HONOLULU -- State lawmakers have nearly reached an agreement on a bill to let Hawaii residents find out if a convicted sex offender is living in their neighborhood as part of the so-called Megan's law.

The Attorney General said Tuesday he is delighted with a compromise bill to allow some offenders to petition to be removed from the public registry after years of good behavior.

Right now, Hawaii's sex offender registry has only 74 names on it. There are only a few because the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled each sex offender must be offered a hearing to object before going on the registry.

However, last year, Hawaii residents voted to allow lawmakers to decide who goes on the public list. Legislators decided the most serious sex offenders will go on the Web immediately. The A- and B-class felons would be posted upon approval. Information on Class-C sex criminals would be made available to the public at the police stations and the Criminal Justice Data Center.

"What this means for the public when this bill passes and becomes law: the public are going to be able to protect themselves and their children from dangerous sex offenders," Attorney General Mark Bennett said.

"The bill is still coming out as one of the most draconian laws in the country. Hawaii is going to place itself as one of the most callous of states without any evidence to show that these kinds of increased public access actually increase public safety," Hawaii ACLU Executive Director Lois Perrin said.

Under the compromise, all sex offenders will be given the chance to petition to get their name off the list after specified periods of time.

House and Senate conferees are expected to reach agreement on some final technicalities in the sex offender registry bill later this week. The bill is expected to win full legislative approval next week.