Paid for by Citizens for Colburn Committee. Authority John W. Phillips, Jr., Treasurer

Sex offender bill signed into law by Ehrlich
By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press Writer
June 26, 2006
Star Democrat

Expect a phone call if a sex offender moves to your area.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., R, who Thursday signed into law a bill that, among other things, creates stiffer penalties and greater supervision for sex offenders, also announced the first phase of the Maryland Sex Offender Alert Line, an automated telephone notification system to alert citizens when a convicted sex offender moves into a community.

Automated notification in both English and Spanish will officially begin in October 2006. Marylanders can register to be alerted by calling 866-599-8017. The alert line is part of the five-year Maryland Community Sex Offender Notification Enhancement project, funded by a grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

The new law subjects convicted child sex offenders, sexually violent offenders and sexually violent predators to extended sexual offender parole supervision; mandates sex offender registration be reported to the criminal records system; requires registrants who have not submitted a DNA sample to do so; mandates registration notifications be sent to all nonpublic schools in the county where the sex offender lives; allows local law enforcement to notify childcare facilities, faith institutions, and other organizations that serve children; prohibits registrants from trespassing on school or daycare property; creates Sexual Offender Management Teams to supervise offenders; and establishes a 16-member sexual offender advisory board.

The bill contains Jessica’s Law provisions, such as setting a minimum 25-year sentence for people convicted of first-degree rape or sex offense against a child younger than 13. People convicted of sex crimes against children would have to check in with the state several times a year and submit DNA samples and annual photographs. It would be a felony not to report.

“It’s a happy moment, a happy day. It’s a good bill,” Ehrlich said Thursday.

The sex offender measure was debated, but not passed, by lawmakers during the regular session. In the abbreviated special session, wrangling over the measure kept lawmakers at work until after 4 a.m. The main sticking points were the mandatory minimum sentences and whether offenders would be eligible for parole.

The law does not ban sex offenders from parole as some advocates hoped, but it does include the mandatory sentences already adopted by 23 states, said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of the Washington-based group Stop Child Predators. The group pushed for the Maryland bill.

“Mandatory minimums keep sexual predators off the streets and keep children and families safe,” she said.

Rumenap called the bill “a good first step” but said parole should be banned later.

The monitoring provisions are thought to help police keep better tabs on where former sex offenders live and work. Dave Wolinski, assistant director of the state agency tracking sex offenders, said offenders will now have to check in twice a year with local police in person, instead of just mailing an update to the state.

“It’s going to give us more control at the local level,” Wolinski said.

Staff writer Sarah Ensor Pearce contributed to this article.