Tougher Sex-Offender Bills Die in Committee

2-19-2010 Virginia:

Four bills that would have brought tighter restrictions on registered sex offenders died in a House committee this week.

The bills would have prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 500 feet of a child daycare center or school, from entering onto the property of a daycare center at any time and from being within 100 feet of a children’s museum. A fourth bill would have retroactively included offenders convicted before July 1, 2000, in legislation that bans loitering near schools.

Local legislators said that the bills failed because they would have had fiscal impact in a year that allows no room for extra spending.

Del. Chris Peace, R-Mechanicsville, is a member of the Courts of Justice committee, which considered the sex-offender legislation.

“Many of these bills that create new penalties were left in committee this year because of their financial impact,” Peace said. “Simply because of budget reasons we can’t afford to do these things.”

Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the chairman of the Courts of Justice committee announced on the first day of session that any bill having fiscal impact would not be heard.

“Unless you could get rid of their fiscal impact, they were dead,” McClellan said.

In the past, the General Assembly has supported tough legislation in dealing with sex offenders. In 2006, former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signed a bundle of bills that increased punishment and monitoring for convicted sex offenders.

Peace said that keeping the children of Virginia safe was a high priority.

“The prevailing wisdom of this legislature has been one to crack down on sexually violent predators and to make sure that they are not repeat offenders,” Peace said. “I think I would say that generally speaking, these bills have been seen in a favorable light if they lead to keeping our community safer.”

But some convicted sex offenders may not be dangerous predators.

"The truth is, there are sex offenders living in communities all across Virginia,” Peace said, “and they’re doing so peacefully and they’re abiding by the laws.”
Liane Rozzell, executive director of Families and Allies of Virginia’s Youth, said juvenile sex offenders differ from adult sex offenders.

“We have to remember that the definition of a sex offense is very broad,” she said.

Rozzell said research shows that juvenile sex offenders are very unlikely to commit a second sex crime. To Rozzell, registering nonviolent youths as sex offenders could severely impair their futures.

“There are quite a few horror stories that we've heard where an act that somebody commits as a young person ends up causing them to have to be on the registry for the rest of their life.” Rozzell said. “It hinders their ability to get employment, hinders where they can live, hinders their access to adult additional schooling and so forth.

Juveniles should be treated in a way that enables them to reintegrate into society and to have the best opportunity possible to go on and be productive citizens.”

Del. Rob Bell, R-Charlottesville, the patron of the bill that would have banned registered sex offenders from being near a children’s museum, said it was only the budget that killed the bills and that he would propose his again next year.

“I'm hopeful that when the budget situation improves, we can look at them again,” Bell said. ..Source.. Ali Eaves and Julia Pepe, Capital News Service