SC- SC gov signs limits where sex offenders live

6-17-2008 South Carolina:

Sex offenders won't be able to live within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers or playgrounds under legislation Gov. Mark Sanford signed into law Monday night.

Sanford applauded the bill, but knocked a provision that lightens penalties for sex offenders who don't tell sheriffs where they live. It was one of 29 bills the Legislature left behind when it adjourned two weeks ago. Sanford had to act on that stack before midnight.

"We believe this is a commonsense measure for safeguarding our state's children," Sanford wrote, noting that local governments had passed a patchwork of laws on their own and the state needed to be consistent. "We also believe this legislation will deter sex offenders from relocating from neighboring states to South Carolina.

The bill says convicts can't live within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers or playgrounds. It doesn't apply to people who already lived within that limit before the measure became law. And it doesn't force newly convicted people to move.

The bill also changes a three-year-old law that imposed a 90-day jail sentence when sex offenders fail to register with a sheriff or report an address change. It allows a $500 fine and no more than 30 days in jail. And, unlike the current law, the change would allow judges to suspend those penalties. State Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said he offered the change at the request of prosecutors who believe the lesser punishments will be assessed more quickly and without jamming up their calendars.

The Legislature left intact repeat-offender penalties on the registration law. A second offense brings a mandatory one-year prison term that judges can't suspend. A third offense brings five years with a minimum of three years to be served in prison.

Sanford said he understood what prosecutors wanted, but he said "the good of the bill is offset" by that change. He said he relied on promises from the bill's sponsors and others that the Legislature would increase the penalty next year.

Others shared Sanford's distaste for the first offense break.

"I'm hoping he will sign that and hold his nose," said Laura Hudson, executive director of the South Carolina Crime Victims Council. ..News Source.. by Fay Observer.com