Republican lawmakers on Friday called on the state Assembly to approve proposed legislation overriding a recent state Court of Appeals ruling that struck down local sex offender laws in favor of those set at the state level.
During a news conference alongside state Assemblyman Edward Ra (Franklin Square), state Sen. Michael Venditto (Massapequa) and Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray (Levittown), the Nassau County Legislature’s Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves said sex offender restrictions should be set by local governments
“Representatives here at the local level know our community best, and know how to keep them the safest,” said Gonsalves, of East Meadow. The state legislation should be approved by the Assembly immediately so Nassau can implement our stricter restrictions on local convicted sex offenders.”
State law places residency restrictions only on Level 3 sex offenders at 1,000 feet away from a school campus, while Nassau County’s law sought to restrict Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from living within that same distance.
Nassau County’s laws also prohibit convicted sex offenders of living within 500 feet of a park.
Ra and Venditto sponsored state legislation to allow the county to set its own sex offender restrictions, which passed in the state Senate in February but has not yet come to a vote in the state Assembly.
Following the state Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Woodmere resident Michael Diack, a convicted Level 1 sex offender, who challenged Nassau’s laws after being arrested in 2011 for living 500 feet away from Lawrence-Woodmere Academy, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas called for the state Legislature to review local sex offender laws.
