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The Crusade Against Sex Offenders
by Chloe Albanesius
California this week became the latest state to join the crusade against sex offenders, with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposing legislation that will strengthen the state's existing laws against sexual predators.
The bill, S.B. 588, and its companion measure, A.B. 231, would require lifetime electronic monitoring of released offenders via global positioning systems (GPS) and punish those who lure minors for sex over the Internet.
"We need to equip our law enforcement with the best technology available in order to stop these predators from flying under the radar," state Sen. George Runner, the Republican bill sponsor, said in a statement. "Requiring GPS monitoring of sex offenders will be a huge deterrent and prevent many children from being victimized in the future."
Current law allows the state to request e-monitoring of paroled offenders, but the bills would require the lifetime electronic monitoring of all registered sex offenders and demand that financially able offenders pay for the operation of those GPS systems. The measure "will give California the strictest sex-offender laws we have ever had and ensure our state has the toughest penalties for the worst crimes," the Republican governor said in a statement.
The measure also would make possession of child pornography a felony for convicted sex offenders; it is currently a misdemeanor. And the legislation would prohibit the solicitation of a minor online, a crime that currently cannot be prosecuted unless direct harm occurs.
A similar Louisiana bill took effect Monday. Under that measure, H.B. 547, people caught using the Web to lure children for sex could face up to 10 years in jail and $10,000 in fines.
In Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan and U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel on Thursday will gather in Chicago to push for increased electronic monitoring of child sexual predators.
Also in the Midwest, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline on Tuesday unveiled the results from an audit of the state's sex-offender registry. Disparities prompted Kline to call for a task force to ensure the accuracy of information.
Officials selected 5 percent of the database's 4,026 registered offenders at random and checked to see if their addresses, places of employment, vehicle registrations and driver's license information was accurate. Investigators found that 28.4 percent of offenders had at least one incorrect piece of information in their records, while 21 percent provided incorrect addresses. Officials could not locate information on 13.7 percent of registered offenders by the end of the audit.
Kline called on the task force to examine the use of GPS monitoring of offenders and to review emerging technologies that could be used in searches of predator residences.
And in Florida, Attorney General Charlie Crist, a 2006 gubernatorial candidate, last week unveiled a guide for parents on how to keep their children safe online. Among its contents is a "chat dictionary" of terms and abbreviations commonly used in Internet chat rooms.
Web-based Hunting Is In Lawmakers' Sights
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday signed a bill that prohibits hunting via the Internet.
Under the bill, A.B. 179, people cannot use computers to manipulate firearms set up in the wild and shoot animals that come into view. Wisconsin becomes the third state to enact a law against the practice. The other two with such laws are Vermont and Virginia.
Several states are considering similar measures after a Texas man created the first known online hunting site, dubbed live-shot.com. He claimed that disabled hunters could use it, but gun enthusiasts and public-safety officials condemned the practice as inhumane and unsafe.
The California Senate has passed a bill, S.B. 1028, and a measure, S.B. 620, is pending in Michigan. The Illinois House also passed a bill, H.B. 2065, while New York lawmakers in both chambers approved that state's legislation, S.B. 2822. Legislative efforts in Delaware, South Dakota and Tennessee have been less successful thus far.
Fee Relief For New York's Dial-Up Customers
Under a law recently signed by New York Gov. George Pataki, Internet service providers must inform dial-up customers if the access numbers they select might result in long-distance charges.
The move comes after Internet customers in upstate New York were charged for selecting dial-up numbers they believed were within their local service areas. In Rochester alone, more than 700 customers were charged more than $200,000, according to a legislative analysis.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has negotiated refunds for the affected customers, but under the bill, A. 6886, ISPs will face charges of deceptive practices unless they prominently warn customers that choosing certain numbers could be costly.
The bill takes effect in less than three months.
In other news, the Lincoln City Council in Nebraska on Monday voted to increase the state's telecommunications tax from 3 percent to 6 percent. The Lincoln Courier reports that the move, which must be approved by the state Revenue Department, comes after the council increased the tax last year from 1 percent to 3 percent. Funds will be deposited into the city's general fund.
And the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that the New Smyrna Beach Utilities Commission in Florida this week contemplated dissolving its telecom business because it is losing money.
Report: Wireless Telework Connections Pose Risks
Wireless technologies can offer state legislative staffers a plethora of teleworking options, but state chief information officers must be mindful of the security issues posed by remote work options, according to a Tuesday report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO).
"Conducting work wirelessly from anyplace, at anytime, requires increased vigilance so that citizens' personal information remains safe from unauthorized exposure," the report said. Unprotected systems could be vulnerable to "war drivers," or hackers who sit within the vicinity of active networks and surreptitiously access information, the report said.
Similar insecure scenarios like rogue wireless points and wireless "hot spots" also can leave information vulnerable.
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