Sponsors (5)
The bill creates designated federal shelter options and improves information-sharing to keep covered sex offenders out of general shelters during disasters, but does so by restricting registrants' access to ordinary emergency services, exposing them to criminal penalties, imposing administrative burdens on local shelters, and raising civil‑rights and public‑safety concerns.
State and local governments (and FEMA) gain authority to designate Federal buildings or prisons as emergency shelters for covered sex offenders, creating a clear, centralized housing option during disasters.
Local shelter operators of undesignated shelters receive information about where designated shelters are located, helping them direct registrants away from general-population shelters and reducing confusion during disaster response.
Covered registrants (including people with disabilities and other vulnerable registrants) will be prevented from using most public shelters and may face reduced access to emergency housing and essential services during disasters.
Covered registrants risk criminal penalties (up to 5 years) and increased incarceration for entering non-designated shelters during disasters, raising justice-system consequences for people seeking emergency shelter.
Local shelter operators and resource-strained emergency providers must take on new notification and information duties, increasing administrative burdens on already stretched local governments and shelters during disasters.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars federally registered sex offenders from using undesignated emergency shelters, requires immediate self-notification, imposes criminal penalties, and lets FEMA designate federal facilities as shelters in disasters.
Official title: To prohibit certain sex offenders from entering or using the services of certain emergency shelters, to authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to designate emergency shelters for such sex offenders, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 11, 2025 by Nancy Mace · Last progress February 11, 2025
Prohibits people who must register on the federal sex offender registry from entering or using any emergency shelter that is not specifically designated for use by registered sex offenders, except to get information about designated shelters. It requires immediate self-notification by such individuals if they enter undesignated shelters, requires shelter operators to inform them about designated shelters, creates a federal criminal penalty (fine and/or up to 5 years imprisonment) for knowingly failing to comply, and gives FEMA authority to designate certain federal buildings or prisons as shelters during declared disasters. The ban takes effect 180 days after enactment.