SORRB  Rules

594-1-.01

Organization

Board Membership

(a) The Sexual Offender Risk Review Board shall be composed of three professionals licensed under Title 43 and knowledgeable in the field of the behavior and treatment of sexual offenders; at least one representative from a victims' rights advocacy group or agency; and at least two representatives from law enforcement, each of whom is either employed by a law enforcement agency as a certified peace officer under Title 35 or retired from such employment. The members of the board shall be appointed by the commissioner of behavioral health and developmental disabilities for terms of four years. On and after July 1, 2006, successors to the members of the board shall be appointed by the Governor. Members of the board shall take office on the first day of September immediately following the expired term of that office and shall serve for a term of four years and until the appointment of their respective successors. No member shall serve on the board more than two consecutive terms. Vacancies occurring on the board, other than those caused by expiration of a term of office, shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment to the position vacated for the remainder of the unexpired term and until a successor is appointed.

594-1.02

Member Compensation

The members of the Board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to an expense allowance and travel cost reimbursement same as members of certain other Boards and commissions as provided in Code Section 45-7-21.

594-1.03

Administrative Assignment

(b) The board shall be attached to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for administrative purposes and, provided there is adequate funding, shall: (1) Exercise its quasi-judicial, rule-making, or policy-making functions independently of the department and without approval or control of the department; (2) Prepare its budget, if any, and submit its budgetary requests, if any, through the department; and (3) Hire its own personnel, including but not limited to administrative personnel and clinical evaluators.

(c)

(1) The board shall acquire, collect, and analyze information, including, but not limited to, criminal history record information, in determining a sexual offender’s risk assessment as provided for under Code Section 42-1-14.

(2) The board may employ investigators under the board’s administration and supervision to complete the duties provided for under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall maintain at least one position under the bureau’s administration and supervision which shall facilitate the provision of summarized criminal history record information to the board from the Georgia Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center.

(d) Members of the board shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct under this article.

594-1.04

Risk Assessment and Classification

(a)

(1) The board shall determine the likelihood that a sexual offender will engage in another crime against a victim who is a minor or a dangerous sexual offense.  Any sexual offender who changes residence from another state or territory of the United States or any other place to this state and who is not already designated under Georgia law as a sexually dangerous predator, or sexually violent predator shall have his or her required registration information forwarded by the sheriff of his or her county of registration to the board for the purpose of risk assessment classification. The board shall also make such determination upon the request of a superior court judge for purposes of considering a petition to be released from registration restrictions or residency or employment restrictions as provided for in Code Section 42-1-19.

(2) A sexual offender shall be placed into Level I risk assessment classification, Level II risk assessment classification, or sexually dangerous predator classification based upon the board's assessment criteria and information obtained and reviewed by the board. The sexual offender may provide the board with information, including, but not limited to, psychological evaluations, sexual history polygraph information, treatment history, and personal, social, educational, and work history. If the sexual offender has undergone treatment or supervision through the Department of Corrections or the Department of Community Supervision, such treatment records shall also be submitted to the board for evaluation. The prosecuting attorney shall provide the board with any information available to assist the board in rendering an opinion, including, but not limited to, criminal history and records related to previous criminal history and shall provide the same information to the sexual offender as was provided to the board. The board shall be authorized to obtain available information from supervision records prior to July 1, 2015, and all public records obtained and electronically retained by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles during its investigation of such sexual offender and shall provide the same information to such sexual offender as was provided to the board, but if such records are classified as confidential state secrets, such records shall remain confidential state secrets in accordance with Code Section 42-9-53 and shall not be made available to any other person or entity or be subject to subpoena unless declassified by the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. Any person divulging or causing to be divulged any confidential state secret shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The clerk of the court of the appropriate jurisdiction where the sexual offender resides shall send a copy of the order seeking classification for purposes of sentencing and a copy of the sexual offender’s conviction to the board and notify the board that a sexual offender’s risk assessment evaluation will need to be performed. The board shall render its recommendation for risk assessment classification within: 

(A) Sixty days of receipt of a request for an evaluation if the sexual offender is being sentenced pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 17-10-6.2 or as part of a presentence investigation pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 42-8-34; 

(B) Six months prior to the sexual offender's proposed release from confinement if the offender is incarcerated; 

(C) Sixty days of receipt of the required registration information from the sheriff when the sexual offender changes residence from another state or territory of the United States or any other place to this state and is not already classified; 

(D) Sixty days if the sexual offender is sentenced to a probated or suspended sentence; and 

(E) Ninety days if such classification is requested by the court pursuant to a petition filed under Code Section 42-1-19. 

(3) The board shall notify the sexual offender by first-class mail of its determination of risk assessment classification and shall send a copy of such classification to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Corrections, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Community Supervision, the sheriff of the county where the sexual offender is registered, and to counsel for the sexual offender and the sentencing court, if applicable. 

(b) If the board determines that a sexual offender should be classified as a Level II risk assessment classification or as a sexually dangerous predator, the sexual offender may petition the board to reevaluate his or her classification. To file a petition for reevaluation, the sexual offender shall be required to submit his or her written petition for reevaluation to the board within 30 days from the date of the letter notifying the sexual offender of his or her classification. The sexual offender shall have 120 days from the date of the notification letter to submit information as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section in support of the sexual offender's petition for reevaluation. If the sexual offender fails to submit the petition or supporting documents within the time limits provided, the classification shall be final. The board shall notify the sexual offender by first-class mail of its decision on the petition for reevaluation of risk assessment classification and shall send a copy of such notification to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Corrections, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Community Supervision, the sheriff of the county where the sexual offender is registered, and to counsel for the sexual offender and the sentencing court, if applicable. The sexual offender may request reevaluation after ten years following his or her initial classification and no more than once every five years thereafter. 

(c) A sexual offender who is classified by the board as a Level II risk assessment classification or as a sexually dangerous predator may file a petition for judicial review of his or her classification within 30 days of the date of the notification letter or, if the sexual offender has requested reevaluation pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section, within 30 days of the date of the letter denying the petition for reevaluation. The petition for judicial review shall name the board as defendant, and the petition shall be filed in the superior court of the county where the offices of the board are located. Within 30 days after service of the appeal on the board, the board shall submit a summary of its findings to the court and mail a copy, by first-class mail, to the sexual offender. The findings of the board shall be considered prima-facie evidence of the classification. The court shall also consider any relevant evidence submitted, and such evidence and documentation shall be mailed to the parties as well as submitted to the court. The court may hold a hearing to determine the issue of classification. The court may uphold the classification of the board, or, if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the sexual offender is not placed in the appropriate classification level, the court shall place the sexual offender in the appropriate risk assessment classification. The court's determination shall be forwarded by the clerk of the court to the board, the sexual offender, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Department of Community Supervision, and the sheriff of the county where the sexual offender is registered, and counsel for the sexual offender, if applicable. 

(d) Any individual who was classified as a sexually violent predator prior to July 1, 2006, shall be classified as a sexually dangerous predator on and after July 1, 2006. 

(e) In addition to the requirements of registration for all sexual offenders, a sexually dangerous predator shall report to the sheriff of the county where such predator resides six months following his or her birth month and update or verify his or her required registration information.

594-1.05

Automatic Amendment of these Rules

At any such time that the statutes are amended, these rules will automatically be amended to reflect such changes.

  Updated June 20, 2024