Bill Text: VA SB55 | 2020 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification, penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-13 - Stricken at the request of Patron in Judiciary (13-Y 0-N) [SB55 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SB55-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 9.1-906.1 as follows:
§9.1-906.1. Emergency shelters; notification; penalty.
A. Any person required to register or reregister who enters any place or facility that is designated by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof as an emergency shelter and operated in response to a state or local emergency declared pursuant to Chapter 3.2 (§44-146.13 et seq.) of Title 44 shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notify a member of the emergency shelter's staff who is responsible for providing security at the emergency shelter that such person is a registered sex offender. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.
B. No person shall be denied entry into an emergency shelter solely on the basis of his status as a registered sex offender unless such entry is otherwise prohibited by law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, emergency shelter staff may deny entry of a person on such registry who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense, as defined in §9.1-902, for a period of time necessary to ensure the safety of other individuals admitted to the emergency shelter.
C. The use of Registry information that is publicly available on the Internet pursuant to §9.1-913 by emergency shelter staff pursuant to this section does not constitute a violation of §9.1-918.
2. That the Department of State Police shall provide to any person required to register on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry at the time of his initial registration a summary of the provisions of this act.
