1234 Main Street
XXXX, CA   XXXXX

XXXX XX, 2015

Senator XXXXX
XXXXXXX
Sacramento, CA   9XXXX


Dear Committee Member:

The purpose of this letter is to request that you oppose Senate Bill 267 which has been referred to the Public Safety Committee.  The bill, if passed, would allow local governments to prohibit more than 100,000 individuals who are required to register as sex offenders (“registered citizens”) from being present in or near both public and private places.  

These restrictions, known as "presence" or "proximity" restrictions, do not achieve their stated goal, that is, to protect children from sexual assault because they are focused upon people who are unlikely to commit such assaults in places where those assaults are unlikely to occur.  That is because it is people who are not registered citizens -- family members, teachers, coaches and clergy -- who actually commit more than 90 percent of sexual assaults upon children in places such as homes, locker rooms and churches according to the California Sex Offender Management Board.

If the state allows local governments to adopt presence restrictions, registered citizens will once again be thwarted from acting as law abiding citizens because local governments will return to a "patchwork" of local laws that prohibit a registered citizens from walking on a pier or in a dog park in one city yet allow registered citizens to walk on a pier or in a dog park a different city.  The punishment for violating such laws were stiff and included a jail sentence up to one year, a fine up to $1,000 or both.

In closing, please know that two attempts were made in the recent past (SB 386 and AB 655) to pass a similar law and both were stopped by elected officials who understood that current state laws, such as California Penal Code Section 3053.8, adequately protect children and prevents the previous patchwork of local government laws containing presence restrictions.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX