C O A L I T I O N Corner Coalition Corner: Business training tools for HR staff, real estate licensees and other service professionals in the relocation and real estate industries Megan’s Law and Disclosure An overview presented by Richard H. Mansfield, Coalition General Counsel © 2005, Employee Relocation Council/Worldwide ERC ® Coalition

C O A L I T I O N Corner Program objectives This program supplements an editorial feature in Worldwide ERC ® ’s Mobility magazine This segment will: –Review the federal statute known as “Megan’s Law” and the disclosure implications –Examine how some states specifically address the issue –Look at what the impact might be on sellers and real estate professionals –Provide suggestions about where to go for more information

C O A L I T I O N Corner Megan’s Law: What is it? Named after seven-year-old New Jersey resident Megan Kanka, who was assaulted and killed by a convicted sex offender, Megan’s Law amended the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1996 and was signed into law on May 17, 1996 Since then, all 50 states and D.C. have adopted various forms of Megan’s Laws, generally providing for some type of public notification of the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders after their release from prison Although a federal law, it leaves states considerable discretion as to how that required notification is handled

C O A L I T I O N Corner States handle the required notification procedures differently. To look at a few: AK, CA, LA, MT and VA: require real estate licensees to direct home buyers to the state information resources, which now consist primarily of websites (and in MT, agents must disclose known information about sex offenders as well) In MN and WI, real estate agents have no duty to disclose if they provide timely written notification of information resources (but in WI, agents must disclose known information on request and provide appropriate information resources) What are the implications to real estate professionals?

C O A L I T I O N Corner States handle the required notification procedures differently. To look at a few: In OH, the local sheriff is required to provide written notice to neighbors if a sex offender resides or intends to reside in the area If an agent or broker has or receives notice from the sheriff’s office pursuant to this law, they are required to disclose this fact to the buyer in the purchase contract What are the implications to real estate professionals?

C O A L I T I O N Corner NJ has one of the more complicated implementations of offender registration and community notification laws: Sex offenders who reside in the community are classified by prosecutors in one of three "tiers," based on degree of risk they pose to the public The sex offender internet registry includes information on offenders determined to pose a relatively high risk of re-offense (tier 3) and, with certain exceptions, information about offenders found to pose a moderate risk of re-offense (tier 2) The internet registry excludes any information about offenders determined to present a low risk of re-offense (tier 1) Law enforcement agencies are notified of the presence of all sex offenders, regardless of tier Property sellers and brokers can only tell buyers that they should seek appropriate information about sex offenders and how to find such information, and contracts of sale may include this information What are the implications to real estate professionals?

C O A L I T I O N Corner Bottom line? As the disclosure requirements for each state are likely to change, relocation professionals should be sure to stay up-to-date and be aware of new cases or statutes which may affect their representation of sellers and of buyers A list of current state’s Megan’s Laws and digests are available online at such resources as Absent a statute to the contrary, the best advice is to point buyers to the state resources when asked All sellers, of course, remain liable in every state for intentional misrepresentation