On July 27, President Bush signed into law legislation (HR 4472) designed to strengthen federal registration requirements for convicted sex offenders. The bill also makes failing to register a federal crime and creates a national sex offender registry.
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the bill “the most comprehensive child crimes and protection bill in our nation’s history.”
The legislation combines measures introduced last year by lawmakers in both chambers, and was prompted by a series of high-profile crimes by registered sex offenders. To speed passage of the sex offender provisions, the Senate removed provisions included in the House-passed version related to gang violence and court security.
