To amend section 2950.05 of the Revised Code to revise the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law's "change of address" requirements relative to persons who do not have knowledge of a change in residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address sufficiently in advance of the change to comply with the requirements' deadlines and persons whose residence address change is not to a fixed address.

Section 1. That section 2950.05 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2950.05.  (A) If an offender or delinquent child is required to register pursuant to section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code, the offender or delinquent child, at least twenty days prior to changing the offender's or delinquent child's residence address, or the offender, at least twenty days prior to changing the address of the offender's school or institution of higher education and not later than five days after changing the address of the offender's place of employment, during the period during which the offender or delinquent child is required to register, shall provide written notice of the residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address change, as applicable, to the sheriff with whom the offender or delinquent child most recently registered the address under section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code or under division (B) of this section. If a residence address change is not to a fixed address, the offender or delinquent child shall include in that notice a detailed description of the place or places at which the offender or delinquent child intends to stay and, not later than the end of the first business day immediately following the day on which the person obtains a fixed residence address, shall provide that sheriff written notice of that fixed residence address. If a person whose residence address change is not to a fixed address describes in a notice under this division the place or places at which the person intends to stay, for purposes of divisions (C) to (H) of this section, sections 2950.06 to 2950.13 of the Revised Code, and sections 311.171 and 2919.24 of the Revised Code, the place or places so described in the notice shall be considered the person's residence address and registered residence address, until the person provides the written notice of a fixed residence address as described in this division.

(B) If an offender is required to provide notice of a residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address change under division (A) of this section, or a delinquent child is required to provide notice of a residence address change under that division, the offender or delinquent child, at least twenty days prior to changing the residence, school, or institution of higher education address and not later than five days after changing the place of employment address, as applicable, also shall register the new address in the manner described in divisions (B) and (C) of section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code, whichever is applicable, with the sheriff of the county in which the offender's or delinquent child's new address is located, subject to division (C) of this section. If a residence address change is not to a fixed address, the offender or delinquent child shall include in the registration a detailed description of the place or places at which the offender or delinquent child intends to stay and, not later than the end of the first business day immediately following the day on which the person obtains a fixed residence address, shall register with that sheriff that fixed residence address. If a person whose residence address change is not to a fixed address describes in a registration under this division the place or places at which the person intends to stay, for purposes of divisions (C) to (H) of this section, sections 2950.06 to 2950.13 of the Revised Code, and sections 311.171 and 2919.24 of the Revised Code, the place or places so described in the registration shall be considered the person's residence address and registered residence address, until the person registers a fixed residence address as described in this division.

(C) Divisions (A) and (B) of this section apply to a person who is required to register pursuant to section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code regardless of whether the new residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address is in this state or in another state. If the new address is in another state, the person shall register with the appropriate law enforcement officials in that state in the manner required under the law of that state and within the earlier of the period of time required under the law of that state or at least seven days prior to changing the address.

(D)(1) Upon receiving from an offender or delinquent child pursuant to division (A) of this section notice of a change of the offender's residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address or the delinquent child's residence address, a sheriff promptly shall forward the new address to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with the forwarding procedures adopted pursuant to section 2950.13 of the Revised Code if the new address is in another state or, if the new address is located in another county in this state, to the sheriff of that county. The bureau shall include all information forwarded to it under this division in the state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders established and maintained under section 2950.13 of the Revised Code and shall forward notice of the offender's or delinquent child's new residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address, as applicable, to the appropriate officials in the other state.

(2) When an offender registers a new residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address or a delinquent child registers a new residence address pursuant to division (B) of this section, the sheriff with whom the offender or delinquent child registers and the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall comply with division (D) of section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code, whichever is applicable.

(E)(1) No person who is required to notify a sheriff of a change of address pursuant to division (A) of this section shall fail to notify the appropriate sheriff in accordance with that division.

(2) No person who is required to register a new residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address with a sheriff or with an official of another state pursuant to divisions (B) and (C) of this section shall fail to register with the appropriate sheriff or official of the other state in accordance with those divisions.

(F)(1) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of division (E)(1) of this section that it was impossible for the person to provide the written notice to the sheriff as required under division (A) of this section because of a lack of knowledge, on the date specified for the provision of the written notice, of a residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address change, and that the person provided notice of the residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address change to the sheriff specified in division (A) of this section as soon as possible after learning of the address change by doing either of the following:

(a) The person provided notice of the address change to the sheriff specified in division (A) of this section by telephone immediately upon learning of the address change or, if the person did not have reasonable access to a telephone at that time, as soon as possible after learning of the address change and having reasonable access to a telephone, and the person, as soon as possible after providing notice of the address change to the sheriff by telephone, provided written notice of the address change to that sheriff.

(b) The person, as soon as possible after learning of the address change, provided written notice of the address change to the sheriff specified in division (A) of this section.

(2) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of a violation of division (E)(2) of this section that it was impossible for the person to register the new address with the sheriff or the official of the other state as required under division (B) or (C) of this section because of a lack of knowledge, on the date specified for the registration of the new address, of a residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address change, and that the person registered the new residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address with the sheriff or the official of the other state specified in division (B) or (C) of this section as soon as possible after learning of the address change by doing either of the following:

(a) The person provided notice of the new address to the sheriff or official specified in division (B) or (C) of this section by telephone immediately upon learning of the new address or, if the person did not have reasonable access to a telephone at that time, as soon as possible after learning of the new address and having reasonable access to a telephone, and the person, as soon as possible after providing notice of the new address to the sheriff or official by telephone, registered the new address with that sheriff or official in accordance with division (B) or (C) of this section.

(b) The person, as soon as possible after learning of the new address, registered the new address with the sheriff or official specified in division (B) or (C) of this section, in accordance with that division.

(G) An offender or delinquent child who is required to comply with divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section shall do so for the period of time specified in section 2950.07 of the Revised Code.

(H) As used in this section, and in all other sections of the Revised Code that refer to the duties imposed on an offender or delinquent child under this section relative to a change in the offender's or delinquent child's residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address, "change in address" includes any circumstance in which the old address for the person in question no longer is accurate, regardless of whether the person in question has a new address.

Section 2. That existing section 2950.05 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.