The law requires sex offenders to register regularly and in-person, usually at local law enforcement agencies, and notify the authorities if they travel or move. States that failed to implement the policy by July 27, 2011, must forfeit 10 percent of their Byrne Justice Assistance Grant award starting in FY 2012. In the last fiscal year, the Byrne JAG block grant gave out nearly $250 million to states.
Several factors have hindered states from successfully implementing their SORNA programs. They include: questions about how often sex offenders must register in person with law enforcement, the offender information that must be disclosed to the public and retroactive application of the law, according to NCSL.
The map below shows the 15 states that have successfully compiled with SORNA.
View SORNA Implementation in a full screen map
