Sex Offender Notification

In a civil liberties defeat, the General Assembly passed a bill significantly expanding the number of sex offenders whose names and photos will be posted on a state web site for public viewing. Presently, only offenders that a state review board deems likely to reoffend and subject to community-wide notification are included on the site. The new law adds most other sex offenders regardless of their re-offense risk, and thus eliminates a key distinction in the state’s version of “Megan’s Law.” The ACLU argued that the bill would only undermine the rehabilitative efforts of those trying to reintegrate themselves into the community, without providing any real protection to the public.