SB 852 Summary

• Prohibits two or more registered sex offenders from residing together in any individual dwelling during their registration term; first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in jail and $1,000 fine, second or subsequent violations are felonies punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $2,000 fine.

• Exempts properly zoned multi-unit structures (apartment buildings, condominiums, duplexes), boarding houses and group homes with treatment services, correctional facilities, and married couples or blood relatives who are both required to register.

• Defines "individual dwelling" to include single-family residential properties, rooms in boarding houses, apartments, and separate units in multi-unit structures; specifies that manufactured homes, mobile homes, trailers, and recreational vehicles do not qualify as multi-unit structures.

• Prohibits the Department of Corrections from contracting for sex offender housing in individual dwellings where another registered sex offender resides, and requires any boarding house or group home housing sex offenders to be in properly zoned areas with treatment services.

• Establishes criminal penalties for persons or entities that knowingly establish, operate, lease, or own structures violating the residency restrictions, ranging from misdemeanor fines of $500-$2,500 to felony charges with fines of $2,500-$5,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment for third or subsequent violations.

• Effective date: July 1, 2012.