Stricter requirements for convicted sex offenders are among nine new laws that go into effect on the first day of 2009.

More information about convicted sex offenders will appear online and in the actual databases of the state's sex offender registry starting tomorrow. And it will be harder for those required to register to escape penalty for failing to do so.

Other new laws toughen the penalty against those who fail to pay child support and clarify that it is illegal to drink alcohol in the common areas of public housing projects.

Act 80 is a multipronged measure that tightens laws against sex offenders. Some sections took effect when Gov. Linda Lingle signed the bill on May 16, while other parts take effect tomorrow after giving agencies time to implement new policies.

Starting tomorrow, Attorney General Mark Bennett said, the sex offender registry is required to provide a sex offender birthplace, a physical description, whether the person holds any professional licenses and details of the conviction.

Previously, "maybe all they get is a three-word description of the crime," Bennett said.

Other information about sex offenders previously accessible to the public only by walking into a police station or the Criminal Justice Data Center will now be available online as well, Bennett said.

Also beginning tomorrow, failure to register as a sex offender automatically becomes a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Previously, prosecutors needed to show that a person knowingly or intentionally failed to comply.

The most contentious part of Act 80 took effect in May. That provision requires courts to impose a mandatory 10-year prison sentence on those who communicate electronically with a child under 18 with the intent of meeting to have sex.

Designed to crack down on those who prey on children via the Internet, the measure raised concern with the state Public Defender's Office.

Public Defender Jack Tonaki said a mandatory sentence is too onerous and that judges should have leeway to impose a lesser sentence, including probation.

"A lot of these persons apprehended under this law are otherwise law-abiding citizens," Tonaki said. Many have jobs and can be rehabilitated through probation, he said.

But House Majority Leader Blake Oshiro said actually planning to meet and then meeting a youth intending to commit a felony is a serious offense.

"It's not like all they're doing is chatting with a child and having a risque discussion," he said.

Oshiro said the measure would not be used lightly.

"This is really going to be used when (prosecutors) can show these guys had a serious criminal intent," he said.

"The attorney general's office showed us very compelling evidence that these guys were getting away with probation. Given that these are very serious crimes, we wanted to put out a very strong statement."

Another section of Act 80 that took effect May 16 created a new misdemeanor offense for offenders who use a computer to transmit lewd images of themselves. A person found guilty could be sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail.

An additional section that will take effect June 30 requires sex offenders to update their information annually rather than every five years, Bennett said.

Among the other laws taking effect tomorrow, Act 157 makes the knowing failure to pay child support, medical support or other remedial care a civil contempt of court, which could land a parent in jail.

Oshiro said the bill was pushed by the attorney general's office, which testified it was having difficulty enforcing laws against delinquent parents.

"We believe this bill will significantly enhance the child support enforcement agency's ability to collect delinquent child support," Bennett said.

Also becoming law tomorrow is Act 34, which makes it illegal to consume alcohol on public sidewalks or other common areas of public housing projects such as Mayor Wright Housing or Kuhio Park Terrace.

Police testified that they could not effectively curb drinking in such housing projects when the only prohibitions against alcohol were in building rules, Oshiro said.