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SD 3967

Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) ISA FY26 Annual Report

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

The bill requires a FY2026 SORB annual report detailing current and planned interagency data-sharing and improvements to data collection and registry maintenance to boost public sa

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Bill Summary · SD 3967

Summary of Bill SD 3967 (194th Massachusetts Session) – SORB FY26 Annual Report

What the bill is and its purpose

  • This is a report by the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) to the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, mandated by the FY2026 General Appropriations Act (Chapter 9, Acts of 2025).
  • Purpose: Provide detailed information on SORB’s operations, data-sharing arrangements with state agencies, plans to establish new data-sharing agreements, and plans to improve data collection and registry maintenance to enhance public safety.

Key provisions and content

  • Financial basis and reporting deadline:

    • Ties to line item 8000-0125 for the operation of the sex offender registry (including the computerized registry system and offender classification).
    • Requires a report by December 16, 2025 outlining data-sharing utilization, proposed new data-sharing agreements, and detailed plans to improve data collection/maintenance.

  • Data-sharing utilization with state agencies (current arrangements):
    SORB maintains formal data-sharing agreements with multiple agencies to identify offenders out of compliance and to verify addresses. Agencies include:

    • Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)
    • Department of Children and Families (DCF)
    • Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)
    • Department of Revenue (DOR)
    • Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA)
    • Department of Public Health (DPH)
    • Division of Occupational Licensure (DOL)
    • Department of Public Utilities (DPU)
    • Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC)
    • Department of Developmental Services (DDS)

How it works in practice:
- SORB receives/or shares data to locate offenders who are out of compliance and to verify addresses.
- Local police may conduct address audits when new potential addresses are identified; offenders may face criminal charges for failure to register if appropriate.
- SORB updates its registry only after local verification of true whereabouts.

  • Specific agency-by-agency summaries (selected highlights):

    • RMV: Data exchange linked to license/registration suspensions for noncompliant offenders; formalized data-sharing efforts ongoing, aiming for a Data Use License Agreement (DULA) in 2025.
    • DCF: ~450 offender inquiries annually; address verification; MOU since 2016.
    • EEC: Continuous data feed for all offenders (including Level 1) to support background checks for childcare providers; verification against EEC data.
    • DOR: Indigency verification for counsel; monthly automated address checks via DULA since 2023.
    • DTA: Monthly automated offender address reports; access to Beacon system for indigency verification.
    • DPH: Death index matching to remove deceased offenders; ongoing ISA with licensure boards transitioning from DOL to DPH; comprehensive ISA planning in 2025–2026.
    • DOL: ESORI checks for professional licensing; ongoing ISA updates (encryption and procedures) planned for 2026.
    • DPU: Background checks for transportation network company drivers; current access limited to Level 2/3 offenders; Level 1 access pending further data-sharing arrangements.
    • EOHLC: Formal ISA to check offender status for emergency housing applicants; reciprocal information sharing.
    • DDS: DULA (Aug 2024) to receive offender information for employment/agency decisions.

  • Plans to establish formal data-sharing with additional agencies:
    Planned or ongoing discussions (as of 2025) with:

    • Department of Mental Health (DMH) – potential DULA in 2026; addressing information sharing for offenders in DMH facilities.
    • Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) – pursuing DULA for educator-related information sharing.
    • Additional outreach to MassHealth, EOH, Unemployment Assistance, and Veteran’s Services; some agencies declined to enter agreements, but outreach will continue in 2026.

  • Detailed plans to improve data collection and registry maintenance:

    • Emphasis on collaboration with law enforcement to verify compliance and maintain accurate registry data.
    • Regular law enforcement trainings (2025 calendar shows multiple virtual trainings across jurisdictions) to ensure registration compliance and address accuracy.
    • Ongoing training with MSP, local police, and collaboration with the Department of Correction, Parole Board, Probation, and sheriffs to improve release-date accuracy and civil commitments tracking.
    • Interagency data integrations (e.g., direct data feed for offender release dates between SORB and the Department of Correction; weekly sheriff reports; interface with the Massachusetts Treatment Center for civil commitments).
    • Federal partnerships (NESPIN, NCMEC’s SOTT, and AVP funding) to locate noncompliant offenders and verify addresses; use of fingerprint devices in the field to aid verification.
    • ESORI portal improvements (2024 upgrade) to capture broader data, including hits for unclassified, Level 1, and violators, to better inform investigations.

Who is affected

  • Offenders subject to Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry requirements (Levels 1–3, and those in violation).
  • Law enforcement agencies and local police departments involved in address verification and compliance investigations.
  • State agencies with data-sharing needs (RMV, DCF, EEC, DOR, DTA, DPH, DOL, DPU, EOHLC, DDS, DMH, DESE, and others considered for ISA).
  • Public safety stakeholders relying on accurate registry information (courts, counsel, and agencies performing background checks).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Reporting deadline: December 16, 2025, for the FY2026 report summarizing current data-sharing usage, future agreements, and registry maintenance plans.
  • Data-sharing agreements: Ongoing development of formal DATA USE LICENSE AGREEMENTS (DULAs) and ISAs, with several already in place and others targeted for 2026.
  • Training and collaboration: Continued annual trainings with law enforcement and regular interagency coordination; updates to data-sharing infrastructure and encryption as part of 2026 updates.
  • Data integrity and safety: Emphasis on verification steps (address audits, police verification) before updating SORB records; alignment with federal programs (SORNA, AVP, NESPIN, SOTT) to strengthen nationwide data accuracy and enforcement.

Note: The bill largely functions as a mandated, comprehensive annual reporting and accountability package for SORB, detailing current data-sharing practices, planned expansions, and concrete steps to improve data collection and public safety. It does not appear to create new substantive statutory changes to offender obligations but rather documents and guides interagency collaboration and registry maintenance.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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