Committee approves adding employer and school location to offender registry search

Senator Fricks presented an amendment to Senate Bill 1608 that removes 'place of worship' from the searchable registry fields and adds school location and employer information to the offender‑registry name search. Fricks said the Department of Corrections reviewed the change and considers it feasible to publish that information.

Opponents raised concerns about whether publishing employer data would make it harder for registrants to obtain or keep work and whether erroneous registry entries persist after dismissal of charges. The sponsor said the information is already reported to the Department of Corrections and the bill only requires the department to display existing data; she also said an appeal process exists.

Senators asked whether employers or members of the public could use the database to contact employers; the sponsor said the bill contains no prohibition on the public using published data. The author urged adoption, and after debate the committee adopted the amendment and recorded a 6–2 vote to pass the bill out of committee.