This is in response to your request for information concerning whether the laws in
the states in Region VI have changed since we released our March 2000 legal opinion
reviewing state laws regarding sexually dangerous persons/sexual predators. In that
opinion, we concluded that the laws in the states in Region VI did not require confinement
of a sexual offender upon completion of a prison term. The laws in the states in Region
VI have not changed since our last opinion. Those laws do not require the confinement
of a sexual offender after he or she completes a prison term. Therefore, the Social
Security Administration (Agency) may not suspend benefits after authorities release
a sexual offender from prison within any state in Region VI.
As stated in our March 2000 opinion, Congress created a new category of inmates who
are subject to the Agency's prisoner suspension provisions. 42 U.S.C. § 402(x)(iii).
The Social Security Act provides for the continued denial of Title II benefits to
individuals who:
immediately upon completion of confinement [in a jail, prison, or other penal institution
or correctional facility] pursuant to conviction of a criminal offense an element
of which is sexual activity, is confined by court order in an institution at public
expense pursuant to a finding that the individual is a sexually dangerous person or
a sexual predator or a similar finding.
42 U. S. C. § 402(x)(iii).
We set forth below our related analysis of each Region VI state's law.
Arkansas:
Arkansas sexual predator laws have not changed substantively since March 2000. Arkansas
law does not provide for the confinement of sex offenders who have completed their
prison terms. See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 12-12-901 - 12-12-923. Accordingly, the Agency
may not suspend benefits after authorities release a sexual offender from prison.
Louisiana:
Louisiana law has not changed significantly since our March 2000 legal opinion. In
2006, Louisiana enacted laws providing for electronic monitoring and the supervised
release of certain sexual predators, but Louisiana laws do not provide for the confinement
in an institution of a sexual predator immediately after he or she completes his or
her confinement in a jail, prison, or other penal institution or correctional facility.
See La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 15:560.1, 15:560.3, 15:560.4, 15:561.2.
New Mexico:
New Mexico law has not changed since we last examined this issue in March 2000. New
Mexico's law does not provide for the confinement of an incarcerated sexual predator
following completion of his or her prison sentence. A bill currently pending in the
New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee provides for continued confinement in a treatment
facility for sexually violent predators that authorities release from prison. See S.B. 452. The committee has postponed action on the bill indefinitely, and the same
bill died in committee in 2003 and 2005.
Oklahoma:
Oklahoma law has not changed since our March 2000 legal opinion. The Oklahoma Sex
Offenders Registration Act requires sexual offenders to register with the Department
of Corrections, but the Act does not provide for the confinement of sexual offenders
after they have completed their prison terms. See Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 57, §§ 581-590.1. Thus, under Oklahoma law, the Agency may
not suspend benefits after authorities release a sexual offender from prison.
Texas:
Texas law has not changed substantively since our March 2000 legal opinion. Texas
law does not provide for confinement of sexual offenders after they have completed
their prison terms. See Tex. Health and Safety Code § 841.081. Thus, under Texas law, the Agency may not suspend
benefits after authorities have released a sexual offender from prison.
In summary, the laws in the states in Region VI have not changed since we released
our March 2000 legal opinion reviewing state laws regarding sexually dangerous persons/sexual
predators. We conclude that none of the laws in the states in Region VI requires the
confinement of a sexual offender after he or she completes a prison term. As such,
the Agency may not suspend benefits after authorities release a sexual offender from
prison within any state in Region VI.
Tina M. W~
Regional Chief Counsel
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Julia D~
Assistant Regional Counsel