Special Conditions of State Parole and Other Laws that Apply to Sex Offenders (“290 Registrants”)
This section has important information about the legal requirements that apply to people who were convicted of sex offenses and must register as sex offenders under California Penal Code section 290 et seq. We refer to people who must register as sex offenders as “290 registrants” below. In California, some legal requirements apply to 290 registrants only while they are on state parole, and other rules apply to 290 registrants for the rest of their life, so please read carefully!
If you are a 290 registrant, there are five main types of special requirements that apply to you: (1) you must register with local law enforcement authorities, (2) you may be subject to GPS tracking while on parole (and possibly for life), (3) you may be restricted around where you can live (“residency requirements”), where you can go, and where you can be employed, (4) information about your identity, and in some cases where you live, may be disclosed to the public; and (5) the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) may place other special conditions of parole on you.[469]
IMPORTANT LEGAL UPDATE: TIERED REGISTRATION
In 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed a law ending lifetime 290 registration for people convicted of low-level offenses. The new law splits the existing registry into three levels — or “tiers.”[470] While those considered “high risk sex offenders” (see PG. 169 for definition) will still be required to register for life, registrants whose offense places them on the lower tiers may petition for removal after 10 or 20 years, asl long as they have not committed another registerable offense in that period. The court will have the discretion to grant or deny the petition, and will consider input from the District Attorney in making its decision. This law will not go into effect until 2021 and regulations still need to be written to give the details of these changes to the registry.
Registration Requirements
IMPORTANT! If you are required to register as a sex offender, you have only 5 working days to register with the city police department (or sheriff’s department if there is no city police department) after you are released from custody or placed on probation or parole.[471]Read more about registration requirements in this section.
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- 469
The information for 290 registrants was adapted from an informational letter from the Prison Law Office, Information Regarding California’s Sex Offender Registration, Tracking, Residency And Public Notice Requirements (May 2015), available at http://prisonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SexOffender-Prop83May2015.pdf. ↑
- 470
Los Angeles Times, “California will soon end lifetime registration of some sex offenders under bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown” (Oct. 6, 2017), available at http://beta.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-bill-ending-lifetime-registry-of-sex-1507332406-htmlstory.html; California Legislative Information, SB 421 (Feb. 15, 2017), available at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB421. ↑
- 471
Cal. Penal Code §§ 290(b), 290.015. ↑