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Page Shelton—Mason Journal Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023
Local reps introduce legislation for public notice
6y lVIatt Baide
ma tt@masoncounty. com
A proposed sex—offender home in
Tenino, which is in the 35th Legis-
lative District has drawn the atten-
tion and action of Reps. Dan Griffey
and Travis Couture and Sen. Drew
MacEwen after outrage from the
community.
According to a news release, MacE-
wen introduced Senate bill 5544,
which closes a loophole in state law
by imposing public notice require-
ments for the state Department of So-
cial and Health Services when it puts
former sex offenders into low-security
adult group homes operated by pri-
vate companies. Under current law,
the state Department of Social and
Health Services takes civil custody
of high-risk sex offenders after their
prison sentences expire, housing
them initially at a Special Commit-
ment Center on McNeil Island, and
some offenders are moved elsewhere
in the state.
MacEwen’s bill states DSHS must
ensure opportunities for public no-
tice and comment before contracting
with group home operators to house
sex offenders. Before the meetings,
the agency or company must provide
14 days advance notice, including
newspaper, radio and TV messag-
ing. DSHS would be required to con-
tact local government agencies and
coordinate public meetings to allow
comments from neighbors and the
community.
The Senate Bill had a first reading
Jan. and has been referred to the
Senate Human Services Committee.
“The people in the area are telling
Entertainment Drawm‘gsg
predators into the neighborhood, peo—
ple deserve a chance to be heard.”
MacEwen said Thurston County’s
water permit requirements will like-
ly delay the opening of the home and
give county officials time to consider
changes to county zoning.
Couture and Griffey plan to intro-
duce the same measure in the House.
“L applaud the people of Tenino and
surrounding areas for standing up to
this misguided and dangerous plan,”
Couture said in a news release. “Gov-
ernment has a fundamental responsi-
bility to protect the people of Wash—
ington from violent sexual predators,
and I am working with state and lo—
cal officials to ensure that happens.
In addition to better public notice
requirements, facilities that house
dangerous criminals must have high
security standards and must be held
liable if they fail to protect the public.
We also need more local control over
Paging MacEwen
Gavin Kleis poses with Sen. Drew MacEwen on the Senate floor. Kleis, a
student at Olympia High School, sewed as a page during the beginning of
the legislative session. Photo by Washington Senate
us this is absolutely the wrong place
to put a home for sex predators, and
government needs to listen to them,”
MacEwen said in a news release.
“The house is in a rural area where
law enforcement response times are
long. It is adjacent to a lake where
children attend summer camps. The
Spa. Bu at Sports 8
state says these sex offenders are at a
high risk of reoffending, yet the only
security measures contemplated are
ankle bracelets. What could possibly
go wrong? But the worst part of the
story is that the community never got
a chance to speak up and head this I
off. When the state plans to move sex
placement of these facilities to en-
sure they’re located far from schools,
parks, and other vulnerable sites. The
status quo is simply not acceptable.”
District lawmakers met with state
officials Jan. representing DSHS
and the Department of Corrections
seeking explanations. According to
the news release, agency officials un—
derscored that heightened public no-
tice requirements do not apply when
sex offenders are placed in less re-
strictive alternative housing, includ—
ing group homes.
“Our meeting with state officials
exposed gaps in the current system
that put communities at risk,” Griffey
said in a news release. “At the same
time, it highlighted what we need to
do to protect our communities.” ‘
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