HOUSTON (October 7, 2012)—Texas officials cite cost concerns as the reason the state has joined four other states in shunning a national sex offender registry created in 2006.

Texas officials say it would cost an estimated $38 million to modify the state's existing registry program.

Texas is therefore willing to risk losing about $1.4 million in grant money to help local agencies enforce the law.

Nearly three-dozen states have failed to meet all conditions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act because of concerns about how the registry works and how much it costs.

Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, California and Nebraska have opted out of the national registry.

As of August, about 70,000 sex offenders were registered statewide, The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.