We did it! We stopped SB 267! The California state legislature will not consider for the remainder of this year any bill that would authorize cities and counties to pass laws that prohibit registered citizens from being present in or near public and private places.
“This great victory is the result of individuals writing letters and making phone calls to state senators as well as testifying before the Senate Public Safety Committee,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “It is also the result of support from like minded organizations including the ACLU, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, Housing California and Alameda County.”
During the Senate Public Safety Committee hearing, there was overwhelming support from those who opposed the bill. The support began with formal testimony from ACLU, Housing California and California RSOL and was followed by informal testimony from like minded organizations and individuals, including registered citizens.
Senator Loni Hancock, chair of the Public Safety Committee, thanked the registered citizens who testified and added, “It takes a lot of courage to speak out due to the stigma of being on the registry.”
Following the testimony, Senators Mark Leno and Loni Hancock stated they could not support SB 267. Leno stated his position was based in large part on recommendations from the California Sex Offender Management Board (CA SOMB). Hancock agreed with Leno and then asked the author of the bill to withdraw it. The author of the bill, Senator Connie Leyva agreed to that request.
Because Senator Leyva withdrew the bill, it cannot be considered in 2015. The bill could, however, be amended and considered in 2016 provided that the amended bill is introduced in January 2016. The Assembly version of the bill, AB 201, was also withdrawn by its author and faces a similar fate.
– Janice Bellucci
Read all of Janice’s Journal
Excellent- thank you Janice:)
Great news!!!! Thank you Janice! And thank you to everyone who testified before the committee, wrote letters, made phone calls and sent their prayers. God is Good!
Wow that’s amazing thank you Janice and everyone that participated in getting these bills stopped. Our phone calls and voices seem to have made a difference.
This is AWESOME! Thank you Janice, CA RSOL, and everyone who contributed any effort in getting this bill withdrawn.
Oh Holy Moly!!!!! (keepin’ it clean) You are awesome!!!!!! Unbelievable, awesome, amazing!!!!! *huge smile*
An applaud to Janice, all the board members and to everyone that helped for the cause!
Thank you all!
Two-year bill
A bill that is “dead,” “stalled,” “held” or simply “not moved” by the author in the first year of a two-year session and cannot be heard again until the second year of the session. Gener- ally a bill becomes a two-year bill when it fails to meet a legislative deadline, such as a fiscal committee or policy committee deadline. A bill cannot become a two-year bill in the second year of the session, since there is no additional year to which the bill would be carried over.
Great News!!! I knew we would do it. It just makes sense and was the only right thing to do. I am glad I made the calls and mailed the letters, along with all of you who did the same. Thank YOU Janice and Team.
Yeah! This is the best news ever. So excited that all of our phone calls and letters were effective. Thank you too to Janice and to everyone else that made the trip to Sacramento today to speak out against SB 267.
I also feel more motivated than ever to continue to speak out against the injustices placed on registered citizens. And if all of us continue to work together we will indeed one day succeed.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who wrote letters, made phone calls, and stood up for our rights and our freedom! Especially thank you Janice, Frank, and CA RSOL!
“It takes a lot of courage to speak out due to the stigma of being on the registry.” There is a lot being said, here, that we can use. Thanks to everyone.
best news I,ve heard all year!thank you janice.I wrote and called my ass off .
i,m so happy about this!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOT!!!! The pen is mightier than the sword!
Let this be a reminder as to why we should not fall prey to the hatred and ignorance of a past fueled by ignorant tough-on-crime politicians and a public misled by the media. At some point as we, and most people in general, learn that ostracizing and demonizing any group only leads to outright hate and prejudice, we can begin to heal, forgive and move forward with our lives by using our own good judgement and conscience. Everyone who participated in opposing SB 201 and SB 267 gets to bask in this victory and should enjoy it. Thank you Janice, Frank and everyone else!
Thank you to Janice, and to all of us involved, whether by showing up to testify, writing letters, or in any way speaking on our behalf…CONGRATS!
One more win. A little more hope for the future. Thanks Janice and all those involved.
Thank you Janice thank you ALL! Let’s make sure to send out thank you calls and emails too just to let these people know we are human, we are voters and we matter.
I’m so excited that this was withdrawn. Thank you so much! What’s next, Janice? Hopefully this can inspire more people to prevent things like this from hindering registered citizens from rebuilding and living their lives.
This poor man was trying to live as a homeless registered citizen and he just left CA for this?!? http://www.morganton.com/news/registered-sex-offender-nabbed-near-playground/article_64e46ab2-f82e-11e4-959d-ebe37ccb2076.html
This is a great day to feel good about standing up, writing letters, making calls and being heard. And it’s a great time to thank those amazing people who lead this fight on the front lines. Janice, Frank, Chance and all those from CARSOL, we salute you, we appreciate you, we are blessed to have you.
My take away from this is they ARE listening to the board which is highly encouraging
Thank you very much Janice!.. Also to all whom helped, sent letters and mad calls. Your all appreciated much.
Video of the hearing is up.
http://senate.ca.gov/media-archive#
Senate Public Safety Committee, May 12, 2015
First agenda item.
Thanks to all!
Thank God for Janice
Thank you, Janice and to everyone who called and wrote letters and especially to those who testified on our behalf!
Thank You Janice and all parties/people involved including myself. I think this was a wise move by the State of California also. Create a tiered registry and add restrictions for the period prescribed appropriately. Blanket restrictions are illogical and a waste of time and effort and a false security.
I am going to go the park with my dogs, my kids and my grandchildren.
God Bless this Victory, I for one am going to celebrate.
Tootles, I am stoked and relieved