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News in Depth / With Audio Sac'to Bill Advances, Supported By LB City Hall, To Explicitly Let Cities/Counties Prohibit Clustering Up To Six Paroled Sex Offenders In Residential "Six Packs"
(April 30, 2008) -- With the City of Long Beach testifying in support, the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday (April 29) advanced a bill (4-2) that would explicitly allow cities to prohibit the clustering of up to six paroled sex offenders in residential "six-packs" (six unrelated people living together). 
Ass'y webcast screen save
AB 2593 by Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R, Hesperia), which includes a provision adding that it doesn't prohibit cities from enacting other ordinances further restricting the residency of such sex offenders. is supported by a number of prominent Demcorats, including Assemblywoman Betty Karnette (D, LB) who has joined as a bill co-author. Other Dem co-authors include Fiona Ma (D., SF) and Anthony Portantino (D., Pasadena).
The City of LB's Sacramento legislative advocate, Michael Arnold, testified in support of the bill. "The City of Long Beach is here today to support the bill because of their concern with respect to over-concentration of these kinds of residential care facilities in certain of our urban communities and Long Beach is experiencing that. Therefore, they support this narrow change to the existing law so that they can get a better handle upon these registered sex offenders who have served time in prison, who are now on parole and who may be located near schools, child care facilities and other facilities where the residents of Long Beach believe they should not be located," he told the Committee.
Ass'y webcast screen save
Among those testifying against the measure were the American Civil Liberites Union and the Western Center for Law & Poverty, citing multiple grounds for their opposition.
LBReport.com provides on-demand coverage of salient Committee testimony (runs just over ten minutes; audio edits are indicated with a "whoosh" sound). The first voice you will hear is the bill's author, Assemblyman Anthony Adams (R., Hesperia). To launch audio (MP3 file), click link below:
Audio: Ass'y Public Safety Committee
AB 2593, April 29/08
As currently written, the bill states:
BILL NUMBER: AB 2593 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2008
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Adams
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Ma Coauthors: Assembly Members
Karnette, Ma, and Portantino )
FEBRUARY 22, 2008
An act to amend Section 3003.5 of the Penal Code, relating to sex
offenders.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2593, as amended, Adams. Sex offenders: parole.
Existing law prohibits any person who is required to register as a
sex offender from residing in a single family dwelling with any
other person also required to register as a sex offender, except
under certain circumstances.
This bill would provide that a city or county may adopt a local
ordinance to include a residential facility that serves 6 or fewer
persons, including a sober living facility, within the definition of
"single family dwelling," for purposes of that provision. The
bill would also specify that a "single family dwelling," for purposes
of that provision includes a single room within a hotel.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3003.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
3003.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a
person is released on parole after having served a term of
imprisonment in state prison for any offense for which registration
is required pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act, that
person may not, during the period of parole, reside in any single
family dwelling with any other person also required to register
pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act, unless those persons
are legally related by blood, marriage, or adoption. For purposes of
this section, a city or county may adopt a local ordinance to include
a residential facility that serves six or fewer persons, including a
sober living facility, within the definition of "single family
dwelling."
(b) For purposes of this section, a " single family dwelling"
includes a single room within a hotel.
(b)
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it is
unlawful for any person for whom registration is required pursuant to
the Sex Offender Registration Act to reside within 2,000 feet of any
public or private school, or park where children regularly gather.
(c)
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit municipal
jurisdictions from enacting local ordinances that further restrict
the residency of any person for whom registration is required
pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act.
As described in the Committee's legislative analysis, the bill would let cities and counties adopt local measures "to
include a residential facility that serves six or fewer persons, including a sober living facility, within the definition of "single-family dwelling" for the purpose of restricting more than one paroled sex offender from living in these facilities." It "[d]eletes from current law the provision that a single-family dwelling shall not include a residential facility which serves six or fewer persons; [a]llows a city or county to adopt a local ordinance to include a residential facility that serves six or fewer people, including a "sober living facility" within the definition of "single-family dwelling"; and [p]rovide[s] that a single room within a hotel is considered a single-family dwelling."
Dem support isn't unanimous. The Public Safety Committee's chair, Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D., Santa Ana) voted against the bill...at one point stating publicly that he's concerned about the Sacramento's cost if it has to find places besides residences to house such paroled sex offenders. Another southland Dem voting against the measure, without comment, was Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D., South Gate).
A Committee staff's legislative analysis cites what it considers legal hurdles and problematic aspects of the legislation. To view the Committee staff's legislative analysis, click here.
As previously reported by LBReport.com, in March 2008, amid an outcry from residents of the Alamitos Beach neighborhood and at the urging of 2nd dist. Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal, the LB City Council enacted an ordinance that the LB City Attorney's office believes is sound under existing law. It includes a 2,000 foot sex offender residence exclusion zone and limits one sex offender per parcel of residential land, unless legally related by blood, marriage or adoption. Beaches are included in the 2,000 foot LB residential exclusion zone (since they're included in the definition of parks)...and the proposed ordinance is retroactive regarding sex offenders and property owners renting to them.
AB 2593 now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, a frequent graveyard for legislation not supported by the Dem Party's legislative leadership. The Assembly Appropriations Committee is currently chaired by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D., SF), who hasn't been supportive of similarly styled legislation in the past...however his Committee members include the bill's now co-authors Karnette, Ma (both Dems) and also newly elected Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D., Carson-LB).
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