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Florida's Sex-Offender Registry Upheld
by Chloe Albanesius
A federal appeals court on Monday upheld a Florida law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with the state for inclusion on a Web site upon their release from prison and to submit DNA samples.
A group of sex offenders sued the state, claiming that the reporting requirements violated their constitutional right to due process. They also said the rules were unfair under the equal-protection standard because other released offenders do not have to undergo the same post-release scrutiny.
A district court dismissed the case in December 2003, ruling that the requirements do not violate any fundamental rights protected by the Constitution and are "rationally related to a legitimate government end." The appeals court affirmed that judgment and ruled that "the motion to dismiss was correctly granted."
On the due-process issue, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals found that "nuanced state administrative laws" do not constitute a violation. The three-judge panel also found that "the increased reporting requirements based on evidence of increased recidivism among a class of felons is rationally related to the state's interest in protecting its citizens from criminal activity."
In other news, California state Sen. Dean Florez last week introduced legislation that would prohibit sex offenders from opting out of registration requirements. The move comes after it was revealed that certain offenders could apply to be removed from the state's database. Since last fall, some 2,677 misdemeanor offenders have forgone registration, while another 7,288 have applied to be removed.
Florez introduced legislation in December relating to children and family health programs, but the bill, S.B. 34 was amended last week to specifically prohibit offenders from opting out.
"I don't want any parent to become complacent because they think this site can protect them," the Democrat said in a statement. "It's a useful tool, but it can't replace using good common sense, keeping an eye on your kids and reminding them not to talk to strangers. Meanwhile, we have to correct this gap in the law to make the Web site as strong a tool as possible."
A hearing on the bill is set for June 14.
Pharmacists Skeptical Of Florida Drug Site
Florida's attorney general last week unveiled a Web site that allows residents to compare prescription-drug prices at area retailers for the 50 most commonly used drugs, but pharmacists questioned its usefulness.
The site will "encourage healthy competition," Attorney General Charlie Crist, a Republican and 2006 gubernatorial candidate, said in a statement. It also will benefit those residents whose drug costs "make up a significant part of the family budget."
The site features information on what an uninsured patient would pay for certain drugs. The state legislature ordered the Agency for Health Care Administration to complete the project. It "will allow our citizens to price shop their prescription drugs, thus generating tremendous savings that can be used for other basic needs," bill co-sponsor Frank Farkas said in a statement.
In addition to the uninsured, the site also seeks to help senior citizens who rely on Medicare. But Hernando Today reports that pharmacist Lorraine Stewart is skeptical that many seniors have Internet access to compare the drug prices, while other professionals are not sure the state can adequately update the site.
Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, meanwhile, said Tuesday that he will sign a bill, A.B. 195, allowing the state to create a Web site with information on importing prescription drugs from other countries. "I do believe this is a coming time in America when we need to take a look," he told AP. "If we can regulate it, certainly, and I think this bill is well laid out."
The move comes after state Assembly members tangled over an amendment that would have required the state to wait until the federal government approved the practice of importation before proceeding. Members eventually agreed to strike the amendment.
Report: Governments To Embrace 'Open Source'
State and local governments are expected to surpass the public sector in their adoption of "open source" software whose underlying code can be viewed and altered, according to a Wednesday report from the market research firm INPUT.
However, the success of municipal open-source projects will not result from a collective agency effort but rather from governments that outsource contracts to software specialists, the report said.
"Despite recent government initiatives to write their own software code, it is very unlikely that agencies will develop [open-source] solutions on their own," James Krouse, the manager of state and local market analysis at INPUT, said in a statement. "State agencies generally don't have the expertise and manpower to develop these solutions."
INPUT found that the main driver of open-source software adoption is the need for governments to manage their own systems in order to ensure confidentiality.
Microsoft Donation Fosters Personal Teaching
Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and representatives from Microsoft on Tuesday presented Eastern Washington University and the Cheney School District with a $2.5 million grant intended to improve classrooms for reading, writing and math instruction.
The effort is part of the Redmond-based software company's Partners in Learning initiative. Washington is one of five state participants, and the grant will allow teachers to tailor instruction to students' individual needs via technology.
"We have an unacceptably high rate of high-school dropouts -- about 30 percent," Gregoire, a Democrat, said in a statement. "We must find ways to give teachers the tools they need to provide a level of tailored instruction that will help each student be successful not only in school but as they move into the work world."
The university and the school district eventually will release a report about how the program affects performance. "This can create a model that will enable teachers to make the best decisions for individual students," Gregoire said.
In other news, about 2,000 sixth-grade students in Michigan will test a system that allows them to take standardized tests on laptop computers.
Also in Michigan, Attorney General Mike Cox on Tuesday announced that $300,000 in Sprint calling cards were distributed to Michigan military families and soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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