Postmus, Ovitt Introduce County Sex Offender Ordinance
ONTARIO – Mark Lunsford returned to San Bernardino County Monday to urge voters to approve Jessica’s Law, the statewide ballot initiative bearing his murdered daughter’s name. Lunsford (pictured below, third from right) was joined by a dozen state and local officials, including Jessica’s Law Honorary Chairman State Sen. George Runner and co-chairs Fourth District County Supervisor Gary Ovitt and Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus, at a press conference in Ontario.
Proposition 83 would provide numerous strengthened provisions to State law including GPS tracking of paroled sex offenders for life and new predator-free residency limits around schools and parks. It would make California’s sex offender laws the toughest in the nation. Jessica’s law allows local governments to include additional protected sites they deem appropriate.
Postmus and Ovitt (pictured above center, left-right) also announced their proposed County Sexual Predator Control Ordinance, which they will present to the Board of Supervisors at its October 17 meeting. The restrictions in the County ordinance would expand on provisions of Jessica’s Law, which is likely to be approved by California voters on November 7.
In April, the supervisors created a Child Safety Task Force to encourage municipalities and county departments to prepare to implement local-government provisions of the initiative measure. The ordinance unveiled Monday is a result of that effort. It would expand on Jessica’s Law by prohibiting sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of a daycare center and within one-half mile of a school. In addition, the ordinance would create 300-foot “predator free zones” around schools and parks in unincorporated areas.
"The residents of our County want these protections, and we will do everything possible to protect the children of our community from those who would do them harm," said Ovitt. Postmus said the ordinance was drafted in a format to allow cities, where most of the county’s citizens reside, to easily follow the county’s lead. "I urge all of our cities to adopt similar ordinances," Postmus said.