'Cousins Law’ a worthy idea

By Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

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More than two months ago, state Sen. Jeff Danielson, D-Waterloo, said he would be introducing legislation similar to a proposed “Cousins Law” during the 2013 legislative session.

He did so last week, proposing a bill that would remove the statute of limitations on sex offenses involving children.

The proposed legislation is in response to the abduction and killings of cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, who were reported missing in July. Their bodies were subsequently discovered by hunters in December.

Danielson had talked of introducing new legislation in December after Robin Arnold of Cedar Falls began collecting signatures for a proposed “Cousins Law.” The goal was to create more urgency when a child disappears, perhaps prompting actions such as vehicle checkpoints in the county and state shortly after a child is reported missing.

The bill introduced touched on those aspects and several others. The statute of limitations section got immediate praise from some during a Statehouse hearing.

“Sometimes it takes decades before the trauma can be spoken of,” said Kim Hiscox, an organizer and spokeswoman for the National Child Safety Council. “A statute of limitations doesn't make sense.”

We agree with that assessment and support Danielson's efforts in bringing another necessary discussion to the Statehouse this year.

Other changes to existing law were part of the bill. That would include setting aside $2 million for a state revolving fund under the control of the Department of Public Safety to pay for training and best practice protocols for law enforcement agencies involved in tracking missing children, including new alert systems and establishment of a statewide human trafficking task force.

Another would be modifying the state's sex offender registry tier structure so offenders on the list are ranked based on an assessment of their propensity to re-offend.

Danielson called the bill “a starting point.”

Years ago, the kidnap and murder of Jetseta Gage of Cedar Rapids prompted legislation making it tougher for violent offenders to be released from prison. Subsequent offenses, including our tragic local example, show the need for further action.

We strongly support Danielson's “starting point” bill, and hope there is some serious discussion between our state leaders on these subjects.