AB 884 will be heard April 9!!
Click here to find out how to show up! We need at least 100 people for maximum impact!
Please continue calling and writing. Please do so if you haven’t already.
Here is the committee’s report:
AB 884 – Assy Pub Safe – Analysis – April 2019_00001
Comments regarding the proposed bill start at the bottom of page 4 and a list of supporters and opponents is on page 10 (final page). Please note that there are only 3 supporters, 2 of which are law enforcement organizations. Also please note that there are 12 opposing organizations, including ACSOL and the CA Sex Offender Management Board, as well as 78 private individuals. The strongest arguments against the bill as reported in the analysis are attributed to the CA Public Defenders Association including the comment that the bill “is a m
ACTION #1: SHOW UP:
Click here to find out how to show up!
ACTION #2: CALL NOW:
See this letter for talking points:
AB 884 – Letter to Asy Pub Saf – March 2019_00001
Assembly Public Safety Committee Members – District – Phone
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. (Chair) Dem – 59 (916) 319-2059
Tom Lackey (Vice Chair) Rep – 36 (916) 319-2036
Rebecca Bauer-Kahan Dem – 16 (916) 319-2016
Tyler Diep Rep – 72 (916) 319-2072
Sydney Kamlager-Dove Dem – 54 (916) 319-2054
Bill Quirk Dem – 20 (916) 319-2020
Miguel Santiago Dem – 53 (916) 319-2053
Buffy Wicks Dem – 15 (916) 319-2015
ACTION #3: WRITE LETTERS NOW:
Letters should be addressed to Committee Chairman Reginald Jones-Sawyer and sent by FAX to (916) 319-3745. There are many online fax services such as free faxzero.com
The mailing address for the Assembly Public Safety Committee is:
1020 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Mail soon to get there in time!
Click here to download a sample letter:
AB 884 – Letter to Asy Pub Saf – March 2019_00001
Below is the plain text of the body of the letter. Please just use it for your ideas. If you copy and paste a lot of it into your letter, they won’t treat your letter as important as one you word yourself:
AB 884 – Letter to Asy Pub Saf – March 2019_00001 – Plain text body of letter [Word]
********************************
This is more important than almost any other bill we have fought!
In related news, the CA Sex Offender Management Board agreed today to formally oppose AB 884. The Board will send a letter to the Committee this week and a board representative may testify during the futurehearing.
“If AB 884 becomes law, 50 percent of those who would benefit from the Tiered Registry Law would be harmed,” stated CASOMB member Janet Neeley. “The board made a stand during negotiations of the Tiered Registry Bill and threatened to withdraw its support at that time if the bill included assignment of those convicted of PC 288(a) to Tier 3.”
“Passage of AB 884 would undo everything we worked for in supporting a tiered registry,” stated CASOMB Vice Chair Brenda Crowding.
“We don’t want to abandon the tiered registry,” stated CASOMB member Judge Brett Morgan. “Sending a letter to the legislature about AB 884 would educate legislators about the potential significant impact of that bill.”
Due to the one week delay, there is additional time to send letters to and call the offices of the eight Committee members. There is also additional time to make plans to participate in the future hearing.
“If Assembly Bill 884 becomes law, it will gut the Tiered Registry Law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Specifically, the bill would move more than 40,000 people from Tier 2 that requires 20 years of registration to Tier 3 that requires lifetime registration.”
The Tiered Registry Law was passed by the legislature and signed into law in October 2017 and is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2021. Under the Tiered Registry Law, individuals required to register would be assigned to one of three tiers based upon the offense for which they were convicted. Tier assignment would determine when an individual is eligible to petition for removal from the registry. Specifically, individuals assigned to Tier 1 could be eligible to petition for removal after 10 years while individuals assigned to Tier 2 could be eligible to petition for removal after 20 years. Individuals assigned to Tier 3 would not be eligible to petition for removal because they would be required to register for a lifetime.
The bill was introduced by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (Republican, Murrieta) on February 20.
This bill would assign to Tier 3 individuals convicted of violating PC 288(a), lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14.
This is a CALL TO BATTLE YOU SHOULD NOT IGNORE OR MINIMIZE, fellow registrants and supporters! This is one of the most devastating bills we have ever fought!
This monster bill affects over 40,000 of us registrants! It DESTROYS HOPE for most on tier 1 and tier 2!
SHOW UP EVEN IF YOU HAVE NEVER COME BEFORE!
I am already level 3, so this bill doesn’t affect me.
WHY SHOULD I FIGHT FOR YOU IF YOU WON’T FIGHT FOR YOURSELF?
However, as a fellow registrant, I am willing to fight for YOU!
NO CIVIL RIGHTS HAVE EVER BEEN WON JUST BY HIDING AT HOME due to fear, just typing comments.
ARE YOU A LURKER IN THE BACKGROUND who thinks JANICE AND OTHER VOLUNTEERS WILL SAVE YOU so you don’t have to show up, write, and call?
Are you someone who just makes comments on this website and thinks that will change things? COMMENTS DON’T MAKE CHANGE!
Are you placing all your faith in change in the courts? THEN YOU ARE DOOMED TO DISAPPOINTMENT. The courts are only part of the solution because social change comes from grassroots, not just top down!
Are you willing to fight for yourself and other registrants? Will you call and write NOW?
We chuckle when we think of a kid pulling blankets over his head to hide from the monster under the bed. WILL YOU SHOW UP, OR WILL YOU PULL YOUR BLANKET OVER YOUR HEAD and hope the very REAL monster bills will magically go away?
Are you right now making excuses in your head why you just don’t have the time and/or money to write, call and show up to Sacramento with us?
Are you thinking “this doesn’t affect me so I refuse to sacrifice for 40,000 of my fellow registrants!”
If you or someone close to you had cancer would you find it too inconvenient and cost too much to take treatments yourself or help that person to get treatments? YOU WOULD FIND A WAY!
I am low income. I care for a family member. It will cost me time and money to go to Sacramento on March 26 because I will lose a day of work, but I will do that for you.
What is your excuse for not taking action and showing up?
ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE ALSO?
Are you willing to break through your fear by standing with us, or do you want to pull that blanket over your head and hope the monster disappears?
I look forward to seeing you on March 26!
No question- THIS IS IT. This has dire consequences. It’s a life changer for everyone affected and their families. Even their extended families. Each and every one of us must act!
Question: What are the other ramifications of being assigned a Tier 3? In addition to lifetime reporting, what other punishments does Tier 3 include compared with Tier 2? Does it come with more frequent compliance checks, community notification, a Megan’s law website profile that indicates you are a clear and present threat to the community, etc?
What’s happened with CP possession? I know there was an effort planned to get it into Tier 1 like it is with Federal SORNA. Will this new law affect that adversely too?
I have a single conviction from 18 years ago and an otherwise crime-free life. I am not currently on the public website. When the tiered registry bill passed, I found out that on 1-1-21, I will go from what should have been a tier 1 to a tier 3, and become one of the most dangerous people on the planet overnight. When this passed in 2017, I was very angry. I was almost universally told to shut up and stop being selfish by many people on this website. All about “the greater good” I suppose. Now that 40,000 more people are about to get thrown under the bus, I suspect there will be a few more very angry people. I don’t know if I can attend yet, but I will write, and I will call. And I will ask the few friends I still have to do the same. I do not personally believe that the tiered registry is a successful way out. There will always be lawmakers who go for the low hanging fruit that is the registry, and the modern day lepers that we are. I think it has to come from the Supreme Court. That said, we, as a group, cannot let these people get away with this. Every time they think they get traction, it emboldens them. And we can, and should, try to derail them every single time they do these things.
How can I find out what Tier level I am?
This bill is the thin end of the wedge. Lots of people want all registrants on the list for life. They want life on the list to be as restricted as possible. These sorts will never stop their efforts. No policy will make them feel “safe enough.” It all has to be fought. I don’t know the best way to fight. Certainly voting matters. Sharing this struggle with people who care about us, if possible. Being politically active and vocal. Telling elected officials what we think of these bills, respectfully but forcefully. Supporting Janice’s work with donations. There may be other avenues as well, such as educating the public about negative information on the sponsors of bills such as this. But, unfortunately, we can’t rest.
Just had a lengthy conversation with Murietta’s staff. Apparently, this was put on the radar when people were asking if child pornography can be removed from tier 3 since lewd acts with minors is tier 2.
Plus, a Republican in California needs all the fear mongering that can be mustered to stay in office.
Question. Convicted? What if the 288 is a misdemeanor? Expunged?
Correct me if I am wrong. But wasn’t this exactly the complaint of some registrants regarding the tiered registry? Other states have gone to a tiered registry and then progressively moved those in lower tiers to higher ones, including extending people to long terms before removal or no chance at all for removal. I seem to recall this argument being made for not supporting a tiered registry.
The argument at the time seemed very logical to me, especially since there were priors.
You know this brings to mind what Mr Weiner had to say about the lifetime registration scheme. He seemed to be of the belief that if everybody has to register for a lifetime it wouldn’t be constitutional. While that isn’t the point of the bill per se, it would make virtually everybody on it register for life. Might want to take that angle here.
The 10 million (this would be a lawsuit) dollar question I have is if you where /plead to a wobbler felony that was reduced to a misdemeanor and later expunged? Or, how (what) category will those people fall into with expunged offenses? I actually emailed the Sex Offender Management Board requesting clarification today! Stay tuned!
Thank you Janice as well as ALL OTHERS who are willing to stand up, speak up and be heard. Letters and phone calls will go out first thing tomorrow morning. God bless you Janice.
Letters will go out tomorrow and I will try and show up in support. This is a terrible bill and needs to be stopped. Hopefully our legislators will listen and not just go with what’s best for them.
No matter what bills like (AB)884 are going to continuously keep poping up but just because someone writes a new bill doesn’t mean it’ll allways pass .California has study long and hard about this tear registry. Law Enforcement,District Attorney, Attorney General and Sexoffender Management Board have come to the realization that the sex offender registry does not help it’s broken it’s flawed it’s so obvious I don’t see them taking three years to prepare for a tier registry then turn around and put all 288(a) cases on the registry for life I just don’t see it happening it just goes against the whole point of having a tiered registry.40% more people on there for life then you have the 20% who are already on there for life then you have all the tear 1 people who have to petition to get off then you have all the new people who are being placed on the registry just sounds crazy but i hope people do come out and show some support on March 26 the more people stand up the better but at the end of the day I don’t see this bill passing anytime soon
You said car pools? When will we know about them? That would help me out greatly. My finances are recently going down hill, but I want to be there.
Okay, all, I have just purchased my [non-refundable] ticket and I am coming to Sacramento to kick some legislative a$$! I can’t wait! We WILL defeat this Bill! (And they damn well better not change that Hearing date!!) 😡
And I will be sending my hand-crafted, individually-tailored, incredibly persuasive letters to each Committee member this week!
And I will he making phone calls.
And I will be encouraging my family and friends to call AND write as well.
We need to make it rain down phone calls on them and we need to bury them under an avalanche of mail! (So the next time some pretty tyrant proposes any similar legislation, the committee members will say, “Oh Hell no!! Don’t even try it!! We will kill your Bill at our very first hearing!”)
Let’s overwhelm them so they will absolutely think twice in the future!!!
“…and you and I had my own reservations.”
Argghh!! Well, you know what I meant.
there was a lot of high profile people: DA’s, Police, Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), etc who supported the 2017 legislation due to become law on 2021. There were also public statements and a video made by the SOMB regarding the ineffectiveness of these laws. A lot of people put themselves out there to pass that legislation.
I wonder if they will just rollover now and allow this thing to pass– chances?
When the 2017 legislation came out, we here at the ASCSOL site tended to form a consensus that a move in a positive direction was better for the good of all and that we should support the legislation. The legislation threw CP folks under the bus but they went along and saved the largest group of all: 288(a). Now we are back to the largest group of all and probably the second largest group both back to where we began.
What this says if it is passed is there can be no justice and no peace without the complete abolishment of the registry–Period!!! And I would encourage crowd funding to use the public statements and videos against them in a lawsuit to do just that– abolish the registry completely.
I dont know what the membership numbers are here, so I dont know if we can crowd fund solely from this website. But I’m certain we can crowd fund enough to purchase the phone numbers and addresses of every registrant in the state and the contact them– what happened to the days of the phone banks and mailers, knocking on doors. Liken this struggle to any other civil rights struggle in history. Then you get passion, organization and power.
I know where to purchase the database of registrants– let’s get started. over 100,000 folks and growing.
Hotel booked. I will be there. I hope we fill the halls to the point where they just give up.
Let’s make a showing that will let them know we are serious and will not stand for this ….
Hate to be Debbie Downer, but really? Did no one see this coming? Just look at historically ever other attempt to modify the registry in any way. It has always been met with new bills and local ordinances to “re address” the registrant problem. I am sure the second the tiered bill was approved, those little political worker bees put on their thinkin’ caps to devise ways to put everyone back where they wanted them.
They only had to look at how others states addressed it and copy them, like Nevada. Then when opposition is voiced in the way of a law suit or attending a safety mtg to cry foul, they will either appease us with a “ maybe next time” or “ it not punitive”, knowing full well that they have 0 intention of ever changing it to our benefit.
You only have to look as far as The public outcry to Governor Newsome’s suspension of the death penalty to see what people think of felons. And all they did was murder a bunch of children. We are waaaaay worse than that! Just ask the moronic B**** that sponsored this bill.
Letters going out this weekend. If ever there was a call to action, this is absolutely it. Tens of thousands of lives will be forever altered. What this law essentially states is, ‘We really don’t care what you’ve done to turn your life around. You are, and always will be the base element of society, and we’re going to take away any hope that you’ll ever return to normalcy.’ If the goal of this legislation is public safety, this kind of message will create the OPPPOSITE effect. It is not based on data and facts. Heightened emotions should not be allowed to dictate the fate of tens of thousands of people who are trying to build their lives back.
THIS MUST BE STOPPED DEAD IN ITS TRACKS!!!
Janice, I love you for helping Ca. If you need an out of state registrant there, tell me now.
So, help me understand this. Some who committed a 288(a) 40 years ago, and whose rate of recidivism is practically non-existent, will be placed in the SAME Tier as someone who has just been committed to a state mental hospital or mental health facility in a proceeding substantially similar to civil commitment as a sexually violent predator??
WHAT ARE THE HELL ARE THEY THINKING??!!!!
Even stranger will be the fact that my 664-288(a) from 19 years ago as a result of a sting with no contact will place me in Tier 3 for life. Nothing in my time since I was arrested will help me. Maintained a job since that time, married for 40+ years to the same woman…
@Tim Moore – You are correct, Tim. Those who oppose registrants and their loved ones are trying to divide the registrant community. I hope that everyone in the community remembers “United we stand, divided we fall”. We all need to fight for each other’s rights. Those convicted of one offense need to fight for the rights of others convicted of a different offense and vice versa. As the title of Frank Lindsay’s book states correctly “We’re All in This Together” so let’s pool our resources to do together what each one of us cannot accomplish alone. There are almost 1 million people in this country who are required to register. And each person has at least 1 to 5 friends or family members who care about them. What if we ALL spoke against AB 884 through phone calls, letters and/or showing up in Sacramento! The elected officials would be sure to listen. That is our plan of action. Join us TODAY so that we can help YOU tomorrow.