CA: Senate Passes Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421)
The Senate today, in a vote of 24 to 10, passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421). Prior to the vote, the bill’s author — Sen. Scott Wiener — explained why a tiered registry is necessary. His views were supported by Sen. Nancy Skinner, Chair of the Public Safety Committee, as well as co-author Sen. Joel Anderson.
During his presentation, Sen. Wiener describe the current registry as broken and outdated. He added that the registry, which includes more than 100,000 people, is so large that it is useless.
Sen. Anderson subsequently stated that there are too many people on the registry today and as a result those who pose a current danger are camouflaged by those who don’t. Sen. Skinner talked about the significant adverse impact that the registry has upon both registrants and members of their families. She said that registrants often suffer from public humiliation, stigma, unemployment, homelessness and even vigilante violence.
Sen. Ben Allen praised Sen. Wiener for his courage as author of SB 421. He added that the bill is necessary in order to fix the state’s registry that currently includes individuals who urinated in public decades ago.
“Today we saw courage in action as senators on both sides of the aisle — Democrat and Republican — voted in support of a tiered registry,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We thank the 24 senators who voted in support of SB 421 as well as the many co-sponsors of the bill, including Equality California, the CA Sex Offender Management Board and the victims rights group CalCASA.”
In order to become law, SB 421 must be passed by the Assembly where it will be considered by the Public Safety and Appropriations Committees prior to a floor vote no later than September 15, 2017. If the Assembly passes the bill, it must be signed by the Governor no later than October 15, 2017.
Finally a tinge of common sense! When will Florida consider such a ‘brilliant idea’? It doesn’t take a ‘rocket scientist’ to see that Florida creates many of its own problems.
Lets all chip in and pressure FAC to lobby for a tiered registry modeled after the California bill in Florida. There are roughly 68K RSO in the state of Florida… Let say half of them can contribute at least 5 bucks, that would be a nice chunk of change to get this machine moving. I wonder how many RSO actually know about FAC. Is there a place somewhere where we could get statistics?
FAC gets my donation every month. It’s an investment well worth the expenditure.
This is all well and fine, but what will happen to all the tier 3 people who have completed there sentences. I feel like any tiered system will single out one group, i.e. “the worst of the worst”, and leave them behind. I realize it was the “contact victim” perpetrators that started all of this mess, but not all tier 3 people who have gone through counseling continue to reactivate.
I must admit when I first saw the headline of this post my heart skipped a beat of excitement and then I saw CA. I am not sure of all the logistics concerning FL but remember FL has a different state constitution etc.
I remember that when I was new to all of this I learned about the AWA and it’s recommend tier system. I realized that in my sons case it would be beneficial. Then I was appalled to find out that FL was considered one of the states that had adopted and complied with the AWA (and therefore was receiving federal funds) – that was very confusing to me and I contacted SORNA inquiring why FL was considered compliant when they obviously were not? The answer I received was my first lesson in just how mired down these inane laws are in politics and revenue. I was told that FL had complied with enough percentage of the AWA to be qualified but they were allowed to add (at the state level) things that were far and beyond what the AWA dictates. So although the AWA has a little sense to it by treating each crime differently the states do not have to adopt that same outlook. I was also told early on (by other RSO advocates) that the AWA was not desirable because it categorizes by crime and not by individual circumstances. I understand that also but at this point there are an awful lot of people in the state of FL that the tiered system would benefit. It would also force the state of FL to clean up the registry which is way past due.
I have no doubt that FAC has looked into this several times and I always trust they have our best interest at heart. Unfortunately baby steps are the only way we are going to ever get relief. I also think that when there is a change at the helm of the state of FL we might see different progress….
For your reading enjoyment…this is SORNAs justification of FLs status as compliant (or compliant enough to get funds)
https://www.smart.gov/pdfs/sorna/Florida.pdf
Of interest is the information about tiers? Not sure I get that – if I understand them correctly FL has implemented what is needed for tiers and yet FL does not have tiers? Strange….
By clean up, is there the hope that Florida will remove the 10,000 registrants NOT in the state, but had the misfortune of vacationing in Florida years ago?
So how is this tiered system going to be put in place? Is it offense based only? Will time on the registry count towards the new tier designation. What about offenses that happened 30 40 years ago?
Thank You FAC for the motivation, but Florida is 20 years behind time, plus a copy cat state. The undercovered pedophiles, predators, and perverts are in high places and you never hear abouts systems that works until they get caught and exposed. People love Florida for one reason. “Weather”. The Law – forget it.
I am specifically disturbed with FL law and a few other stupid states, that are targeting children that are normally exploring with each other and turning them into legal offenders. I know of several cases in which I have been personally involved that have resulted in ripping apart young lives, often causing permanent damage that could be eliminated if the laws were changed. To find that the Romeo & Juliet law is a joke but that it is all that is offered to date, is more damaging then the acts that two young people can be prosecuted for with lasting consequences. I believe more education regarding the law and I phone images should be taught in school instead of health class that they laugh about. With frontal lobe function still growing, these children are making decisions that are considered normal amongst their peer group yet can easily have 2 lifetimes of prison years on the table with a first time legal charge. This is the tip of an epidemic that can only be slowed by educating our youth. Certainly , our voted representatives are not going to change any laws or anything that may make them seem easy on a sex offender or predator. I know one case now that has 2 victims, at least 10 years of their lives are wasted at such a critical time of growth but consider themselves lucky not to be in a long prison sentence. One recently that asked me, “Why couldn’t I just go to jail for 6 months and get it over with, like that teacher that just got 6 months? Why is something that everyone else I know, does all the time but I have to give up 10+ years?” Can’t we get a better grass roots organization going that builds as these types of convictions do, to address our lazy, hypocritical law makers?
Thank you for responding jjevans.
Subject: SB 421 in CA Assembly Public Safety Committee Tue 7-11-17 & Enrique Pearce Child Porn Plea Deal
SB 421 (Not 412) is due to be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday 7-11-17, where I believe I have the only Public Opposition Registered – although I have been unable to find the legislative analysis so far.
CAN Your Organization muster up a story and some Opposition to this Scam???
Pearce has Pled Guilty in a deal like Larry Brinkin (who kept his big city pension and No finding of Moral Turpitude) got from another Judge – and SB 421 is designed to allow those with lots of Blackmail Information on Demi-Krat insiders to avoid unhappy consequences of their racist toddler rape porn rings – or they will spill the beans on the rest of their Ilk.
SEE
SF government again rocked by child porn scandal
http://cal-catholic.com/sf-government-again-rocked-by-child-porn-scandal/
“Enrique Pearce, a campaign consultant who worked with Mayor Ed Lee and many other well-known political figures in San Francisco, had photos and videos of infants and young children being raped and sexually violated when he was arrested, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
‘Babies as young as infants in onesies were being sodomized by adults’” Deputy District Attorney Alexis Fasteau said in requesting that Pearce’s bail be raised to $400,000. ‘There were children tied up and sexually abused…. (Fasteau) said Pearce had been under investigation since a man reported an online chat in which someone using the screen name ‘redentice’ said the idea of ‘sharing a boy with another man is really hot.’
Pearce had 4,902 images on one of his laptop computers, including more than 600 of minors engaged in sexual conduct, more than 10 featuring ‘prepubescent minors’ under the age of 12 and many showing men inflicting pain on children, Fasteau said.”
As both articles indicated, Pearce is a very well known figure in San Francisco politics. In the 90’s and early 2000’s he served as a legislative aide to openly homosexual then-supervisor Tom Ammiano. Ammiano currently serves in the California assembly, representing the 13th District. In 2003 he managed Matt Gonzales’s failed mayoral bid against Gavin Newsom.
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Court modifies former SF political consultant child porn charges
http://abc7news.com/news/court-modifies-former-sf-political-consultant-child-porncharges/
780595/
Child pornography sentencing delayed for political consultant Enrique Pearce after pleading guilty to child porn
http://abc7news.com/news/child-pornography-sentence-delayed-for-enrique-pearce-/1721254/
A prominent San Francisco political consultant, Enrique Pearce was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to child pornography charges, but the plea deal was brought it to a halt..
Pearce pleaded guilty in December to possession of hundreds of images of child porn, including sexually abusive photos of infants. “The defendant pled in open court, plead guilty to all the charges in exchange for six months electronic monitoring,” said Max Szabo, a spokesperson for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.
In addition to home detention, Pearce would also be required to register as a sex offender, but he would avoid jail time…
“We thought prison time was a more appropriate sentence in this case,” said Szabo.
Prosecutors say there are similar cases, like the one in 2014 against former San Francisco human rights employee and gay rights activist Larry Brinkin who received jail time for a similar child porn charge.
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How SF political consultant got a wrist slap for child porn
http://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/How-SF-political-consultant-got-a-wrist-slap-for-10881208.php
Folks at the San Francisco Hall of Justice are shaking their heads that political consultant Enrique Pearce will be allowed to avoid jail time after pleading guilty to possession of hundreds of images of child pornography — including graphic pictures of infants as young as 6 months old being abused.
In a move that went largely under the radar, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Rene Navarro, who is on temporary assignment in San Francisco, signaled that he intends to sentence Pearce to just six months of home detention when he returns to court Wednesday.
Under sentencing guidelines, Pearce will probably serve only half that time.
Compare that with the fate of former KGO-AM talk show host Bernie Ward, the “Lion of the Left” who pleaded guilty in a similar child porn case brought by the U.S. attorney in 2007. Under federal guidelines, Ward was sentenced to seven years, and he served every day of it.
And just last week, Duane Ackerman, a professional photographer whom San Francisco police and the FBI arrested 15 months ago for possessing and producing child porn, was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison.
Pearce, whose political clients included Mayor Ed Lee and Supervisors Jane Kim and Norman Yee before his arrest in May 2015, will have to spend five years on probation and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life in addition to his brief home detention.
Mike McD – Not sure what your post is about?
Self-righteous zealotry … nothing more. Once a convicted criminal has served their time as prescribed by law or judicial order, leave the individual alone to move forward with their lives. Quit with all the nonsense.
Those who continue to harass people for make mistakes, often egregious mistakes, are frequently perpetrators themselves who want to keep society emotionally entrenched in an issue … a diversion, nothing more.