Idaho House Committee Passes Increased Fees for Sex Offenders

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A bill that doubles the fees charged to sex offenders and creates a statewide electronic offender registry has cleared a House committee. The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted Thursday to send the measure to the House floor.

It would boost sex offenders' annual registry fee from $40 to $80 and raise about $150,000 annually. Those dollars would be used to fund an electronic network designed to track sex offenders' addresses as they move to new communities across the state. Some of Idaho's biggest counties are already plugged into an electronic registry that tracks offenders, but many smaller counties still track movement on paper.

Boise resident Mark Snowball, a registered sex offender, said the measure would create a financial burden for recently released or unemployed offenders.