IA- New sex offender restrictions signed into law by Culver

5-23-2009 Iowa:

Revised restrictions on convicted sex offenders were signed into law today by Gov. Chet Culver, under a bill that several key law enforcement officials said will better protect Iowans.

“This bill is going to give us the tools to make Iowa a little bit safer and all of our kids a little bit better off,” said Louisa County Sheriff Curt Braby, who is also president of the Iowa State Sheriffs & Deputies Association.

The main change in Senate file 340 sets up what is known as exclusion zones. It gives schools, child care centers and public library officials the ability to grant or deny access to any convicted sex offender.

But the bill also no longer prohibits about 3,100 of the state's lower-risk offenders from living closer than 2,000 feet from a school or child care facility. They could live as close as they like, but they would not be allowed inside the exclusion zone.

Offenders with the most serious crimes on their records would still be required to abide by the 2,000-foot rule, however.

Law enforcement agency representatives have generally said the revised law would help them keep the most dangerous child predators away from key areas where children are located.

Currently, a sex offender can spend time around places like schools but simply cannot live in that location. The changes would give law enforcement more authority to remove sex offenders from such areas and better protect the public, advocates for the bill said.

The bill, which some lawmakers have worked on for more than four years, easily passed both the House and the Senate with votes from both Democrats and Republicans.

About 70 law enforcement officials and lawmakers from both parties joined Culver at the Capitol today to sign the bill.

“This was done to fix a loophole in the law, which although limiting where offenders could live, it did not address other dangers to public safety in terms of day-to-day behaviors of registered sex offenders,” Culver said.

Rep. Clel Baudler, the top-ranking Republican on the House Public Safety Committee, led debate on the House floor and spoke at today’s bill signing. Baudler, of Greenfield, is also a retired Iowa State Patrol trooper.

“We must keep in mind that this law does not guarantee safety from sexual predators,” Baudler said. “We need to encourage our citizens to be proactive and use the resources that we have available.” ..News Source.. by JASON CLAYWORTH