California State Senator Hollingsworth Statement SVP Legislation

By:
Dina Biedermann
California State Senate
Inland Empire, CA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Melanie Reagan
(916) 651-4036

Sacramento – Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R - Murrieta) issued the following statement on the passage of four of his bills from the Senate Public Safety Committee, all dealing with extremely dangerous sexually violent predators.

Currently, a sexually violent predator can choose not to complete a treatment program. Under the provisions of SB 669, an SVP’s refusal to engage in treatment may be considered as evidence that nothing has changed and therefore not a condition for release.

“Completion of a treatment program is not currently a condition of release. Why not? A condition of release must be a desire to change the sexually abhorrent behavior in the first place.”SB 564 is aimed at preventing SVP's, the most violent and dangerous classification of sex offender, from registering as a 'transient' under Megan's Law, an increasing practice given the intense scrutiny communities are giving to the placements of these predators.

SB 583 creates a database at the Department of Justice where law enforcement, licensing authorities and child care officials can cross check the residencies of sex offenders to prevent them from living at a licensed day care facility, for example.

SB 668 is designed to give prosecutors the tools to send sex offenders back to prison if they give law enforcement false information on their Megan’s Law registration form.

All four measures moved through Public Safety with no opposition from committee members.Senator Hollingsworth has been a leading advocate for legislation that protects California children from violent criminals. Hollingsworth's Project KidSafe, a program dedicated to children's public safety legislation, has been in place since 2003