Since it’s been a couple of months since we last updated you on Jessica’s Law, here’s the latest. The legislative package (SB 588 and AB 231) has run into Democrat opposition in Sacramento (as mentioned by Jon Fleischman in a recent commentary), most notably by Senate President Pro-Tem Don Perata (D-East Bay) and Senator Dean Florez (D-Bakersfield). The Press-Enterprise editorial page last week called the Democrats’ position "disingenuous," adding that the Democrats’ real objection is to the "harshness of the bill." Read it here. The editorial points out that "the Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees killed nearly 30 measures last session that would have placed greater restrictions on high-risk offenders."
Meanwhile, the proposed legislation, which would make California’s laws against sexual predators the most stringent in the nation, also exists in the form of an initiative by the bills’ authors, 
Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley). See my initial entry on this subject for more details and background on the issue. Jeff Gibson, a founding sponsor of California’s Jessica’s Law initiative, said more than 100,000 signatures have been gathered in the first two months of circulation. However, the total number of signatures required is 387,000, and the deadline is in late February. On the fundraising front, the campaign expects to show more than a half million dollars by the January 31st reporting, with much of the balance of their $1.5-million goal committed. The Runners are planning two more Inland fundraisers in January and February. Signature gathering and fundraising are particularly challenging now because of the special election this past November, along with the holidays and then the beginning of the primary season in the coming months. Adding to the campaign’s challenges is the fact that opposition to Jessica’s Law is beginning to organize. And a legislative solution this session is unlikely, with Carole Migden’s likely chairmanship of the Senate Public Safety Committee, combined with Assemblyman Mark Leno’s chairmanship of the Assembly So-Called Public Safety Committee giving a narrow strip of San Francisco’s Castro District control over legislative crime-fighting efforts. Remember Leno is the one who has said that possession of child pornography should only be a misdemeanor offense.
Much of the money being raised in favor of Jessica’s Law is coming from San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, as well as the Antelope Valley in L.A. County. That’s because these areas attract sex offenders due to the lower cost of housing and the fact that offenders from urban areas often want to move away from the local police who know them and keep an eye on them. This is perhaps ironic because this brings us back to the subject of the purported basis for Democrat opposition to Jessica’s Law. Senator Florez claims that Jessica’s Law shouldn’t be enacted because it would drive sex offenders to rural areas as the density of urban areas would be next to impossible to accommodate sex offenders living there. Senator Runner responded, saying such a claim is absolutely false. "No child should have to pass by a child molester’s house on their walk to school and that’s what Jessica’s Law will prevent," he said. "For example, in Senator Florez’ district, Bessie E. Owen Elementary School in Bakersfield has about 10 sex offenders living within 2,000 feet of the school. We think these children deserve a safer walk to school and a predator-free zone where they learn and play." Runner continued: "The Democrats clearly do not understand current law and are using scare tactics to distract from the real issue of protecting our children. Current law requires that the sex offender be released back to the offender’s county of domicile during parole. This doesn’t change in Jessica’s Law. In fact, the difference is that the offenders will be in prison longer and if they are ever released, instead of three years of parole, they will be on parole in their county for 10 years."
Jessica’s Law would require satellite (GPS) tracking of paroled sex offenders for life. It would create new, larger predator-free zones around schools and parks (2,000 feet vs. the current 1,200 feet). It would also strengthen the "sexually violent predator" provision for violent first-time offenders, and increases penalties for offenses. The proposed law — named after nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was murdered earlier this year in Florida by a convicted sex offender living nearby — would increase parole terms for sex offenders, add new punishable offenses, and would increase several misdemeanor violations to felonies. It would eliminate all "good-time" credits for sex offenders, ensuring that they serve their entire sentence. It would also give more control to local governments over the living arrangements of sex offenders. More information can be obtained at www.jessicaslaw2006.com.