Signed by Governor Kay Ivey

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that requires all child sex offenders be chemically castrated.

Highlights:

• Requires the court to order a person convicted of a sex offense involving a person under the age of 13 to undergo chemical castration treatment in addition to any other punishment prescribed for that offense or any other provision of law, as a condition of parole (Sec. 1).

• Requires the parolee to pay for all the costs associated with the castration treatment, in addition to other costs the parolee may have, but the parolee may not be denied parole if they cannot pay the costs (Sec. 1).

• Requires that if a person required to receive castration treatment claims indigency, they are to be brought to a court of competent jurisdiction for a determination of indigency and if they are found to be indigent, a periodic review may take place to determine if they are still indigent and any fees or costs are not waived unless they prove they are unable to pay the costs within the foreseeable future (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes parolees to elect to stop receiving the treatment at any time and cannot be forced to receive the treatment, but that will be considered a violation of their parole and immediately remanded to custody of the Department of Corrections (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that only a bona fide employee of the Alabama Department of Public Health may administer the treatment (Sec. 1).

• Requires people undergoing chemical castration treatment to begin treatment at least 1 month before release from custody and to continue to receive treatment until the court determines treatment is no longer needed (Sec. 1).

• Defines “chemical castration treatment” as the receiving of medication including, but not limited to, medroxyprogesterone acetate treatment or its chemical equivalent, that, among other things, reduces, inhibits, or blocks the production of testosterone, hormones, or other chemicals in a person’s body (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text