Sex-offender bill moves in Iowa House

By: Rob Poggenklass
January 31, 2006

The representative who drafted the Iowa House's sex-offender bill said that the government can better protect its citizens by focusing on sex criminals who are at a high risk to reoffend, while allowing those who've been convicted of lesser sex crimes to appeal the restrictions placed on them by the state.

The representative who drafted the Iowa House's sex-offender bill said that the government can better protect its citizens by focusing on sex criminals who are at a high risk to reoffend, while allowing those who've been convicted of lesser sex crimes to appeal the restrictions placed on them by the state.Lance Horbach, a Republican from Tama, last week assumed the duty of floor manager for the sex-offender bill in the Iowa House and has drafted legislation that will likely be considered later in the session. Republican leadership moved the bill to the Public Safety Committee and away from Judiciary, where Jeff Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, was slated to be the bill's floor manager.Horbach, who also chairs the House committee that oversees the state's courts, prisons and law-enforcement agencies, said that a bill passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2002 focused on the residency of sex offenders. He hopes this year's bill will make it more difficult for serious sex offenders to gain access to schools and day-care facilities, while providing checks and balances on the sweeping powers given to the state four years ago."Nobody wants to be weak on crime," Horbach said. "The fact that we don't blanket all sex offenders doesn't mean we're weak on crime."The 2002 sex-offender bill established the so-called 2,000-foot rule, making it a crime for those convicted of a sex crime to live within 2,000 feet of a school or day-care center. Because of a legal challenge, the rule did not go into effect until last summer.Horbach said this year's sex-offender bill would make a number of corrections to the bill passed in 2002. For starters, the 2,000-foot rule applies to all persons convicted of a so-called "sex crime," including such offenses as indecent exposure and public urination. Horbach said that while he does not condone these actions, a vast majority of them are high-school and college pranks, offenses he believes should not be subject to the serious repercussions of the 2002 sex-offender bill.Horbach, a Tama businessman who is serving his fourth term in the Iowa House, said his concerns have been shaped by the story of a man convicted of a sex crime in his legislative district. When the man was 18, he was convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl when the girl's mother became upset about the relationship.The man married the girl and has three children with her, Horbach said. Now 25 years old, Horbach said the man has a full-time job and is a law-abiding member of the community. But when the 2,000-foot rule took effect last summer, the man and his family were forced to move from their home."When you say 'sex offender,' people think predator or child molester," Horbach said. "I don't think low-risk offenders should be impacted by the 2,000-foot rule. We're spending our resources keeping track of people at a low risk to reoffend. We could have spent those resources to protect people from high-risk offenders."The Iowa County Attorneys Association released a statement last week, saying that there is "no correlation between residency restrictions and reducing sex offenses against children or improving the safety of children."Because of the political pressure to enact a tough sex-offender bill in 2002, Horbach said there is a real lack of checks and balances afforded to sex offenders who are at a low risk to reoffend. Under Horbach's proposal, this year's sex-offender bill would give some people convicted of sex crimes the right to appeal to a judge, who could exempt them from the 2,000-foot rule restriction.The exemptions would not be available to sex offenders who have caused bodily harm or death to a child, those who have committed a crime worthy of life in prison, or multiple-offense sex offenders. Those criminals who refuse treatment for their behavior while in prison would also forfeit the right to an exemption from the 2,000-foot rule and other restrictions."Right now, there's no way to appeal," said Horbach, who believes Iowa's judges would take the exemption process seriously. "The judges are always going to err on the side of public safety."While parts of the bill would give more rights to low-risk offenders, other provisions would make it more difficult for some sex offenders to gain access to public facilities, such as schools. Horbach said that while the focus was largely on residency in the 2002 bill, Iowans are concerned with sex offenders' access to public facilities, even if they don't live nearby.One provision of the proposed bill would prohibit sex offenders from entering public schools and day-care facilities. Some sex offenders would be allowed to request permission from school administrators to enter schools for such events as parent-teacher conferences.Although he personally supports the death penalty, Horbach said that as floor manager of the sex-offender bill, he won't support amendments to the bill that could put its passage in danger, including a reinstatement of the death penalty for sex offenders."If that's going to kill (the sex-offender bill), I'll ask for it to be removed," Horbach said.Other changes proposed in this year's sex-offender bill include a clarification of the 2,000-foot rule. The 2002 bill did not specify whether the 2,000 feet should be measured to the edge of a person's property or to their door. This has led to confusion at apartment buildings in particular, Horbach said. He said that without clear guidance from the legislature, law-enforcement agencies have been enforcing different standards statewide.In the statement last week, the state's county attorneys said restrictions on sex offenders should apply only to those who have committed crimes against "children" under age 14 rather than "minors" under age 18.Horbach said such a provision could make it into the final bill this legislative session."It's on the radar screen," he said.