California Proposition 83 (2006)
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California Proposition 83, that state's version of Jessica's Law, was on the ballot in the November 2006 election and passed with over 70% of the vote.
It was sponsored by husband and wife legislators California State Senator George Runner (R-Antelope Valley) and State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley). The initiative was supported by a majority in every county with the exception of San Francisco.[1] This is noteworthy because the counties with the highest percentage of supporters were rural counties, which Prop 83 will be forcing dislocated sexual offenders towards.
The majority of the initiative deals with increased penalties for sex offenders, elimination of good time credits for early release, making simple possession of child pornography a felony, and establishing a lifelong GPS monitoring of High Risk Sex Offenders.[2]
It was opposed by State Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) who was concerned that the 2000-foot "no-live" zone around schools and parks would be unenforceable or push sex offenders from urban to rural areas. State senate president pro tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) stated that the proposition was "thrown together without sufficient care." Another criticism is that the restrictions would cause problems with securing employment and finding a place of residence. California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (criminal defense attorneys association) opposed Proposition 83 and wrote the opposing argument for the ballot and voter pamphlet.[3]
