Committee hears bill allowing rehabilitated low‑risk registrants to petition for removal from public registry

Summary

Lawmakers and witnesses debated House Bill 1231, which would let rehabilitated, low‑risk registrants petition a court to remove their names from the public registry after seven years of compliance. Supporters described housing and employment barriers; law enforcement described assessment and registration procedures and current timeframes.

House Judiciary Committee members on the morning agenda heard testimony on House Bill 1231, a proposal ‘‘to create and enact section 12.13215.1 of the North Dakota Century Code relating to a petition for relief from requiring a ****** offender to register and to provide for application,’’ the clerk read.

Representative Jason Doctor, District 7, told the committee HB 1231 would allow a ‘‘rehabilitated, low risk, compliant ****** offender the opportunity to petition the court for removal of the registry,’’ and he said the bill modeled relief available in more than 40 other states. Doctor said the bill targets people who have completed incarceration, probation or parole, completed treatment and ‘‘successfully registered for at least 7 years’’ and remain labeled on the public list despite those steps.

The proposal drew multiple supporters who described practical barriers to reentry. Sister Kathleen Atkinson, director of Ministry on the Margins, said: "This legislation allows a man or a woman to petition the court for removal from that public…

Committee hears bill allowing rehabilitated low‑risk registrants to petition for removal from public registry

Summary

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