Public Safety Committees Stop AB 884, Pass SB 145

The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee today, by a vote of 3 to 4, stopped Assembly Bill 884. Due to the committee’s vote, AB 884 will not receive further consideration.

“This is a great victory for more than 40,000 people who would have been moved from Tier 2, which requires 20 years of registration, to Tier 3, which requires lifetime registration, when the Tiered Registry Law takes effect,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This positive result came about because more than 75 people testified today in opposition to the bill.”

The Committee’s final vote on AB 884 took place today at about 7 p.m. Two of the three votes cast this evening, by Committee members Quirk and Wicks, followed the lead of Chairman Reginald Jones-Sawyer and voted against the bill.

“In addition to testifying today, many members of the registrant community contributed to the defeat of AB 884 by sending letters and making phone calls to members of the Public Safety Committee,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein.

During today’s hearing, a representative of the California Sex Offender Management Board testified against AB 884 and explained that the Tiered Registry Law passed by the legislature in 2017 is based upon sound public policy and therefore should not be modified at this time. She added that a registrant who has lived in the community for 20 years or longer and has not re-offended has a very low risk of re-offending in the future.

Also during the hearing, the bill’s author, Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, made several statements that lack a factual foundation. For example, she said that the “average child molester” harms at least 200 children before he is caught. The author’s sole witness also made false or misleading statements such as there is no treatment available for anyone diagnosed as a pedophile.

In addition to contributing to the stoppage of AB 884, the registrant community today contributed to the successful passage of SB 145 which would provide equal treatment to those participating in voluntary acts so long as the difference in age between the partners was 10 years or less. Because SB 145 was passed today by the Senate Public Safety Committee, it will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a date to be determined.

Update 4/12:

We have uploaded the hearing video to our YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxJiEHpwuHGRaJsRVBPU0qg

In order to protect the privacy of those brave citizens who spoke in opposition to this bill, we are not publishing the public comments portion. Therefore it is in two parts – up to and from the public comments.

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We have uploaded the hearing video to our YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxJiEHpwuHGRaJsRVBPU0qg

In order to protect the privacy of those brave citizens who spoke in opposition to this bill, we are not publishing the public comments portion. Therefore it is in two parts – up to and from the public comments. ***Moderator***

Since you are answering question Janice I would like to ask one, and congratulations on the victory, like I stated I was surprised that your lobbying made such an impact out of the courtroom. My question is,
is there going to be a lobbying effort or any type of challenge going forward to get changes to the bill for CP and more importantly to me to 288.2s ? It would be nice to see the bill amended to include all non-contact, non-violent offenses put into either tier I or II. Like I have stated as well, and not just because my charge was not CP, but that pushing the idea stated as non-contact, non-violent is more palpable to the ordinary individual than what CP conjures up. Bit if non-contact, non-violent offenses were moved that would also include the CPs as well. I am still going to continue my fight as I have a meeting set up with the pro se help center today, but I would love to hear your take and position on my topic.
Thanks.

@ Janice..Lets see after 30 years I will be 88 years old for a non contact, non violent, no victim crime..my biggest fear is getting dementia and forgetting to register, if I make it around that age or before. So its off to jail/prison I go in my old age if I contract old age disease…man I wish I had the balls to do a Robin Williams..

The public comments were the best part!