Convicted sex offenders, sexual predators and other convicted felons in Nye County who are required by law to register with local law enforcement agencies upon release from incarceration may have to pay a fee to register in the future.

Nye County commissioners will hold a public hearing to discuss amending Nye County Code Title 9, which addresses public peace, morals and welfare, to include the registration fees.

In addition, under Nevada law, convicted sex offenders are classified into four tiers numbered from 0 to 3 based on their assessed likelihood of recidivism and threat to the community.

Although Tier 0 and 1 sex offenders are required to register with law enforcement agencies, they are not required to notify community organizations of their address and other information.

Tier 2 and 3 offenders, however, are required to register with the local law enforcement agencies and notify schools, religious and youth organizations, and prosecutors and courts of their status.

Should the offenders change their addresses, they are required to register.

In addition, the information given to law enforcement is validated by personal visits from deputies four times a year.

A convicted offender has 48 hours upon release from a penal institution to register.

Failure by a convicted sex offender to register, re-register or provide valid information is a felony offense.

The information given when sex offenders register includes name, any aliases, year of birth, a physical description, residential and work addresses, the name convicted under, a description of their conviction including the state, county, city or township of conviction, where they served hospital or penal time for the conviction and a photograph if available.

Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo proposed the fees in response to the classification requirements for sex offenders being changed by the Nevada Legislature.

As a result of the changes, offenders formerly classified as Tier 1 and 2 offenders will be re-classified as Tier 3 offenders, increasing the number of registrations that need to be processed.

DeMeo explained that each registration takes approximately half an hour of paid staff time. In addition, the deputies are using gas and additional time to validate addresses. The sheriff also pointed out the software used by the sheriff's office to log, update and track registration information costs $7,000 a year alone.

Under the proposition, convicted offenders would be asked to pay a $75 dollar fee for their initial registration.

Re-registration will cost $35, an address or information change will cost $15, and validations will cost $25 upon completion.

Although the fees proposed by DeMeo won't offset the anticipated increase in costs, the sheriff said they could potentially help.

"If they don't have the money, we're still going to process them," DeMeo explained. "We're not going to refuse to register. And we're going to look at a person's indigence."

DeMeo said if an offender doesn't have the cash on hand to pay the fee, the sheriff's office would put him on a payment plan.

The fee otherwise would be due at the time of registration.

DeMeo said Nye County is the first jurisdiction to propose the imposition of fees.