Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0683 – Sex Offender Residency and Definition Amendments
Bill Summary
House Bill 683 amends Idaho’s sex offender registration laws by revising key definitions and expanding residency restrictions. The bill adds new definitions for “habitually lives” (any place where a person lives, sleeps, or visits with regularity, including places visited for longer than 5 hours more than 5 times within 30 days) and “homeless” (having no fixed residence). It redefines “residence” from “offender’s present place of abode” to “location where an offender habitually lives.”
The bill expands the prohibition on sex offenders residing within 500 feet of schools or daycares to explicitly include residential and long-term care facilities. It narrows the exception for state-licensed facilities by removing “health, or convalescent care” facilities and replacing them with only “hospitals.” The bill also removes municipal police chiefs from the approval process for homeless shelters and recovery facilities, leaving only county sheriffs with this authority.
Overall Assessment
This bill tightens restrictions on where registered sex offenders can live by expanding the definition of residence to include any place they “habitually” visit and by applying the 500-foot school proximity ban to residential and long-term care facilities. The changes close potential loopholes in tracking sex offenders who may claim homelessness or frequent multiple locations, while limiting the types of facilities where offenders can legally reside near schools. These modifications strengthen public safety measures around schools and daycares by making it harder for sex offenders to circumvent existing residency restrictions.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. RESPONSIBILITY IN GOVERNMENT (0)
The bill amends sex offender registration and residency requirements in Sections 18-8303 and 18-8329. It contains no provisions related to fiscal responsibility, taxation, government spending, balanced budgets, or congressional reform.
ARTICLE II. CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT (0)
The bill addresses sex offender definitions and residency restrictions. It does not involve citizen participation in government, election processes, primary elections, or political discourse.
ARTICLE III. EDUCATION (0)
While the bill references schools in the context of where sex offenders cannot reside within 500 feet, it does not modify education policy, curriculum, parental rights in education, school funding, or teacher compensation.
ARTICLE IV. AGRICULTURE (0)
The bill concerns sex offender registration and residency restrictions. It contains no provisions related to agriculture, farming, ranching, agricultural education, or family farms.
ARTICLE V. WATER (0)
The bill addresses sex offender definitions and residency requirements. It contains no provisions related to water rights, water management, inter-basin transfers, or prior appropriation doctrine.
ARTICLE VI. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT (0)
The bill modifies sex offender registration requirements. It contains no provisions related to natural resources, environmental policy, federal lands, wilderness areas, or resource utilization.
ARTICLE VII. ENERGY (0)
The bill concerns sex offender definitions and residency restrictions. It contains no provisions related to energy independence, energy resources, hydroelectric power, or nuclear energy.
ARTICLE VIII. IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORIES (0)
The bill addresses sex offender registration and residency requirements. It contains no provisions related to Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or energy technology development.
ARTICLE IX. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS (0)
The bill modifies sex offender residency restrictions, including expanding the 500-foot prohibition to residential and long-term care facilities. While this affects where certain individuals can reside, it does not create new takings, eminent domain provisions, or address property development rights as contemplated by this metric.
ARTICLE X. STATE AND FEDERAL LANDS (0)
The bill concerns sex offender registration requirements. It contains no provisions related to federal land management, state administration of lands, or reducing federal land ownership.
ARTICLE XI. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT (0)
The bill addresses sex offender definitions and residency restrictions. It contains no provisions related to wildlife, fish and game management, hunting, fishing, or recreational access.
ARTICLE XII. ECONOMY (0)
The bill modifies sex offender registration and residency requirements. It does not address commerce, industry, small business regulation, labor, transportation, or economic development.
ARTICLE XIII. HEALTH AND WELFARE (0)
The bill narrows the exception for facilities where sex offenders can reside near schools by removing "health, or convalescent care" facilities and limiting it to hospitals and incarceration facilities. This change does not address healthcare access, insurance, welfare programs, or health policy as contemplated by this metric.
ARTICLE XIV. AMERICAN FAMILY (0)
The bill addresses sex offender registration and residency restrictions. While these restrictions protect children near schools and daycares, the bill does not directly address family values, parental authority, marriage, or abortion as specified in this metric.
ARTICLE XV. OLDER AMERICANS (0)
The bill expands residency restrictions to include long-term care facilities in Section 18-8329(1)(d). However, it contains no provisions specifically addressing services, opportunities, or policies for older Americans as contemplated by this metric.
ARTICLE XVI. LAW AND ORDER WITH JUSTICE (1)
The bill strengthens sex offender tracking and restrictions by adding definitions for "habitually lives" (including places visited for longer than 5 hours more than 5 times in 30 days) and "homeless," and by redefining "residence" to mean where an offender habitually lives. It expands the 500-foot school proximity prohibition to residential and long-term care facilities, closing loopholes that could allow sex offenders to circumvent existing restrictions. These changes enhance public safety measures around schools and daycares.
ARTICLE XVII. NATIONAL DEFENSE – SECURING THE BORDER (0)
The bill addresses sex offender registration and residency requirements. It contains no provisions related to military strength, veterans, national defense, border security, or terrorism.
ARTICLE XVIII. ELECTION OF JUDGES AND IDAHO SUPREME COURT JUSTICES (0)
The bill concerns sex offender definitions and residency restrictions. It contains no provisions related to judicial elections, judicial selection processes, or constitutional interpretation principles.
ARTICLE XIX. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY (0)
The bill addresses sex offender registration requirements. It contains no provisions related to religious freedom, free exercise of religion, or the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.