Legislation sponsored by state Sens.

Jane Orie, R-40th, and

John Rafferty, R-Montgomery, that seeks to establish federally mandated national standards to strengthen sex offender registration was unanimously approved this week by the Senate Judiciary Committee.The measure would mandate that Pennsylvania implement the national Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, also known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act."The Adam Walsh Act is crucial to protecting our children from predators," Orie said, "because it seeks to create a national standard for sex offender registries — registries that are available on the Internet, and have uniform enforcement."Rafferty added: "The act also provides stricter registration requirements for convicted sex offenders as well as keeping their information more current. The convicted offender will have to register in person and the worst offenders will have to check in more frequently — ensuring that they don't slip through the cracks."