Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification, registration, penalty.

Sex offenders in emergency shelters; notification registration penalty. Provides that a registered sex offender who enters an emergency shelter designated by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof and operated in response to a declared state or local emergency shall, as soon as practicable after entry, notify the shelter's staff that such person is a registered sex offender. The bill provides that any person who fails to notify the shelter's staff of his status as a registered sex offender is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor. The bill provides that the shelter's staff may request a law-enforcement officer or agency to access the publicly available information on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry regarding such person and use such information to ensure the safety of all persons in the shelter. The bill also provides that the state emergency operations plan and each political subdivision emergency operations plan shall (i) set forth the procedures for persons required to register or reregister who enter an emergency shelter to provide the required notification and (ii) provide for the accommodation in an emergency shelter of persons required to register or reregister with due regard to the health and safety of all persons in the emergency shelter. The bill requires that the Department of State Police provide to any registered sex offender at the time of his initial registration a summary of his obligation to inform the staff of an emergency shelter of his status as a registered sex offender.