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Local reps introduce legislation for public notice

A proposed sex-offender home in Tenino, which is in the 35th Legislative District has drawn the attention and action of Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture and Sen. Drew MacEwen after outrage from the community.

According to a news release, MacEwen introduced Senate bill 5544, which closes a loophole in state law by imposing public notice requirements for the state Department of Social and Health Services when it puts former sex offenders into low-security adult group homes operated by private companies. Under current law, the state Department of Social and Health Services takes civil custody of high-risk sex offenders after their prison sentences expire, housing them initially at a Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, and some offenders are moved elsewhere in the state.

MacEwen’s bill states DSHS must ensure opportunities for public notice and comment before contracting with group home operators to house sex offenders. Before the meetings, the agency or company must provide 14 days advance notice, including newspaper, radio and TV messaging. DSHS would be required to contact local government agencies and coordinate public meetings to allow comments from neighbors and the community.

The Senate Bill had a first reading Jan. 24 and has been referred to the Senate Human Services Committee.

“The people in the area are telling us this is absolutely the wrong place to put a home for sex predators, and government needs to listen to them,” MacEwen said in a news release. “The house is in a rural area where law enforcement response times are long. It is adjacent to a lake where children attend summer camps. The state says these sex offenders are at a high risk of reoffending, yet the only security measures contemplated are ankle bracelets. What could possibly go wrong? But the worst part of the story is that the community never got a chance to speak up and head this off. When the state plans to move sex predators into the neighborhood, people deserve a chance to be heard.”

MacEwen said Thurston County’s water permit requirements will likely delay the opening of the home and give county officials time to consider changes to county zoning.

Couture and Griffey plan to introduce the same measure in the House.

“I applaud the people of Tenino and surrounding areas for standing up to this misguided and dangerous plan,” Couture said in a news release. “Government has a fundamental responsibility to protect the people of Washington from violent sexual predators, and I am working with state and local officials to ensure that happens. In addition to better public notice requirements, facilities that house dangerous criminals must have high security standards and must be held liable if they fail to protect the public. We also need more local control over placement of these facilities to ensure they’re located far from schools, parks, and other vulnerable sites. The status quo is simply not acceptable.”

District lawmakers met with state officials Jan. 25 representing DSHS and the Department of Corrections seeking explanations. According to the news release, agency officials underscored that heightened public notice requirements do not apply when sex offenders are placed in less restrictive alternative housing, including group homes.

“Our meeting with state officials exposed gaps in the current system that put communities at risk,” Griffey said in a news release. “At the same time, it highlighted what we need to do to protect our communities.”

Author Bio

Matt Baide, Reporter

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Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
Email: [email protected]

 

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