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Senate panel adds school-bus stops to sex-offender residency restrictions, rejects some shelter exceptions
Summary
The committee voted 16–4 to adopt an amendment expanding statutory residency restrictions to include school-bus stops and to require districts to provide bus-stop lists to law enforcement; senators debated impacts on homeless shelters and group homes before the amendment and the bill were reported favorably as amended.
A bill to add school-bus stops to the list of locations that bar certain convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet drew extended debate over unintended consequences for homeless shelters, group homes and DSS placements.
Sponsor witnesses and committee staff said the change would enumerate school-bus stops along with schools, daycares and playgrounds as prohibited residences for offenders convicted of the most serious enumerated crimes involving minors. The proposal also would require school districts to compile and provide lists of school-bus stops to local law enforcement and to give written notice to parents or a hyperlink to the offender registry on district websites.
Several senators raised practical concerns: in urban areas many shelters, group homes and care facilities are near schools or bus routes, and removing those places from the pool of available licensed housing could displace supervised residents or complicate placements for youths in DSS care. One senator urged consultation with shelter operators and treatment facilities; another stressed the statutory residency restrictions already apply only to a narrow subset of registrants convicted of the most serious offenses.
An amendment by the senator from Charleston that would remove a statutory waiver for persons residing in homeless shelters or group homes (arguing homelessness should not be a waiver for proximity to children) passed 16–4 after debate. Committee members also adopted technical cleanup amendments to clarify the school-district notification requirements. The committee then voted to report the bill favorably as amended.
