H.R. 10552 — Karly Rain Wood Act

This section provides the short title of the Act as the Karly Rain Wood Act and sets forth the table of contents.

This section states the purpose of the Act as protecting the public from repeat violent felons by establishing a comprehensive national registration system for such offenders, in response to the attack on Karly Rain Wood.

This section defines terms used in the Act, including repeat violent felon as an individual with final convictions for at least two qualifying offenses or one qualifying offense and one serious drug offense; qualifying offense as arson, murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sexual offense, robbery, extortion, unlawful firearm or explosive use, assault with intent to commit rape, serious violent felony, or related firearm use (excluding excepted offenses); and related terms such as jurisdiction, registry, and assistance program.

This section establishes the Karly Rain Wood Repeat Violent Felon Registration and Notification Program within the Department of Justice. It directs the Attorney General to coordinate jurisdiction registries and issue implementing regulations, and requires each jurisdiction to maintain a registry under which repeat violent felons must register.

This section requires repeat violent felons to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside, work, or attend school. It mandates initial registration before release from imprisonment or within 3 business days of sentencing, in-person verification every 90 days, updates within 3 business days of any change, and lifetime registration excluding periods of custody. Jurisdictions must impose criminal penalties with a maximum term of imprisonment greater than 1 year for noncompliance and notify the Attorney General and law enforcement of violations.

This section requires officials to inform repeat violent felons of their registration duties under the Act shortly before release from custody or immediately after sentencing, to obtain a signed acknowledgment of those duties, and to ensure registration occurs. It directs the Attorney General to prescribe rules for cases where registration cannot proceed under those procedures.

This section requires each jurisdiction to maintain a public website with all information on repeat violent felons in its registry, searchable by a single query for any ZIP Code or geographic radius, and to participate in a national website directed by the Attorney General. It mandates exemptions for victim identities, social security numbers, and non-conviction arrests; requires links to safety resources, instructions for correcting errors, and warnings against unlawful use of the data.

This section directs the Attorney General to maintain a National Repeat Violent Felon Registry within the FBI for registration of repeat violent felons and other individuals required by jurisdictions, and to transmit updated information immediately by electronic forwarding to each relevant jurisdiction. It also requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain a National Repeat Violent Felon Public Website that includes relevant information on such individuals, permits public queries by ZIP Code or geographical radius, and provides additional field search capabilities.

This section establishes the Repeat Violent Felon Community Notification Program within the Department of Justice. It requires immediate notification of registry information on repeat violent felons (other than exempted data) to the Attorney General for the National Repeat Violent Felon Registry, law enforcement and probation agencies, schools, public housing agencies, relevant jurisdictions, employment background check agencies, child welfare social services, volunteer organizations, and any requesting organization, company, or individual, with an option for certain recipients to receive updates no more frequently than once every five business days.

This section directs the Attorney General, within 2 years of enactment and in consultation with jurisdictions, to develop and support software enabling uniform registries and websites for registered repeat violent felons. The software must allow immediate interstate information exchange, real-time public internet access to the number of such felons in each jurisdiction, full statutory compliance, and notification program communications.

This section requires each jurisdiction to implement the Act by the later of 3 years after enactment or 1 year after software developed under section 10(a) is available. It authorizes the Attorney General to grant up to two 1-year extensions. It reduces a jurisdiction's Byrne JAG allocation by 10 percent for failure to substantially implement the Act, with reallocation permitted solely for implementation. It directs the Attorney General to consider state constitutional barriers identified by the jurisdiction's highest court and to accept two reasonable alternative procedures if good-faith reconciliation efforts occur.

This section establishes the Repeat Violent Felon Management Assistance Program. It authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to jurisdictions to offset costs of complying with the Act and to provide bonus payments equal to 10 percent of the prior year’s grant if substantial compliance occurs within 540 days of enactment or 5 percent if it occurs within 2 years of enactment. It authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2027 and 2028.

This section authorizes an Indian Tribe to elect to qualify as a jurisdiction under the Act or to delegate its requirements to one or more other jurisdictions within the Tribe's territory. It deems a Tribe subject to state law enforcement jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. 1162 to have delegated if it makes no election within one year of enactment, rescinds an election, or the Attorney General determines it cannot substantially implement the requirements. It permits cooperative agreements to allocate functions regarding repeat violent felons without duplication.

This section establishes a system, operated by the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, to notify relevant jurisdictions about repeat violent felons entering the United States. It requires the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to provide information and perform functions directed by the Attorney General.

This section directs the Secretary of Defense to provide information on repeat violent felons released from military corrections facilities or convicted of qualifying offenses without confinement to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Repeat Violent Felon Registry and national website.

This section provides immunity from liability for good faith conduct under this Act to the Federal Government, jurisdictions, political subdivisions of jurisdictions, and their agencies, officers, employees, and agents.