SB471 Alabama 2010 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Rodger SmithermanSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2010

Title

Sex offenders, adult and juvenile, community punishment and corrections program and community notification procedures, definitions, release, registration, residence, employment, education, probation, crimes of indecent exposure toward a child, aiding and abetting a convicted sex offender, and video voyeurism established, penalties, Secs. 15-20-21.1, 15-20-24.1, 15-20-24.2, 15-20-25.4, 15-20.26.3, 15-20-39 added; Secs. 15-18-171, 15-20-20.1, 15-20-21, 15-20-22, 15-20-23, 15-20-23.1, 15-20-24, 15-20-25, 15-20-25.1, 15-20-25.2, 15-20-25.3, 15-20-26, 15-20-26.2, 15-20-28, 15-20-29, 15-20-30, 15-20-31, 15-20-32, 15-20-33, 15-20-34, 15-30-35, 15-20-36, 15-22-28, 15-22-36 am'd.

Summary

SB471 overhauls Alabama's sex-offender laws by expanding registration, notification, and residency/employment rules for adults and juveniles, creating new offenses, and strengthening monitoring and penalties.

What This Bill Does

SB471 broadens and tightens how sex offenders are tracked and managed. It creates new crimes (indecent exposure toward a child, video voyeurism, aiding and abetting a convicted sex offender). It expands the registration system to require digitized records, online identifiers, pre-release address verification, and mandatory reporting for nonresident workers and students, with penalties for noncompliance. It imposes strict residency and work location rules near schools, child-care facilities, and victims; designates sexually violent predators with long-term monitoring and electronic surveillance; and adds risk assessments and special rules for juveniles, including potential adult treatment and lengthy registration requirements. It also outlines victim notification and funding mechanisms through fees and state registries.

Who It Affects

• Adult criminal sex offenders: must register, verify addresses, follow strict residence and employment restrictions, use online identifiers, pay registration and verification fees, and could be monitored for longer periods (including as sexually violent predators).
• Juvenile criminal sex offenders and their families: may have risk assessments, possible transfer to adult status, and juvenile-specific notification and residence/employment rules, with long registration periods and potential for adult-era consequences.

Key Provisions

• Creates indecent exposure toward a child as a crime with penalties.
• Creates video voyeurism as a crime with penalties.
• Creates the crime of aiding and abetting a convicted sex offender with penalties.
• Expands and digitizes the sex-offender registry (including an Internet registry) and requires online identifiers, photos, fingerprints, and a $250 initial verification fee plus $35 per change; mandates sharing information with local, state, and federal agencies.
• Requires pre-release address verification and ongoing residence verification by local law enforcement; imposes Class C felonies for noncompliance and bans release on probation/parole for violators.
• Imposes 2,000-foot residency restrictions around schools/child-care facilities and 1,000-2,000 feet around victims, with exceptions; prohibits certain housing arrangements with minors and imposes other distance provisions (e.g., from former victims and youth-serving facilities).
• Creates sexually violent predators with treatment and quarterly residence verification, and electronic monitoring for at least 10 years at offender's expense.
• Requires DNA sampling before release and CODIS entry; requires reporting and verification of employment, residence, and school status for juveniles and adults; allows notification to victims and the public.
• Provides victim notification procedures through the Attorney General's Office of Victim Assistance and expands community notification requirements (hotels, schools, etc.) with accessible public registries.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses