AN ACT CONCERNING THE RISK ASSESSMENT BOARD, THE DISSEMINATION OF REGISTRATION INFORMATION OF SEXUAL OFFENDERS AND THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 54-259a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) There is established a Risk Assessment Board consisting of the Commissioner of Correction, the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Chief State's Attorney, the Chief Public Defender, the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the executive director of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department and the chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary and public safety, or their designees, a victim advocate with experience working with sexual assault victims and sexual offenders appointed by the Governor, a forensic psychiatrist with experience in the treatment of sexual offenders appointed by the Governor and a person trained in the identification, assessment and treatment of sexual offenders appointed by the Governor.

(b) The board shall develop a risk assessment scale that assigns weights to various risk factors including, but not limited to, the seriousness of the offense, the offender's prior offense history, the offender's characteristics, the availability of community supports, whether the offender has indicated or credible evidence in the record indicates that the offender will reoffend if released into the community and whether the offender demonstrates a physical condition that minimizes the risk of reoffending, and specifies the risk level to which offenders with various risk assessment scores shall be assigned.

(c) The board shall use the risk assessment scale to assess the risk of reoffending of each person subject to registration under this chapter, including incarcerated offenders who are within one year of their estimated release date, and assign each such person a risk level of high, medium or low.

(d) Not later than [February 1, 2007] October 1, 2007, the board shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on the judiciary in accordance with section 11-4a setting forth its findings and recommendations concerning: (1) Whether information about sexual offenders assigned a risk level of high, medium or low should be made available to the public through the Internet; (2) the types of information about sexual offenders that should be made available to the public through the Internet which may include, but not be limited to, (A) the name, residential address, physical description and photograph of the registrant, (B) the offense or offenses of which the registrant was convicted or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect that required registration under this chapter, (C) a brief description of the facts and circumstances of such offense or offenses, (D) the criminal record of the registrant with respect to any prior convictions or findings of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect for the commission of an offense requiring registration under this chapter, and (E) the name of the registrant's supervising correctional, probation or parole officer, and contact information for such officer; (3) whether any of the persons assigned a high risk level by the board pursuant to subsection (c) of this section meets the criteria for civil commitment pursuant to section 17a-498; (4) whether additional restrictions should be placed on persons subject to registration under this chapter such as curfews and intensive monitoring on certain holidays; [and] (5) whether persons convicted of a sexual offense who pose a high risk of reoffending should be required to register under this chapter regardless of when they were convicted or released into the community; and (6) whether persons determined to be guilty with adjudication withheld in any other state or jurisdiction of any crime the essential elements of which are substantially the same as any of the crimes specified in subdivisions (2), (5) and (11) of section 54-250 should be required to register under this chapter.

Sec. 2. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 54-255 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

(a) Upon the conviction or finding of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of any person for a violation of section 53a-70b, the court may order the Department of Public Safety to restrict the dissemination of the registration information to law enforcement purposes only and to not make such information available for public access, provided the court finds that dissemination of the registration information is not required for public safety and that publication of the registration information would be likely to reveal the identity of the victim within the community where the victim resides. The victim may at any time petition the court to remove the restriction on the dissemination of such registration information and to make such registration information available to the public. The court shall remove the restriction on the dissemination of such registration information if, at any time, the court finds that public safety requires that such person's registration information be made available to the public or that a change of circumstances makes publication of such registration information no longer likely to reveal the identity of the victim within the community where the victim resides. Prior to ordering or removing the restriction on the dissemination of such person's registration information, the court shall consider any information or statements provided by the victim.

(b) Upon the conviction or finding of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of any person of a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor, a nonviolent sexual offense or a sexually violent offense, where the victim of such offense was, at the time of the offense, under eighteen years of age and related to such person within any of the degrees of kindred specified in section 46b-21, the court may order the Department of Public Safety to restrict the dissemination of the registration information to law enforcement purposes only and to not make such information available for public access, provided the court finds that dissemination of the registration information is not required for public safety and that publication of the registration information would be likely to reveal the identity of the victim within the community where the victim resides. The victim may at any time petition the court to remove the restriction on the dissemination of such registration information and to make such registration information available to the public. The court shall remove the restriction on the dissemination of such registration information if, at any time, it finds that public safety requires that such person's registration information be made available to the public or that a change in circumstances makes publication of the registration information no longer likely to reveal the identity of the victim within the community where the victim resides.

Sec. 3. Subsection (b) of section 17a-101 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2007):

(b) The following persons shall be mandated reporters: Any physician or surgeon licensed under the provisions of chapter 370, any resident physician or intern in any hospital in this state, whether or not so licensed, any registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical examiner, dentist, dental hygienist, psychologist, coach of intramural or interscholastic athletics, school teacher, school principal, school guidance counselor, school paraprofessional, school coach, social worker, police officer, juvenile or adult probation officer, juvenile or adult parole officer, member of the clergy, pharmacist, physical therapist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, mental health professional or physician assistant, any person who is a licensed or certified emergency medical services provider, any person who is a licensed or certified alcohol and drug counselor, any person who is a licensed marital and family therapist, any person who is a sexual assault counselor or a battered women's counselor as defined in section 52-146k, any person who is a licensed professional counselor, any person paid to care for a child in any public or private facility, child day care center, group day care home or family day care home licensed by the state, any employee of the Department of Children and Families, any employee of the Department of Public Health who is responsible for the licensing of child day care centers, group day care homes, family day care homes or youth camps, the Child Advocate and any employee of the Office of Child Advocate and any person who services or repairs personal computers.

Sec. 4. Section 52-577d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and applicable to any cause of action arising from an incident committed prior to, on or after said date):

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 52-577, no action to recover damages for personal injury to a minor, including emotional distress, caused by sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault may be brought by such person later than [thirty] forty years from the date such person attains the age of majority.

Sec. 5. Section 54-193a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage and applicable to any offense committed on or after said date and to any offense committed prior to said date for which the statute of limitations in effect at the time of the commission of the offense had not yet expired as of said date):

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 54-193, no person may be prosecuted for any offense, except a class A felony, involving sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or sexual assault of a minor except within [thirty] forty years from the date the victim attains the age of majority or within five years from the date the victim notifies any police officer or state's attorney acting in such police officer's or state's attorney's official capacity of the commission of the offense, whichever is earlier, provided if the prosecution is for a violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 53a-71, the victim notified such police officer or state's attorney not later than five years after the commission of the offense.

Statement of Purpose:

To revise the date that the Risk Assessment Board is required to submit its findings and recommendations to the legislature, to authorize a victim of sexual assault to petition the court to make registration information for certain sexual offenders the dissemination of which had been restricted available to the public, to make persons who service or repair computers mandated reporters of child abuse or neglect and to provide an extended period of time for persons who were sexually abused as children to seek civil remedies or a criminal prosecution.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]