Culver applauds public hearing on sex offender changes

DES MOINES – Gov. Chet Culver said he is pleased to see that lawmakers have scheduled a hearing for tonight in the House chambers to get public input on proposed changes to Iowa's sex-offender law.

However, the governor said he remains noncommittal on the fate of proposed changes hammered out by a bipartisan working group currently pending in the House and Senate (House File 711 and Senate File 340).

“I'm glad that they're going to have a discussion about it,” Culver said today. “It's kind of premature for me to comment on whether or not I'll support the bill or not. I'm not seen the specific legislation so we'll see what happens.”

Tonight's Statehouse hearing is slated from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Currently, Iowa law bars certain convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care facility.

The changes under study would prohibit child sex offenders from being present or loitering near places where children congregate, such as schools, parks, playgrounds, libraries, day cares and wading pools. Likewise, offenders who want to visit those locations would first have to receive permission from the administrators.

Groups representing prosecutors, law enforcement, crime victims and others have indicated they believe creating “exclusion zones” for lower-risk sex offenders would be more effective in protecting children from predators than the existing residency restrictions. The 2,000-foot residency ban would remain in place for serious offenders under the proposed changes, and all sex offenders would still be listed on the state Sex Offender Registry and Web site.