   and risk level.  Offenders scheduled for release from 
  3.8   confinement shall be assessed by the committee established at 
  3.9   the facility from which the offender is to be released.  
  3.10     (ii) If an offender is received for confinement in a 
  3.11  facility with less than 90 days remaining in the offender's term 
  3.12  of confinement, the offender's risk shall be assessed at the 
  3.13  first regularly scheduled end of confinement review committee 
  3.14  that convenes after the appropriate documentation for the risk 
  3.15  assessment is assembled by the committee.  The commissioner 
  3.16  shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that offender's risk is 
  3.17  assessed and a risk level is assigned or reassigned at least 30 
  3.18  days before the offender's release date. 
  3.19     (e) The committee shall assign to risk level I a sex 
  3.20  offender whose risk assessment score indicates a low risk of 
  3.21  reoffense.  The committee shall assign to risk level II an 
  3.22  offender whose risk assessment score indicates a moderate risk 
  3.23  of reoffense.  The committee shall assign to risk level III an 
  3.24  offender whose risk assessment score indicates a high risk of 
  3.25  reoffense. 
  3.26     (f) Before the sex offender is released from confinement, 
  3.27  the committee shall prepare a risk assessment report which 
  3.28  specifies the risk level to which the offender has been assigned 
  3.29  and the reasons underlying the committee's risk assessment 
  3.30  decision.  The committee shall give the report to the offender 
  3.31  and to the law enforcement agency at least 60 days before an 
  3.32  offender is released from confinement.  If the risk assessment 
  3.33  is performed under the circumstances described in paragraph (d), 
  3.34  item (ii), the report shall be given to the offender and the law 
  3.35  enforcement agency as soon as it is available.  The committee 
  3.36  also shall inform the offender of the availability of review 
  4.1   under subdivision 6. 
  4.2      (g) As used in this subdivision, "risk factors" includes, 
  4.3   but is not limited to, the following factors: 
  4.4      (1) the seriousness of the offense should the offender 
  4.5   reoffend.  This factor includes consideration of the following:  
  4.6      (i) the degree of likely force or harm; 
  4.7      (ii) the degree of likely physical contact; and 
  4.8      (iii) the age of the likely victim; 
  4.9      (2) the offender's prior offense history.  This factor 
  4.10  includes consideration of the following: 
  4.11     (i) the relationship of prior victims to the offender; 
  4.12     (ii) the number of prior offenses or victims; 
  4.13     (iii) the duration of the offender's prior offense history; 
  4.14     (iv) the length of time since the offender's last prior 
  4.15  offense while the offender was at risk to commit offenses; and 
  4.16     (v) the offender's prior history of other antisocial acts; 
  4.17     (3) the offender's characteristics.  This factor includes 
  4.18  consideration of the following:  
  4.19     (i) the offender's response to prior treatment efforts; and 
  4.20     (ii) the offender's history of substance abuse; 
  4.21     (4) the availability of community supports to the offender. 
  4.22  This factor includes consideration of the following: 
  4.23     (i) the availability and likelihood that the offender will 
  4.24  be involved in therapeutic treatment; 
  4.25     (ii) the availability of residential supports to the 
  4.26  offender, such as a stable and supervised living arrangement in 
  4.27  an appropriate location; 
  4.28     (iii) the offender's familial and social relationships, 
  4.29  including the nature and length of these relationships and the 
  4.30  level of support that the offender may receive from these 
  4.31  persons; and 
  4.32     (iv) the offender's lack of education or employment 
  4.33  stability; 
  4.34     (5) whether the offender has indicated or credible evidence 
  4.35  in the record indicates that the offender will reoffend if 
  4.36  released into the community; and 
  5.1      (6) whether the offender demonstrates a physical condition 
  5.2   that minimizes the risk of reoffense, including but not limited 
  5.3   to, advanced age or a debilitating illness or physical condition.
  5.4      (h) Upon the request of the law enforcement agency or the 
  5.5   offender's corrections agent, the commissioner may reconvene the 
  5.6   end-of-confinement review committee for the purpose of 
  5.7   reassessing the risk level to which an offender has been 
  5.8   assigned under paragraph (e).  In a request for a reassessment, 
  5.9   the law enforcement agency which was responsible for the charge 
  5.10  resulting in confinement or agent shall list the facts and 
  5.11  circumstances arising after the initial assignment or facts and 
  5.12  circumstances known to law enforcement or the agent but not 
  5.13  considered by the committee under paragraph (e) which support 
  5.14  the request for a reassessment.  The request for reassessment 
  5.15  must occur within 30 days of receipt of the report indicating 
  5.16  the offender's risk level assignment.  Upon review of the 
  5.17  request, the end-of-confinement review committee may reassign an 
  5.18  offender to a different risk level.  If the offender is 
  5.19  reassigned to a higher risk level, the offender has the right to 
  5.20  seek review of the committee's determination under subdivision 6.
  5.21     (i) An offender may request the end-of-confinement review 
  5.22  committee to reassess the offender's assigned risk level after 
  5.23  two years have elapsed since the committee's initial risk 
  5.24  assessment and may renew the request once every two years 
  5.25  following subsequent denials.  In a request for reassessment, 
  5.26  the offender shall list the facts and circumstances which 
  5.27  demonstrate that the offender no longer poses the same degree of 
  5.28  risk to the community.  The committee shall follow the process 
  5.29  outlined in paragraphs (a) to (e), and (g) in the reassessment. 
  5.30     (j) The commissioner shall establish an end-of-confinement 
  5.31  review committee to assign a risk level to offenders who are 
  5.32  released from a federal correctional facility in Minnesota or 
  5.33  another state and who intend to reside in Minnesota, and to 
  5.34  offenders accepted from another state under a reciprocal 
  5.35  agreement for parole supervision under the interstate compact 
  5.36  authorized by section 243.16.  The committee shall make 
  6.1   reasonable efforts to conform to the same timelines as applied 
  6.2   to Minnesota cases.  Offenders accepted from another state under 
  6.3   a reciprocal agreement for probation supervision are not 
  6.4   assigned a risk level, but are considered downward dispositional 
  6.5   departures.  The probation or court services officer and law 
  6.6   enforcement officer shall manage such cases in accordance with 
  6.7   section 244.10, subdivision 2a.  The policies and procedures of 
  6.8   the committee for federal offenders and interstate compact cases 
  6.9   must be in accordance with all requirements as set forth in this 
  6.10  section, unless restrictions caused by the nature of federal or 
  6.11  interstate transfers prevents such conformance. 
  6.12     (k) If the committee assigns a sex offender to risk level 
  6.13  III, the committee shall determine whether residency 
  6.14  restrictions shall be included in the conditions of the 
  6.15  offender's release based on the offender's pattern of offending 
  6.16  behavior.  In addition to any other residency restrictions 
  6.17  required by the committee, the committee must require that the 
  6.18  offender's approved release plan prohibit the offender from 
  6.19  residing within 12 blocks of a school or a day care facility. 
  6.20     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  6.21  244.052, subdivision 4a, is amended to read: 
  6.22     Subd. 4a.  [LEVEL III OFFENDERS; LOCATION OF RESIDENCE.] 
  6.23  When an offender assigned to risk level III is released from 
  6.24  confinement or a residential facility to reside in the community 
  6.25  or changes residence while on supervised or conditional release, 
  6.26  the agency responsible for the offender's supervision shall take 
  6.27  into consideration the proximity of the offender's residence to 
  6.28  that of other level III offenders and, to the greatest extent 
  6.29  feasible, shall mitigate the concentration of level III 
  6.30  offenders. ensure that the offender's residence address complies 
  6.31  with the limitations contained in the offender's approved 
  6.32  release plan. 
  6.33     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.34     Sections 1 and 2 are effective August 1, 2000, and apply to 
  6.35  offenders released from confinement or residential facilities on 
  6.36  or after that date, and to changes of residence by offenders 
  7.1   after that date.