SALEM — State Rep. Jason Conger is worried that Oregon has put out the welcome mat for sex offenders.

The Republican from Bend teamed up with state Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, a former Oregon State Police trooper, to create legislation that would require anyone convicted of sex crimes outside of Oregon to register as an offender once he or she moves here. State law already requires offenders convicted of sex offenses within Oregon to register.

Conger said he was surprised to learn that sex offenders who move to the state didn’t already have to register. The way the law is currently crafted, he said, almost offers an incentive for anyone convicted of such crimes to move to Oregon.

If passed, the law only applies to crimes committed after its passage.

“This takes that incentive away,” Conger said.

Aaron Knott, legislative director with the attorney general’s office, last month told lawmakers the law would deny sex offenders a “safe haven” in Oregon.

“The basic point of this is if you’re convicted of a crime in another state that would require you register in that state and you move to Oregon, you’re required to register,” he told lawmakers.

It would also require people convicted of federal sex crimes to register as sex offenders at the state level, which they currently do not have to do, according to Michael Slauson, an attorney with the state Department of Justice.

Other than through anecdotal evidence, Conger said, he does not know how often sex offenders actually move to the state. But, he said, he believes other states are moving toward passing similar legislation.

“Other states are becoming aware of the problem and taking steps to correct it,” he said. “We’re probably an early adopter.”

The House passed House Bill 3253 unanimously; it moved to a Senate committee.

Olson, the former police officer, said he was also unaware until recently that sex offenders did not have to register in the state if they had committed the crime elsewhere.

“There was a door wide open, that needed to be closed,” Olson said. “This will do that.”