Conference committee negotiates sentence level and religious-service exemption in bill barring registered offenders from school property

House and Senate conferees met in a conference committee to negotiate changes to a bill that would prohibit people on the state offender registry from entering school property, debating both the criminal sentence for a first conviction and an exemption that would allow attendance at religious services held on school grounds.

The conference focused on two related proposals: a House offer of four amendments to the bill (referred to in committee as 02/1964) and a Senate counter that would change the recommended sentencing severity and add a limited religious-service exemption. The reviser explained the sentencing-grid implications, saying: "So severity level 6... the range is gonna be between 32 and 36 months, and that's gonna be presumptive prison. And an 8, the range is gonna be between 15 and 17 months, and... presumptive probation. For a 7... it would be between 22 and 26 months, and... presumptive probation." (Reviser)

Why it matters: the difference between a level-6 and a level-7 or -8 offense changes whether the first conviction carries…