BILL NUMBER:A10519

TITLE OF BILL:
An  act  to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the offense
of unlawfully residing or entering upon school grounds

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To prohibit certain persons who are required to register as  sex  offen-
ders  from residing or entering upon school grounds during the period of
time such persons are  required  to  register  and  verify  pursuant  to
Correction Law section 168-h.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section  1:  Adds  a  new  section 130.82 to the Penal Law to create the
crime of "Unlawfully Residing or Entering Upon  School  Grounds  in  the
Second  Degree",  a  class A misdemeanor, when a registered sex offender
whose victim was under the age of  18  or  any  Level  3  sex  offenders
resides  or enters upon school grounds as defined in section 220.00 (14)
of Penal Law, during the period of  time  such  person  is  required  to
register  and  verify  under  the Sex Offender Registration Act. Section
220.00 (14) of Penal Law defines "school grounds" as in or on or  within
any  building,  structure,  athletic  playing  field, playground or land
contained within the real property boundary line of a public or  private
elementary,  parochial,  intermediate,  junior high, vocational, or high
school, or (b) any area accessible to  the  public  located  within  one
thousand  feet  of  the  real property boundary line comprising any such
              

school or any parked automobile or other parked vehicle  located  within
one thousand feet of the real property boundary line comprising any such
school.  For  the  purposes  of  this section an "area accessible to the
public" shall mean sidewalks, streets,parking lots, parks,  playgrounds,
stores and restaurants.

Provides  an  affirmative  defense  if  (1)  is  a registered student or
employee of the school or has a family member enrolled  in  the  school,
and  (2)  the  defendant entered upon the school grounds for the limited
purposes authorized by the superintendent or chief administrator of  the
school.

Adds  a  new  section  130.83  to the Penal Law, "Unlawfully Residing or
Entering Upon School Grounds in the First degree",  a  class  E  felony.
This  crime  occurs  when a person commits the second degree offense and
has previously been convicted of the  first  or  second  degree  offense
within the previous five years.

Section 2: Effective date.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:
A  registered  sex  offender  whose victim was under the age of 8 or any
Level  3  sex  offender  released  on  probation,  parole,   conditional
discharge or conditional release may not knowingly enter school grounds.

When  such  sentence ends, the sex offender has no restriction on his or
her movement or residence.

JUSTIFICATION:
Society  has  learned  from past mistakes, but it has often come after a
tragedy that entices us to act. Sex offenders are believed to be amongst
the worst of repeat offenders, with a recidivism rate  especially  high.
Therefore our laws should reflect our knowledge that the recidivism rate
is  high by restricting their activities long after their sentences have
been served. Under current law, persons  who  are  convicted  of  a  sex
offense  where  the victim is under the age of 18 as well as all Level 3
sex offender who are placed on probation, are released by a local condi-
tional release commission, or are released from  prison  on  parole  are
required,  as  a mandatory condition, to refrain from knowingly entering
upon school grounds during the period of time such sex offender is under
supervision by either  the  probation  Department  or  the  Division  of
Parole.

However,  once the sex offender has completed his or her sentence and is
no longer under supervision he or she can  enter  upon  school  grounds.
This bill seeks to change that.

It  is  an  anomaly  that  a  sex  offender who is being supervised by a
probation officer or a parole officer may not enter upon school  grounds
whereas  a sex offender who has no supervision may enter school grounds.
This bill eliminates that anomaly. High risk sex offenders are  required
to  be 011 the sex offender registry for life.  Therefore they should be
restricted from certain activities for life

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2008: A.5517; Held for consideration in Codes
2007: A.5517; Referred to Codes
2006: A.7863; Referred to Codes
2005: A.7863; Referred to Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.