Bill to require special IDs for sex offenders defeated
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Even though it failed to garner enough support, a Riverside County lawmaker says he won't abandon a proposal that would require convicted sex offenders to carry special identification at all times.
AB 885, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Beaumont, failed to garner
enough votes in the Assembly Committee on Transportation on Monday.
Eight votes were needed to advance the bill. Four Republicans and two Democrats voted yes, while committee Chair Bonnie Lowenthal and another Democrat opposed the measure. Five Democrats and one Republican abstained.
"I'm disappointed that the bill didn't pass, but I'm not deterred," Cook said. "Requiring the worst sex offenders to carry ID would be of great help to law enforcement in the early hours of an abduction of a child. We have a long way to go in keeping kids safe."
Maurice Dubois of Escondido, whose 14-year-old daughter Amber was raped
and murdered by convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III in February 2009, had endorsed AB 885.
Under the bill, any person designated by the California Department of Justice as a ``sexually violent predator'' -- including those convicted of assaulting a child -- would have been required to carry a driver's license or ID bearing a unique code on the card's magnetic strip. They would have to keep the card in their possession wherever they go.
The code would be immediately recognizable by law enforcement, but not the general public, according to Cook.
He said the state's Megan's Law database listing the last known residences of convicted sex offenders is not always reliable, and AB 885 would bolster law enforcement's ability to quickly track down predators during an investigation.
An analysis by the Committee on Transportation questioned the practicality of trying to enforce the law, noting that some ex-cons may go by aliases or refuse to carry their licenses or ID cards.
The California Public Defenders' Association argued in its opposition letter to the bill that a person "interested in committing a sex offense ... would likely not carry the card identifying them as a (Penal Code section) 290 sex registrant."
The committee analysis also raised concerns about the amount of time the Department of Motor Vehicles would have to spend processing license applications for convicted sex offenders.
AB 885, sponsored by Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Beaumont, failed to garner
enough votes in the Assembly Committee on Transportation on Monday.
Eight votes were needed to advance the bill. Four Republicans and two Democrats voted yes, while committee Chair Bonnie Lowenthal and another Democrat opposed the measure. Five Democrats and one Republican abstained.
"I'm disappointed that the bill didn't pass, but I'm not deterred," Cook said. "Requiring the worst sex offenders to carry ID would be of great help to law enforcement in the early hours of an abduction of a child. We have a long way to go in keeping kids safe."
Maurice Dubois of Escondido, whose 14-year-old daughter Amber was raped
and murdered by convicted sex offender John Albert Gardner III in February 2009, had endorsed AB 885.
Under the bill, any person designated by the California Department of Justice as a ``sexually violent predator'' -- including those convicted of assaulting a child -- would have been required to carry a driver's license or ID bearing a unique code on the card's magnetic strip. They would have to keep the card in their possession wherever they go.
The code would be immediately recognizable by law enforcement, but not the general public, according to Cook.
He said the state's Megan's Law database listing the last known residences of convicted sex offenders is not always reliable, and AB 885 would bolster law enforcement's ability to quickly track down predators during an investigation.
An analysis by the Committee on Transportation questioned the practicality of trying to enforce the law, noting that some ex-cons may go by aliases or refuse to carry their licenses or ID cards.
The California Public Defenders' Association argued in its opposition letter to the bill that a person "interested in committing a sex offense ... would likely not carry the card identifying them as a (Penal Code section) 290 sex registrant."
The committee analysis also raised concerns about the amount of time the Department of Motor Vehicles would have to spend processing license applications for convicted sex offenders.
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