Bill Would Eliminate Exclusions from Megan’s Law Website (AB 558)

A bill was introduced in the California Assembly on Feb. 14 that would eliminate most exclusions from registrants’ information being posted on the Megan’s Law website. The author of that bill, Assembly Bill 558 (AB 558), is Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Democrat from Orange County.

If the bill is passed, information regarding some registrants whose victims were 16 years and older, successfully completed probation or were convicted of incest and others would be added to the Megan’s Law website regardless of when the offense occurred or whether the registrant re-offended.

“Assembly Bill 558 is similar to another bill introduced in the state legislature last year that hurt families and failed to protect victims,” stated ACSOL executive director Janice Bellucci. “That bill was defeated and we must stop this bill too.”

The similar bill was Assembly Bill 2569, which was introduced in 2016 by Assembly Member Melissa Melendez, a Republican from Riverside County.

Assembly Bill 558

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This is about as dumb as it gets! Truly an ignorant lawmaker! California is almost the only State where registrants (even with misdemeanors and expunged offenses) register for life! Dumb! Go check out Colorado’s registration guidelines. We are supposed to rehabilitate people and be compassionate. Continuing to hammer people who have long ago paid their debt to society should be provided a 2nd chance!

Is there any definitive word yet on whether this would be retroactive?

“Our results instead suggest that notification… may, in fact, increase recidivism among registered offenders by reducing the relative attractiveness of a crime-free life. This finding is consistent with work by criminologists showing that notification imposes social and financial costs on registered sex offenders, perhaps offsetting the relative benefits of forgoing criminal activity. We regard this latter finding as important, given that the purpose of notification is to reduce recidivism.”
This is a quote from the abstract: Do Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws Affect Criminal Behavior?
Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 54, No. 1, February 2011
Columbia Business School Research Paper
So this Quirk-Silva wishes to maybe increase crime with her bill to push some feel good law?