Baltimore County Dels. John Olszewski Jr. and Eric Bromwell said Monday they are disappointed their bill that would have forced child sex offenders to live at least 2,000 feet from schools died in the House Judiciary Committee.
“There were some concerns about the distance being too broad and the areas included being too extensive,” said Olszewski, D-District 6.
“I?m disappointed but I think we learned a lot in the process,” said Bromwell, D-District 8. “We want to make sure we?re not doing more harm than good.”
Olszewski and Bromwell were sponsored two bills ? one for the state and one solely for Baltimore County ? that would make it illegal for a person convicted of a child sexual offense to live near places where children congregate, such as schools, bus stops, playgrounds, day care facilities and arcades.
The bills would require a prison sentence of one to five years for anyone caught in violation. But Friday, the House Judiciary Committee gave the bills unfavorable reports, effectively killing them until next year when both delegates said they plan to resubmit them in a package more favorable to the committee.
“We don?t want to create areas where there?s a large amount of sex offenders,” Bromwell said.
In 2001, Texas became the first state to establish child safety zones restricting where sex offenders could live, according to a legislative report on the delegates? proposed bills.
At least 21 states now have such zones, the report says. Olszewski said next year he hopes to come up with a more “comprehensive” bill.
“More than a majority of those types of crimes involved people who know each other,” Olszewski said. “The fight continues. Next year, hopefully, we can come up with something that will work for the committee.”
