GRANTS TO STATES TO OFFSET COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUALLY VIOLENT OFFENDER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 607. GRANTS TO STATES TO OFFSET COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUALLY VIOLENT OFFENDER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) In General.— Section 170101 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14071) is amended— (1) by redesignating the second subsection designated as subsection (g) as subsection (h); and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(i) Grants to States for Costs of Compliance.— “(1) Program authorized.— “(A) In general.— The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Director’) shall carry out a program, which shall be known as the ‘Sex Offender Management Assistance Program’ (in this subsection referred to as the ‘SOMA program’), under which the Director shall award a grant to each eligible State to offset costs directly associated with complying with this section. “(B) Uses of Funds.— Each grant awarded under this subsection shall be— “(i) distributed directly to the State for distribution to State and local entities; and “(ii) used for training, salaries, equipment, materials, and other costs directly associated with complying with this section. “(2) Eligibility.— “(A) Application.— To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, the chief executive of a State shall, on an annual basis, submit to the Director an application 112 STAT. 2986(in such form and containing such information as the Director may reasonably require) assuring that— “(i) the State complies with (or made a good faith effort to comply with) this section; and “(ii) where applicable, the State has penalties comparable to or greater than Federal penalties for crimes listed in this section, except that the Director may waive the requirement of this clause if a State demonstrates an overriding need for assistance under this subsection. “(B) Regulations.— “(i) In general.— Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Director shall promulgate regulations to implement this subsection (including the information that must be included and the requirements that the States must meet) in submitting the applications required under this subsection. In allocating funds under this subsection, the Director may consider the annual number of sex offenders registered in each eligible State’s monitoring and notification programs. “(ii) Certain training programs.— Prior to implementing this subsection, the Director shall study the feasibility of incorporating into the SOMA program the activities of any technical assistance or training program established as a result of section 40152 of this Act. In a case in which incorporating such activities into the SOMA program will eliminate duplication of efforts or administrative costs, the Director shall take administrative actions, as allowable, and make recommendations to Congress to incorporate such activities into the SOMA program prior to implementing the SOMA program. “(3) Authorization of appropriations.— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 and 2000.”. (b) Study.— Not later than March 1, 2000, the Director shall conduct a study to assess the efficacy of the Sex Offender Management Assistance Program under section 170101(i) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 1407 l(i)), as added by this section, and submit recommendations to Congress.