(Albany, NY) AP 01/19/06 -- On Wednesday, Governor Pataki
signed into law an extension of Megan's Law to keep thousands of
sex offenders on the public registry that tracks them.

Under the legislation, Level 3 offenders--the most violent offenders
--have to register for life in the Megan's Law database. Level 2 offenders
 will be able to petition to be taken off the list after 30 years.
The lowest level offenders will be registered for 20 years.

If the law had not been renewed, the original legislation would have
expired Saturday and more than 3,500 sex offenders in New York
would have fallen off the list by the end of the year.

Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver said the new legislation can be
revisited and revised if the federal government makes changes
to its national database it in coming months.
Those revisions will be necessary in ensuring the state doesn't lose
federal funding.

There are more than 21,000 registered sex offenders in New York state.

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