New Round of Sex Offender Bills Launched By Rep Krummel
(SALEM) - State Representative Jerry Krummel (R-Wilsonville) introduced a series of bills Monday that he says will hold sex offenders in Oregon more accountable. “We worked very hard to get the new statewide sex offender web site on line and managed to get Jessica’s Law adopted, now it’s time to work on other areas, said Krummel.
These areas according to Krummel include implementing the new Adam Walsh Act adopted by Congress last year, GPS tracking, better registration procedures and civil commitments for the most dangerous offenders.
“Last legislative session our lawmakers made a great first step in protecting our children by establishing a website showing some of the most dangerous sexual predators in our area,?? noted Connie Hollon, the Wilsonville mother who asked Krummel to create the new web site. “This session we have the opportunity to take the safety of our children to another level. I applaud those who stand up and say our children’s safety is important and we plan to protect them to the best of our ability.
House Bill 3001 sets up the Adam Walsh Act Task Force. The new federal law offers a more comprehensive and uniform system for registration of sex offenders. However, new federal rules are still being drafted. Oregon needs to have a way to stay on top of these new guidelines and ensure we are doing everything possible to follow the new standards at the state level.
House Bill 3002 uses federal grant funds available under the Walsh Act to set up a pilot program to for electronic monitoring of sex offenders. This program will use GPS (global positioning systems) and cellular technology to track offenders around the clock.
House Bill 3003 prohibits any sex offender receiving services on the Oregon Health Plan or other public health programs, from receiving Viagra or other treatments for erectile dysfunction. The federal government already frowns on this kind of inappropriate medical therapy, but Krummel pointed out, “there is no state or federal law banning the practice. We need to send a message that this is not okay.
House Bill 3004 allows authorities to place an involuntary commitment on a sexually violent predator after their criminal sentence has expired. At least 16 other states have civil commitment laws which place offenders in a secured facility for mental health treatment and grant annual evaluations. The constitutionality of these laws has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
House Bill 3005 moves the annual registration process for registered sex offenders from the Oregon State Police to the county level. There are 13,500 registered sex offenders in our state, 8,500 are no longer on supervision but must update their registration every year. If those off supervision were to register with the county sheriff it would help local law enforcement keep track of these offenders.
House Bill 3006 re-establishes a process for the State Board of Parole and Post Prison Supervision to designate certain offenders as predatory. There are currently 752 predatory sex offenders currently in Oregon. A 2005 court case prompted the state to change their rules. This bill puts those rules into law.
