The Appropriations Committee of the California Assembly today stopped further consideration of the tiered registry bill, AB 702, this calendar year. There was no discussion of the bill nor was a vote taken. Instead, Chairman Mike Gatto (Democrat, Los Angeles) decided to “hold the bill” in the committee’s suspense file.
“This is a sad day for registrants in California,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “Because of this decision, California will remain 1 of only 4 states in the nation that has a lifetime registry for all registrants.”
The tiered registry bill could be considered in 2014, however, it will face consideration by the same committee next year as well.
“Dozens of registrants and members of their families showed up, stood up and spoke up in support of the tiered registry bill,” Bellucci stated. “Their voices were held in the State Capitol at a critical time.”
CA RSOL will continue to monitor state legislation affecting registrants and members of their families throughout 2013. Reports will be provided to members via this website as well as by E-mail.
You can watch the Appropriations Committee hearing on Video on Demand here: http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&clip_id=1318
Blah!
Is it too late to introduce a similar bill into the Senate for 2013?
Well, Mike Gatto’s actions don’t even make sense. Anyone with any intellectual capital would realize that this tiered registry would do more good than bad. Highly disturbing and purely political.
I called Mr. Gatto’s office, and they said that they didn’t have any record of it and refereed me to the office of the bill’s author, Tom Ammiano.
I called his office and spoke with a very nice woman there who explained to me that AB 702 was pulled and non longer in ‘suspension’ and that because it wasn’t ‘read out’ today that it can still come back to the floor in January. Because of that it’s a ’2 year bill’.
She said that it didn’t pass today because of Republicans and moderate Democrats who are against the bill. (BIG surprise there!)
I asked who I should start calling and emailing to help pass this bill through, and she put me through to the VM of a Curtis there in that office at extension 2564.
This is CRAZY!!
We are one of only 4! States that has lifetime registration, it costs us MILLIONS of dollars of extra money, and yet there is NO extra public safety gain from having lifetime registration!!
VERY FRUSTRATED…..and ANGRY!!!!
This is sadly why I’ve lost any reasonable expectation of fairness in legislative processes involving the registry. I made about 150 calls in a period of 5 months to the appropriations committee members. I was able to speak to a few rational individuals, but I held no confidence this would see the floor. When the multitude of other bills have far less documentation, studies, and rational disclosures that nonetheless gets to see a vote, issues involving relaxation of effects of the sex offender registry will rarely get a second look.
Perhaps it is time to address this from a judicial manner, as we can amply prove that the regulatory effect of the registry is completely overwhelmed by the punitive effects. At this point, meaningful sex offender legislation and reform is irrefutably stuck at the bottom of the slippery slope. If we can’t get even the most progressive legislature in US history to even debate the bill, I fear we have reached a point where legislative action is useless.
Thanks for everyone who had their feet on the ground in Sacramento, and thanks to all those who hit the phone bank to try to get an ear. But for now, I believe it’s time to start recruiting legal minds to the fold and work through the courts.
Thanks to Janice’s encouragement, I will be starting school this September to begin earning a degree as a certified paralegal so that I can aid in the judiciary capacities. I’ll spend an extra year earning a second major that will allow me to transfer to law school, so I can go for a law degree.
In the meantime, I plan to continue in the legislative arena, educating the politicians, as well as the general public. I will continue to petition support and lobby for or against bills pertaining to the registry and unfair SO laws. Allow me to say this to you all:
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.
I would like to interject another thought:
We now have 7 more months to educate and lobby for this bill. It isn’t dead yet.
The first thing we should all do is write a letter to Tom Ammiano, thanking him and his staff and letting them now that we are still behind them 110% on this bill.
Tom Ammiano
P.O. Box 942849
Room 3146
Sacramento, CA 94249-0017
The next thing we should do is continue our efforts to educate the assembly members. We should all be sending letters every couple of weeks, making phone calls periodically…etc…especially to the Appropriations Committee members, and more specifically – Mike Gatto.
This fight is not yet over.
We didn’t lose a war. We lost a battle. There are going to be other battles. Two years ago, we had nothing. We just took our beatings in the legislature with absolutely nothing to defend ourselves. Today we didn’t make progress, but we are WAY more organized and can see a vision for some real progress. I am certainly disappointed at today’s outcome, but it’s not like we can stop fighting this war. The other side isn’t going to stop until we’re all in little Miracle Villages. Let’s walk this off and work harder.
So sad. I was hopeful …
I believe this is the same thing that happened to AB602. It eventually made it to the floor. Someone above mentioned there has to be enough proof by now that there are punitive effects from registration. Is the judiciary an option?
By the way, Gotto voted against AB602 so there isn’t much of a surprise he didn’t back 702.
I just looked up the history of AB 625. It was introduced in February 2011, had to pass Public Safety, then had to pass Appropriations before finally reaching the Assembly Floor in January 2012. Actually, this is starting to look like business as usual. In fact, we need to start pounding the Capitol even harder between now and January. I will defer to Janice and the other board members at the CA RSOL of course, but if there is anyone else in the Sacramento area then I encourage you to join us in the lobbying effort. I’m far from finished. If this cursed bill doesn’t get passed then its not gonna be because we didn’t try!
Who is with me?
OK…that explains that public employee wasting taxpayers money
today…wow…this california registration punitive scam will be the
showcase of proof it has been massive millions & millions of dollars
waste….misleading ….punitive…scam….taking more taxpayers money
on a scheme that doesn’t work….the next “sex “crime won’t be from
someone on a list…there is no money to be made on that kind of
information …..anyways….this california registration punitive scam will
will be its own greedy downfall….greed will lose …and STOP wasting
taxpayers money following ….youre fired.
My mom called this a.m. and she was excited to let me know that Gatto’s office assured her that it would be released from suspense today. Needless to say, like everyone else, I was rather surprised to see the headline here tonight.
Wow. Just wow. How is it that in this democracy one man – Gatto – has the power to stop a measure that reflects the will of the people before the legislative body has a chance to vote on it? How third world can this guy get?
I do not want to cast gloom over our efforts. I am so impressed by all of you who post here and I feel honored to be among such an intelligent group of people. You help me reach my goal to be the dumbest guy in the room.
Thank you, Janice, and everyone else who has worked so hard on this effort. Indeed, this was just one battle in a long, hard war that can have only one outcome for our side: Victory.
Ya know…All this talk of ‘victory’, and ‘winning the war’..Is that the BEST CA RSOL and it’s members hope for, and can do? ‘Victory’ for everyone in CA RSOL simply means aligning with AWA, whether officially or not, becoming ‘compliant’. John Walsh doesn’t even have to work the crowd in CA. IS that what everyone is willing to settle for? No wonder we’re losing, and if you hadn’t noticed, we’re losing badly.
Look, Tom’s Chief of Staff told us that Gatto wants to make sure we have majority support from the Democrats. We have 7 months to try and educate them and win support. And I wouldn’t say we’re “losing badly”, Janice has been scoring many a victory on the judicial front. Things are not going to change overnight. But things WILL change eventually. And I’m sorry, but abolishing the registry is nt going to happen anytime soon either. This is something that must be chipped away at, piece by piece. I’m going to do my part. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on how we can better fight this fight?
It has been mentioned that we must fight this at the judicial level. Well, we have Janice and Jeffrey who are doing just that, plus others behind the scenes. I’m going back to school so that can acquire the training and credentials I need to do the same. In the meantime, what more could I do than try to contribute to and organize campaigns to educate the public and the legislators? What more could I do than propose more bills to change these laws?
And by the way, Anonymous Nobody, we are trying to find the details. Its like pulling teeth to get these folks to tell us their particular concerns. And that info about Gatto and the Democrats, Tom’s Chief of Staff, Curtis, filled us in on those details last Thursday while Janice was on a phone conference and I was literally sitting in Tom Ammiano’s office. Everyone is trying here, no one is going into this half-cocked
What we really need is MORE VOLUNTEERS> present at the Capitol.
Rather than get my hopes up on what politicians do, I keep my mind open and curious for what I can do for myself and others. We know by history and experience that the solution for RSO’s will be more legal than political; we know that it’s up to each of us to find our own solution to lifetime registry and share that with others. When I read of small victories, I rejoice; when I read of defeats, I go on about my business, for a defeat doesn’t change my situation at all, but a victory, no matter how small does. My hope and faith is not in this California government because they screw up everything!
Janice, thank you for your efforts, all of your hard work and your relentless pursuit of civil rights for us.
Dave, everyone understands how you feel. I too went to the Philippines for some time, hoping the laws would change while I was gone. But when I heard that the US and Australian governments were trying to “help” the Philippine government setup their sex offender tracking program I realized that this problem is just going to follow me around.
While I don’t disagree with your feelings, I recognize that we do not have the higher ground, that we must accept the battlefield as it lies and fight on the enemy’s turf, by their rules, and their premise. No, its not a fair fight, but I believe it can be overcome. I too, am subject to Tier II because of stupid technicalities in the law. I assure that Tom Ammiano has no vendetta, AB 702 is a bold step for this state, and the bill has to find a compromise between giving RSO’s a fair shot, and keeping the ignorant lawmakers satisfied. But it will be a start. The next step is to amend and redefine many of the ridiculous technicalities in the law codes themselves.
The biggest problem I see is that everyone seems to talk as if AB 702 is the end of the line, that we’re not going to continue fighting at the legislative level after it passes.
(What part of Phils are residing? Just curious…)
Dave, I understand your sentiments. I really, really do. I felt the same way before diving into this myself. Its the way Democracy is supposed to work. Plus we have more sympathizers than meets the eye. Assemblyman Achadjian is finally starting to soften his face toward us after meeting with Frank Lindsey, another RSO, AND the father of that RSO’s victim. Achadjian said he never realized that there was no way off the registry. This is a man who none of us ever thought would change his mind.
And we’ll keep proposing bills and supporting the ones that help us, and lobbying against those that support us.
Be careful in the Philippines, lots of despicable people from the US and other countries who DO belong on the registry. Don’t get mistaken for one of them, that’s another reason I got nervous and came back. My wife and I used to report them. We were down further south, Surigao del Norte. Beautiful country… 🙂
If all the politicians are afraid of “being easy on offenders” why don’t we propose a bill that gives it back to the courts to decide who’s on for life. Politicians are off the hook and decisions about individuals are back where they belong.
Any chance we can get Patty Wetterling to come to california to lobby? She has been outspoken on what the registry has become. I will buy her ticket.
@dbradford – May 26, 2013 at 12:31 am (can’t reply to that comment) –
I think someone in these comments ventured a guess why 647.6 was included in Tier 2 and I would have to agree – it is entirely the Heading of the Section: Annoy and MOLEST a CHILD under 18. I believe that is correct. Someone in Sacramento saw the word “Molest” and let their imagination run wild. We all know that there are sections for actual sexual conduct, under 18, 16, 14, 10. I know that 647.6 is catch-all for any kind of behavior that might “annoy” a minor. Most often it is inappropriate talk? A kiss on the cheek of a 16-17 year old? A touch on the shoulder? Certainly not what is conjured up by this description. I also believe that there are thousands of people registered for this. Heck, if you were to click around the ML web site (if allowed to), I would guess that half the zip code only listings are for that very violation.
Look at the evolution of AB 625. It was tweaked. Specifically to bump 647.6 up to Tier 2. Someone must have read the Penal Code and raised a stink. OMG – how can CHILD MOLESTING not be included in the higher Tier??
Is it absurd? Yes. Do I believe Assm. Ammiano has an ulterior motive? NO. I really do not see why he would. He is sticking his neck out, not once but twice. These kind of bills do not make friends in the Capitol. I believe he understands (not fully – but more than most) and is trying to do the right thing. For this I am grateful and admire him.
Perhaps if some people described the events that got them into this mess in the first place? Until then it will always say: “Molest”.
True – this makes no sense and these folks are kind of being thrown under the bus here. But perhaps an “extra” 10 years is better than life – for them, for all 100,000.
This Bill is wrong! I agree with Bradford that there should be no list whatsoever. You do your time you move on. Basically my entire family, Mother, Father, Sons, Cousins, Uncles, Aunts and any other relatives are feeling the affects of this list. It’s time to step it up a notch in my opinion. The people on this site seem pretty well organized. Well here is a thought, organize sit ins on these peoples front lawns. I’m not talking about a couple scary looking guys in trenchcoats hanging out in front of a Politicians house. I’m talking about taking entire families to their front door and protesting. Heck maybe you should contact every rso with a Family by postcard informing them of the planned protest date and time. If you could get just a couple hundred people of all ages to join in it would be on the news. Then all you have to do is line up the rso’s children in front of the news camera and let them tell their stories about how they cannot play in sports or go to the park or have friends or do all the other things normal children can. Also make sure you have all the teenagers they are being put on the list for tweeting pictures. Out of the Nations 750,000 rso’s I’m sure you can come up with a couple hundred that are willing to do this. Get the attention of the American people and let them see how many families this list is affecting!!!
Jeff, it all sounds good in theory but I’m sure the media would spin it back around on us and the politicians would find a legal loophole to have us all arrested. If I had time I dig it up in the law myself just to illustrate that its a likely possibility. A campaign like that could easily backfire.
And once again, I’m sorry but abolishing the registry is NOT going to happen anytime soon. Maybe someday we can abolish the public Megan’s Law website, but I seriously doubt the registry will ever go away completely. It would be easier to hold back the tide. For now, we must fight fire with fire.
Registry benefits:
No neighbor’s screaming brats playing outside your windows.
Mates to celebrate your birthday with plus a free photo op.
Quiet, peaceful,and inexpensive Halloweens.
No girl scout salesgirls beating on your door and pestering you to buy cookies.
A true lifetime contract that never expires.
Free notoriety for you and your family.
Kindly officials who make sure you know where you live.
And so much more!
Through their indecencies we are being forged into a strong minority group. Some day soon their ignorant comments will be met by universal condemnation and we will be the ones that stand for community, decency and healing.