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Committee advances amendment to require predatory-offender registration after stay of adjudication; HF131 laid over
Summary
House File 131, with an adopted A1 amendment, would require people who receive a stay of adjudication for specified sex offenses to register as predatory offenders; the A1 amendment (notice and 30-day registration requirement) passed and the bill was laid over for possible omnibus inclusion.
Representative Knudson brought House File 131 to the House Public Safety Committee on Feb. 12 and moved an A1 amendment that would require offenders who receive a stay of adjudication for listed criminal-sex-offense categories and who are on supervision to register as predatory offenders. "The A1 amendment requires that offenders who receive the stay of adjudication for 1 of the criminal ****** conduct offenses in the bill and are currently on supervision must also register as a predatory offender," Representative Knudson said. The amendment added a notice requirement from the offender's supervision agent or from the county attorney and a 30-day registration window.
Knudson described the bill as filling a gap in registration when courts impose stays of adjudication instead of convictions. "This bill requires offenders to register as a predatory offender who were given a stay of adjudication for the following crimes: Felony criminal ****** conduct, criminal ****** predatory conduct, the use of minors in ****** performance and child ***********," Knudson said. The bill allows judicial waiver for juveniles where "good cause" is found on the record.
Supporters included Cass County Sheriff Brian Welk and survivor Kelsey Holberg. Welk said registration helps law enforcement with transparency and accountability. Holberg testified as a survivor of a first-degree penetration/contact offense and described a case in which the defendant obtained a stay of adjudication and avoided predatory-offender registration: "A person who openly admitted to the police to having ****** contact with a 7 year old does not have to register as a *** offender in our state," she said, and described her experience with a plea deal that she said did not reflect Sentencing Guidelines recommendations.
Committee members questioned retroactivity, prosecutorial discretion, and whether the bill injects judicial subjectivity into an otherwise statutory registration scheme. Nonpartisan staff confirmed fiscal-note requests had been submitted for both the bill and the amendment. The committee passed the A1 amendment by voice vote and laid HF131, as amended, over for possible inclusion.
