Leno-Cohn bill strengthening sex offender laws passes State Assembly

By Brigid Gaffikin, Bay City News Service

February 1, 2006

SACRAMENTO (BCN) -- A bill that proponents say would strengthen California's sex offender laws while giving law enforcement "the tools they need" to trace and treat offenders passed the California Assembly Tuesday on a 49-0 vote, with 31 Republican abstentions and one Republican vote in favor, according to Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco.

Assembly Bill 50, which is co-sponsored by Leno and Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn, D-Campbell, "increases prison terms and parole for certain sex offenses against children and provides tougher parole restrictions by prohibiting parolees from being on school property," according to Leno.

But Leno is "disappointed that (the bill) didn't get a single Republican vote" in its final form, a spokeswoman for Leno said today.

Some $23 million in funding originally included in AB50 was removed from the final text of the bill because no Republican members of the Assembly voted for it with the appropriation included, according to Leno.

The funding would have allocated $8 million to an expanded global positioning system, or GPS, program, which is meant "to track sexually violent predators," a spokeswoman for Leno said.

It would also have included $15 million to support county and regional Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) teams, which work to identify, monitor, arrest and assist in the prosecution of sex offenders, according to Leno.

Leno has said he plans to add this funding to the bill through Senate amendments.

The bill also introduces a program aimed at preventing relapses by high-risk sex offenders who are in state prison and at least two years away from parole, Leno said.

AB50 has received the backing of law enforcement associations including the Peace Officers Research Association, the California Peace Officers' Association and the California Police Chiefs Association.

The state attorney general's office and the California District Attorneys Association have also supported the bill, as have Crime Victims United, the California Coalition on Sexual Offending and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault, according to Leno.

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