County legislators overwhelmingly approved a local law in continued efforts to protect children from convicted sexual predators, despite dissenting legislators’ fears that costly legal action could follow the passing of the law as it has in other counties in the state.
By a 31-vote majority, legislators approved Local Law F, which establishes residency restrictions on Level 2 and 3 convicted offenders in the county, 33-2.
The law, set to take effect Sept. 1, prohibits Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of areas that would provide them easy access to potential victims, the legislation states.
Those areas are defined as public or nonpublic elementary or secondary schools and/or licensed or registered child day care centers.
Violation of the law is punishable as a misdemeanor.
Legislators Marlene Prentiss (R-Albany) and Berne Democrat Alexander Gordon voted down the legislation.
Gordon was among legislators that expressed initial concerns at the presentation of the legislation in May. Originally calling for a 2,000-foot buffer, the law would drive offenders into the suburbs and respective hill towns, some legislators argued.
Gordon made the same case last Monday, saying the new restrictions would be sure to drive some offenders into his district.
`In the remote locations of some of the properties in my area, if a crime starts, a crime is committed,` he said, noting thinned police coverage in rural areas.
Gordon raised other concerns about the legislation, including possible legal action against the county, mainly in the form of constitutional objections.
Recently, similar legislation in the city of Binghamton was dropped after legislators found themselves pinned against a potentially costly legal action challenging the constitutionality of residence restrictions on sex offenders. Shortly after city leaders passed the restrictions, the law was repealed, he said.
Similar legislation has passed in Saratoga, Nassau and Suffolk counties. Last year, residents in Malta were dismayed to discover a number of convicted sex offenders taking up residence in a hotel near their neighborhood, prompting many discussions with legislators and town officials in that town.
Gordon called for legislators to strengthen the law that would piggyback state legislation in the pipeline.
Legislator Paulette Barlette (R-Latham) called out state legislatures for their lack of action in passing similar laws on the state level and leaving the protection of women and children to local and county municipalities, she said.
Barlette, who recently announced she would be seeking Reilly’s 109th Assembly District in next year’s elections, directed comments at the Democratic majority of the state Assembly and, specifically, to Assemblyman Bob Reilly (D-Latham).
`I applaud my colleagues in the Albany County Legislature for their leadership in protecting children from violent sex offenders,` Barlette said. `Unfortunately, this common sense public safety legislation has been bottled up by Assemblyman Bob Reilly and his assembly majority colleagues.`
According to Reilly, that is not the case.
`The Assembly and Senate have done a lot. While there is more to be done, there are certain considerations,` Reilly said.
It was the Senate, and not the Assembly, that held up a recent bill in the Legislature, he said. Before the session’s close, the Senate refused to come to the table on an Assembly bill seeking civil confinement of violent sex offenders ` mostly to mental hospitals ` upon prison release. Except for seeking legislation on the state’s most violent sex offenders, New York legislators aren’t going to implement legislation beyond what Albany and other counties can already do, he said.
The task of protecting children has rested solely on the shoulders of county agencies, Reilly said. Instead, it is an issue that federal, state, county and municipal governments are all focusing on, and should do so collaboratively, he said. It is a bit more complicated than just telling sex offenders where they can or can’t live.
Reilly noted the concerns Gordon reiterated at the passing of the county legislation last Monday.
Gordon, like Reilly, thinks that more time is needed to make sure new sex offender laws are air-tight.
`I think it’s a highly charged issue, and rarely, the best decisions come from reactionary legislation,` Gordon said. `Local Law F was well debated, but I still have my reservations about it.`
But now is not the time for further political debates, Barlette said. What to do about sex offenders is not a new issue, she said, adding that legislators like Reilly have known for years about them in their respective communities. Politics being what they are, law-makers have a serious issue that affects children, she said; the county took action, the state has not.
If Barlette is elected, she said, she will be `kicking and screaming` to get legislators together on legislation similar to what Albany County legislators passed last week.“