PHOENIX -- Arizona could soon lose thousands of dollars in federal funding if it does not comply with a federal sex offender database law.
The Adam Walsh Act, passed in 2006, requires states to follow the same rules for a national sex offender registry. The deadline to comply with those rules is July 27.
And it looks like Arizona will choose to leave the money on the table.
“It’s a couple hundred thousand dollars,” said Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-District 15. “We've decided that amount we'll lose is less than the amount of money it'll cost to comply. In addition, we feel like complying is not a good idea in some areas, as it actually makes Arizona law worse."
Sinema said she was part of a 22-member committee that studied the issue more than a year ago.
"For example, Level One sex offenders don't have to register. A homeless person urinates in an alley. In Arizona, that's a Level One sex offense, but that's not a person who represents a threat to the community. By putting them on the registry, we make police officers focus more time on people who are not a threat and have less time to focus on people who are a threat," said Sinema. ..Source.. by KPHO.com
Kudos to Ms. Sinema! It is very refreshing to see a lawmaker that actually has some common sense! I was beginning to think they were extinct!
ReplyDelete