07/18/2011
By Chuck Biedka
Pennsylvania won't meet a July deadline to modify its sex offender laws, but state officials are confident they will be exempted from a fine.
- Why should they be exempt?
The federal government is threatening to withhold 10 percent of some Department of Justice (DOJ) grants for states that miss the July 27 deadline to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
That could amount to almost $2 million for Pennsylvania based on the average allocated to the state in recent years.
- But as said before, overall, it will cost a lot more to comply with the laws.
So far, Pennsylvania is among 40 states that haven't won final approval of sex-offender laws from the federal office that supervises the federal program.
States must reapply to get the withheld money returned to implement sex offender law changes, but there is no guarantee that they will get the money back.
Gov. Tom Corbett's chief spokesman Kevin Harley said the state "substantially complies" with the act and is formally asking the DOJ to waive the potential fine.
"We haven't received an official submission from Pennsylvania. Until we do and have issued a decision to the state, we cannot comment or speculate on any penalty or compliance issues.," said Scott G. Matson, a senior policy advisor for the federal oversight office.
Harley said state officials are confident the exemption will be granted because the state has taken numerous steps, including updating the state police sexual offender's web site.
Two offender-reporting loopholes have been closed by Pennsylvania lawmakers.
In addition, an overall corrective bill is in the Senate Judiciary committee awaiting action when the General Assembly is back in session in September, Harley said.
SB1130 (PDF) is sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless, and cosponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart R. Greenleaf, R-Bucks, Montgomery, and many others.
The measure strengthens reporting requirements for sexual offenders and better protects the welfare of victims, Orie said.
The bill also calls for, in some cases, using the names of juvenile sex offenders on the Megan's Law web site. Juvenile offenders wouldn't be designated as lifetime offenders unless they were convicted as adults, she said.
"I don't anticipate losing the federal money," she said.
State Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said the bill has been revised by Senate and House staffers as well as the governor's staff.
"It's my understanding that the administration is working to do whatever it can to apply for an exemption" to the fine, Costa said.
"We're making sure it meets the Justice Department criteria," said Steve Miskin, an aide for House Speaker Samuel Smith, a Republican who represents Jefferson County and parts of Armstrong and Indiana counties.
Miskin said legislative leaders and the Corbett administration are "keen to get this done."
