(a) Legislative findings.--The General Assembly finds as follows:
(1) In 1995 the General Assembly enacted the act of October 24, 1995 (1st Sp.Sess. P.L.1079, No.24), commonly referred to as Megan's Law. Through this enactment, the General Assembly intended to comply with legislation enacted by Congress requiring that states provide for the registration of sexual offenders. The Federal statute, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (Public Law 103-322, 42 U.S.C. 14071 et seq.), has been superseded by the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-248, 120 Stat. 587).
(2) This Commonwealth's laws regarding registration of sexual offenders need to be strengthened. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 provides a mechanism for the Commonwealth to increase its regulation of sexual offenders in a manner which is nonpunitive but offers an increased measure of protection to the citizens of this Commonwealth.
(3) If the public is provided adequate notice and information about sexual offenders, the community can develop constructive plans to prepare for the presence of sexual offenders in the community. This allows communities to meet with law enforcement to prepare and obtain information about the rights and responsibilities of the community and to provide education and counseling to residents, particularly children.
(4) Sexual offenders pose a high risk of committing additional sexual offenses and protection of the public from this type of offender is a paramount governmental interest.
(5) Sexual offenders have a reduced expectation of privacy because of the public's interest in public safety and in the effective operation of government.
(6) Release of information about sexual offenders to public agencies and the general public will further the governmental interests of public safety and public scrutiny of the criminal and mental health systems so long as the information released is rationally related to the furtherance of those goals.
(7) Knowledge of whether a person is a sexual offender could be a significant factor in protecting oneself and one's family members, or those in care of a group or community organization, from recidivist acts by such offenders.
(8) The technology afforded by the Internet and other modern electronic communication methods makes this information readily accessible to parents, minors and private entities, enabling them to undertake appropriate remedial precautions to prevent or avoid placing potential victims at risk.
(b) Declaration of policy.--The General Assembly declares as follows:
(1) It is the intention of the General Assembly to substantially comply with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and to further protect the safety and general welfare of the citizens of this Commonwealth by providing for increased regulation of sexual offenders, specifically as that regulation relates to registration of sexual offenders and community notification about sexual offenders.
(2) It is the policy of the Commonwealth to require the exchange of relevant information about sexual offenders among public agencies and officials and to authorize the release of necessary and relevant information about sexual offenders to members of the general public as a means of assuring public protection and shall not be construed as punitive.
(3) It is the intention of the General Assembly to address the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Neiman, No.74 MAP 2011 (Pa. 2013), by amending this subchapter in the act of March 14, 2014 (P.L.41, No.19).
(4) It is the intention of the General Assembly to address the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Muniz, 164 A.3d 1189 (Pa. 2017) and the Pennsylvania Superior Court's decision in Commonwealth v. Butler (2017 WL 4914155).
(c) Scope.--This subchapter shall apply to individuals who committed a sexually violent offense on or after December 20, 2012, for which the individual was convicted.
(Dec. 20, 2011, P.L.446, No.111, eff. one year; Mar. 14, 2014, P.L.41, No.19, eff. imd.; Feb. 21, 2018, P.L.27, No.10, eff. imd.; June 12, 2018, P.L.140, No.29, eff. imd.)
2018 Amendments. Act 10 amended the section heading and added subsecs. (b)(4) and (c) and Act 29 reenacted the section heading and subsecs. (b)(4) and (c). Section 20(1) of Act 10 provided that the amendment of section 9799.11 shall apply to an individual who commits an offense on or after December 20, 2012.
2014 Amendment. Act 19 amended subsec. (b).
2011 Amendment. Act 111 added section 9799.11.
References in Text. The citation, Commonwealth v. Butler, (2017 WL 4914155), referred to in subsec. (b)(4), was incorrectly cited as Commonwealth v. Butler (2017 WL 3882445) in Acts 10 and 29 of 2018. The parallel citation is Commonwealth v. Butler, 173 A.3d 1212 (Pa. Super. 2017).