In the near future, I intend to introduce legislation to strengthen Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law reporting requirements by closing a loophole in the current residency reporting standard for sex offenders.

Under current law, individuals subject to Megan’s Law are required to report any address at which they reside for 30 or more consecutive days.  Recently, constituents brought to my attention a situation involving an individual who is required to register under Megan’s Law but who spends a significant amount of time, although not consecutively, at another alternate location. By not remaining at the alternate address for 30 consecutive days or more, that individual is able to avoid reporting that location under current law.

As a result, neighbors and local law enforcement have limited ability to ensure that residency information accurately reflects where an offender is actually living or spending significant time. This undermines the intent of Megan’s Law and can leave communities unaware of the presence of a registered sex offender spending significant time in their neighborhood.

This legislation would amend the reporting requirement by removing the word “consecutive,” requiring individuals subject to Megan’s Law to report any address where they reside for a total of 30 or more days within a calendar year, regardless of whether those days occur consecutively.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this legislation to strengthen public safety and ensure that Megan’s Law reporting requirements accurately reflect where registered offenders reside.