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 a member of the shelter's staff who is responsible for providing security of such person's status as 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 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, but such staff shall not disclose the status of the registered sex offender to any person residing in the shelter, unless otherwise required by law. 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.