ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- A state lawmaker wants to close what he calls a "loophole" in New Mexico’s sex offender registration laws. House bill 43 would require anyone who is convicted of a sex offense in another state to also register as a sex offender in New Mexico.
State Rep. Matthew McQueen, a Democrat from Albuquerque, is sponsoring the bill.
He says it's directly related to the Jeffery Epstein case.
Epstein did not have to register as a sex offender in New Mexico despite being a convicted sex offender in Florida.
Epstien owned the Zorro Ranch, south of Santa Fe. He’s been accused of abusing underage girls at the property.
McQueen believes Epstein slipped through a crack in the state sex offender registration law.
"I want to make sure that a sex offender in another state never gets convicted and doesn't' want to register and looks around and says, ‘OK where can I go where I can avoid registration? Oh look, New Mexico has lax laws, I'll go there.’ so we're going to prevent that."
House bill 43 would require a sex offender register in New Mexico if they spend more than 10 days in a row – or 20 days a year in the state.
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