By SUSAN M. COVER
Staff Writer February 4, 2007

AUGUSTA - Every bill starts with an idea. For Rep. Patsy Crockett, D-Augusta, the idea for a bill to require better oversight of where sex offenders live came to mind in the fall at a meeting with parents from Lincoln School.

Crockett hadn't been elected yet, and she wasn't an incumbent. But she was invited to attend the meeting with local legislators, the Augusta Police Department and Kennebec County District Attorney Evert Fowle.

Parent Annmarie Fitzpatrick organized the meeting because of concerns about sex offenders living near a neighborhood park at the corner of North and Bridge streets. Throughout the give and take of discussion, the parents talked about a lot of ideas, Fitzpatrick said.

"One of the things I discussed with the group of people in Lincoln School was that we need to look at what is feasible this time around," she said.

Crockett agreed.

After listening to the parents, Crockett submitted ideas for four bills related to sex offenders. Crockett's bills call for more probation officers to oversee sex offenders; restricting access to people younger than 14; looking at what kind of crime facilitated a sexual assault; and requiring probation officers to approve where sex offenders live.

The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel are going to follow the residency bill, Legislative Document 147, from the idea stage to its disposition.

Crockett, a first-time legislator but 11-year lobbyist, knows how to get bills passed. She's also realistic about the chances of any one bill making it all the way through the process to the governor's desk.

"It's not necessarily exactly what the people from civil liberties want, and it may not be exactly what the law allows now, but you at least bring the idea forward that something needs to be done," she said.

Her bill seeks to allow probation officers to approve where sex offenders live. She sees probation officers as the public's front line of defense.

"We have in Augusta a number of areas that have a high concentration of sex offenders," she said. "I don't know that it's best for these people to be put in the community setting with the idea of improving them, and then to have them see as their role models all these sex offenders."

And although Crockett was elected to represent part of Augusta, her bill would have statewide implications. Oakland and Waterboro have adopted their own ordinances to try to control where sex offenders live.

Other towns are hoping for a statewide policy.

FIRST STEPS

After the November election, Crockett submitted her idea for the bill to the Revisor of Statute's Office.

They work closely with the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis and the Office of Fiscal and Program Review on research and drafting.

After that, Crockett asked other legislators if they'd want to be co-sponsors. She got nine people to sign-on - five Democrats and four Republicans. Getting support from both parties is important because it signals to other legislators that the bill isn't a partisan issue.

Each bill is assigned a number, and they are released from the revisor's office in numerical order.

The office expects to put out more than 2,400 bills this session. Fewer than half will make it all the way through the process to become law.

The bills may not be taken up in the order in which they are released, but at least they have a number so they can be tracked through the process. In the halls of the Statehouse, bills are always referred to by their LD number.

In addition to a number, the bill also gets a title: "An Act to Require as a Condition of Probation for Sex Offenders the Approval of a Residence by a Probation Officer."

Once the bill is released from the revisor's office, it goes to the House or Senate to be referred to a legislative committee. Bills submitted by House members go to the House first, bills from Senators go to the Senate to begin the process.

TO COMMITTEE

In Crockett's case, the bill was referred to the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The Legislature has 17 standing committees that review all bills. Each committee has 13 legislators, and most have eight Democrats and five Republicans.

The criminal justice committee has seven Democrats and six Republicans, because Republicans asked if they could have two Senators on the committee instead of one, said Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham.

In most cases, public hearings on bills are scheduled shortly after they are referred to the committee. But Crockett's bill is one of about 40 that address sex offenders, and the committee is looking to set aside a block of time in late February or early March to review them, Diamond said.

For several years, the Legislature has considered scores of bills related to sex offenders. Where they can live after they've been released from prison continues to be a thorny issue.

Crockett's bill takes a slightly different approach.

Rather than restricting where sex offenders can live by measuring their proximity to a school or child day care center, she wants probation officers to approve their residence. She does want probation officers to consider whether schools are nearby, or whether a certain neighborhood has a lot of small children.

From the outset, she acknowledges this could be problematic.

First, probation officers already carry heavy caseloads and this would be adding work to their responsibility. Second, civil liberty groups may oppose the bill because it limits the rights of sex offenders who have already served their time.

Those points, and many others, are likely to come up in the next step of the process - the public hearing. That's when supporters and opponents get to tell the legislative committee what they think of the bill.

Crockett has agreed to meet with the Lincoln School parents again for a training session prior to the public hearing.

The parents want to understand the legislative process, and Crockett wants them to testify at the public hearing on behalf of the bill.

It's OK to have experts and lobbyists at a hearing. But citizens who testify carry a lot of weight with lawmakers.

"The real live people, that's the ones we change the law for," she said.

Susan Cover - 623-1056

scover@centralmaine.com