Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
Latest action. Became public lawWhat a bill becomes when enacted, numbered by Congress and order of enactment: Public Law 119-4 is the 4th law of the 119th Congress.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) No: 109-248.
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on July 20, 2006. The summary of that version is repeated here.)
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 - Recognizes the commitment of John and Reve Walsh to the protection of children from child predators on the 25th anniversary of the abduction and murder of their son, Adam.
Title I: Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act - Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act - (Sec. 102) Declares as the purpose of this Act the establishment of a comprehensive national system for the registration of sex offenders and offenders against children.
(Sec. 103) Establishes the Jacob Wetterling, Megan Nicole Kanka, and Pam Lychner Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program.
Subtitle A: Sex Offender Registration and Notification - (Sec. 111) Establishes a three-tier classification system for sex offenders based upon specified criteria, including the seriousness of the underlying offense and the age of any child involved.
Defines "sex offense" (to be known as the Amie Zyla Expansion of Sex Offense Definition) to mean: (1) a criminal offense that has an element involving a sexual act or contact or that is a specified offense against a minor; (2) a federal offense involving sex trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation or abuse of children, or domestic assault; (3) a specified military offense; or (4) an attempt or conspiracy to commit such an offense. Excludes from such definition foreign convictions lacking due process safeguards and certain offenses involving consensual sexual conduct.
Defines "specified offense against a minor" to include offenses involving kidnapping, false imprisonment, sexual solicitation, video voyeurism, and possession, production, or distribution of child pornography.
Defines "jurisdiction" to include a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and federally recognized Indian tribes.
(Sec. 112) Requires each jurisdiction to maintain a jurisdiction-wide sex offender registry.
(Sec. 113) Requires a sex offender to: (1) register in each jurisdiction where such offender resides, is an employee, and is a student; (2) keep such registration current; and (3) for initial registrations, register in the jurisdiction where convicted if different than jurisdiction of residence. Requires jurisdictions (other than federally recognized Indian tribes) to impose a maximum criminal penalty greater than one year for sex offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements.
The summary continues for 84 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Public Law" stage on July 27, 2006. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
This bill has been enacted. It is law.
The record's latest action, on July 27, 2006: Became Public Law No: 109-248.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
F. SENSENBRENNER (R-WI) introduced it on December 8, 2005, and 37 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 32 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HousePassed
- SenatePassed
- PresidentSigned into law