OHIO REVISED
CODE SECTION 311.171
CURRENT
STATUTE
SECTION 311.171 - Fees
for sexual offender registration and notification
(A) As used in this section:
(1) “Federal poverty
level” means the income level represented by the poverty guidelines as
revised annually by the United States department of health and human
services in accordance with section 673(2) of the “Omnibus Reconciliation
Act of 1981,” 95 Stat. 511, 9902,
as amended, for a family size equal to the size of the family of the person
whose income is being determined.
(2) “Registration year”
of an offender means one of the following:
(a) The twelve-month
period beginning on the anniversary, occurring on or after January 1,
2004, of the date on which an offender’s registration period began in
accordance with section 2950.07
of the Revised Code;
(b) The twelve-month
period beginning on the date on which an offender’s registration period
begins, on or after January 1, 2004, in accordance with section 2950.07
of the Revised Code.
(3) “Sexually oriented
offense,” “child-victim oriented offense,” and “tier III
sex offender/child-victim offender” have the same meanings as in section 2950.01
of the Revised Code.
(B) The sheriff may charge a
fee each time a person does any of the following:
(1) Registers under section
2950.04
or 2950.041
of the Revised Code;
(2) Registers a new
residence address under section 2950.05
of the Revised Code;
(3) Verifies a current
residence address under section 2950.06
of the Revised Code.
(C) If the sheriff charges one
or more fees provided for in division (B) of this section, all of the
following apply:
(1) The sheriff shall not
require the payment of any fee from a delinquent child until the delinquent
child reaches eighteen years of age. When a delinquent child reaches
eighteen years of age and the sheriff charges a fee to the delinquent child,
the provisions of this section applicable to “offenders” shall be
construed to apply to the delinquent child.
(2) For an offender who is a
tier III sex offender/child-victim offender, the
fees may not exceed a total of one hundred dollars for each registration
year.
(3) For an offender who has
been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a sexually oriented offense or a
child-victim offense and who is not described in division (C)(2) of this
section, the fees may not exceed a total of twenty-five dollars for each
registration year.
(4) An offender who is
required to pay a fee shall retain the receipts received under section 325.28
of the Revised Code for payments made during the offender’s registration
year to establish that the payment of any fee will exceed the maximum annual
amount permissible under this division.
(5) The sheriff shall not
refuse to register a person, register a new residence address of a person, or
verify the current residence address of a person, who does not pay a fee the
sheriff requires under this section.
(6) The sheriff shall report
unpaid fees in accordance with division (C) of section 325.31
of the Revised Code, and the county may recover those fees in a civil action
in the same manner as other money due the county.
(D) Each time a person
appears before the sheriff to provide any registration or verification
specified in division (B) of this section for which the sheriff charges a
fee, the sheriff shall determine whether the person is able to pay the fee.
In making that determination, the sheriff shall determine whether the
person’s income is less than one hundred twenty-five per cent of the
federal poverty level. A person whose income is equal to or greater than one
hundred twenty-five per cent of the federal poverty level shall be
considered able to pay the fee.
(E) If a sheriff determines
a person’s income is less than one hundred twenty-five per cent of the
federal poverty level, the sheriff shall waive payment of the fee. If the
sheriff determines a person’s income is equal to or greater than one
hundred twenty-five per cent of the federal poverty level, the sheriff may
allow the person to pay the fee in accordance with a payment schedule the
sheriff establishes based on the person’s ability to pay. The sheriff
shall document any waiver or alternative fee arrangement in the official
registration records of the sheriff’s office and shall provide the
offender with a written copy of any waiver or alternative fee arrangement.
(F) All fees paid to a
sheriff under this section shall be paid into the county treasury to the
credit of the county general fund and shall be allocated to the sheriff to
be used to defray the costs of registering sex offenders and child-victim
offenders and providing community notification under Chapter 2950 of the
Revised Code.
(G) If an offender has
registered with a sheriff and subsequently relocates to a different county
during a registration year, the annual maximum amounts set forth in division
(C) of this section shall apply to the sheriff in the new county, and that
sheriff shall consider any payments already made by the offender for
purposes of determining when the applicable maximum has been met for the
offender’s registration year.
HISTORY:
SB 5 07-31-2003; SB 10 01-01-2008
*May
want to research Section 311.17
to see how this section may be applied.
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