On Tuesday, July 31, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 3796, the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2012, under a suspension of the rules requiring a two-thirds majority vote for approval.  H.R. 3796 was introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) on January 19, 2012, and was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, which held a mark-up and reported the bill, as amended, on July 18, 2012, by a voice vote. 

H.R. 3796 would amend the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 to authorize appropriations through 2017 for: (1) the Sex Offender Management Assistance (SOMA) program, (2) the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Grant Program, and (3) federal assistance to states in locating and apprehending sex offenders who violate sex offender registration requirements.

The bill would strike “such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2007 through 2009” and authorize the appropriation of $46.2 million for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017. 

The bill would also require a tier III sex offender adjudicated delinquent for an offense which required registration in a sex registry to maintain a clean record for 15 (currently 25) years to qualify for a reduction in the period for which such offender must keep such registration current.

Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3796 would cost $298 million over the 2013-2017 period. Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues.