MEGAN'S LAW REVISIONS SET TO BECOME LAW

HARRISBURG –A measure sponsored by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf to improve the public safety protections in Megan's Law has been passed by the General Assembly. 

Senate Bill 92, which is expected to become law with the signature of the Governor, would provide for public access to information on sexually violent predators and sex offenders on the Internet.  The information would be available for the duration that the offender is required to register under Megan's Law and would include a photograph and personal data.  Although approximately 7,000 sexual offenders will have information posted, only those designated as sexually violent predators would be required to list their street address.  Further, the measure requires the State Attorney General to conduct an annual audit of the Megan's Law program.  The legislation provides also that sex offenders convicted in another state must register with police in Pennsylvania within 10 days of moving to the state.  Out-of-state offenders entering Pennsylvania would be subject to the Megan's Law restrictions of the state where they were convicted or to the standards of Pennsylvania's law—whichever is more restrictive.  Two new offenses would be added under Megan's Law: luring a child into a motor vehicle and institutional sexual assault.  The latter offense concerns sexual activity between an employee of a state or county correctional, detention, mental health, or residential facility and an inmate, detainee, patient or resident of such a facility.  The offense, which recognizes that engaging in sexual relations with those over whom one has custodial responsibility is predatory behavior, is added to the Megan's Law offenses to correct an oversight in the Crimes Code dating back to a revision made in the 1990 Special Session on Crime. 

Many of the revisions in the legislation resulted from concerns expressed at a public hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee in July 2004 on improving the law's public safety protections and ensuring that sex offenders who relocate to the commonwealth comply with reporting requirements.  As a result of the hearing, a working group representing the four legislative caucuses, Auditor General Casey's office and the Rendell Administration worked for several months to develop the amendments strengthening Megan's Law's public safety features. 

The legislation contains unrelated provisions on procedures for deficiency judgments involving commercial real property and on limiting the liability of a Pennsylvania company that could be targeted for asbestos-related lawsuits.  The company had no direct link to asbestos liability, but was the successor in a merger with another corporation that had once been subject to asbestos claims.