California Democratic senators failed to advance a proposal Tuesday that would have barred registered sex offenders from running for office.<\/p>\n
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) voted against Assembly Bill 2753<\/a>, while fellow Sens. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) abstained from a vote that ultimately failed 2-1-2 in the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee.<\/p>\n The committee\u2019s lone Republican, Steve Choi (R-Irvine), and Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) voted in favor of the bill, which is probably dead because it failed to get support from a majority of the five-member panel. <\/p>\n AB 2753 could be reviewed in a floor session Thursday, but staffers from the office of Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Fresno), who wrote the bill, are conceding that\u2019s unlikely.<\/p>\n The defeat comes on the heels of unanimous support, including a 60-0 vote in favor on the Assembly Floor<\/a> on May 7.<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply disappointed and disheartened after the Senate Elections Committee has failed to advance AB 2753, a bill that would have prohibited any registered sex offender in the State of California from running for local or state public office,\u201d Soria said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s wording said the legislation would \u201cprohibit a person from being a candidate for, or elected to, any state or local elective office if the person has ever been required to register as a sex offender.\u201d<\/p>\n Inquiries to the offices of Sens. Wiener and Umberg were not immediately returned.<\/p>\n \u201cI shared the concerns about the bill being too broad, and the slippery slope arguments that have been raised,\u201d Allen wrote in an emailed statement on Thursday. \u201cWe need to be really careful about how we might restrict the will of the public in electing their own community leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n Allen added, \u201cHowever, I supported the Chair\u2019s suggestion that the bill focus on tier 3 offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n Sex offenses in California are broken up into three tiers<\/a>. First-tier offenses call for a minimum of 10 years placement on the sex offender registry. Second-tier offenses call for a minimum of 20 years and third tier crimes could result in a lifetime on the registry.<\/p>\n The types of offenses for each tier vary<\/a>. Tier 1 offenses range from indecent exposure to misdemeanor child pornography and sexual battery. Tier 2 includes incest and penetration with a foreign object, and Tier 3 includes felony possession of child pornography, rape and pimping and pandering of a minor.<\/p>\n Wiener asked for amendments to the bill during the bill\u2019s review and in the committee meeting, including that the lifetime ban be applied only to Tier 3 members.<\/p>\n He pointed to committee analysis of the bill<\/a> that could affect so-called \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d couples \u2014 those close in age, for instance with one partner being 19 and the other being 17. If the younger partner sent sexually explicit digital content to the older partner (a misdemeanor), this law could ban the older partner from public office for life. <\/p>\n There were also concerns listed in the analysis that the registry, which dates to 1947, could include LGBTQ+ offenders from decades ago who were convicted of offenses that are no longer crimes.<\/p>\n Wiener mentioned in the committee meeting civil rights strategist and fighter Bayard Rustin<\/a> being placed on the California sex offender registry list after being arrested by Pasadena police<\/a> for having consensual sex with another man in 1953.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout the amendment contained in the analysis, I will be voting \u2018no\u2019 on this bill and recommending that the committee vote \u2018no,\u2019\u201d Wiener said at the committee hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n He added that the sex offender list was \u201cnot punishment\u201d but \u201ca tool for law enforcement to monitor who may potentially cause a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Soria agreed to one bill amendment, she did not accept other provisions, including the elimination of lifetime bans on Tier 1 or 2 offenses.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is this: I was not willing to make additional amendments to this bill,\u201d she said. \u201cI made a promise to my community that I would do everything in my power to ensure they would never have to go through something like this again. Accepting additional amendments to this bill would have jeopardized that promise.\u201d <\/p>\n Some of the impetus behind her bill revolved around the June 2 Fresno City Council election. Registered sex offender Rene Campos fell short<\/a> of the necessary votes in his bid to run for Central Valley Council.<\/p>\n