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Sex Offender, Speeding
Legislation Proposed
Methuen Councilor Ken Willette
08/02/06
 Speeding in School Zones
Many Methuen residents, especially parents with young
children attending the Methuen public schools, are
anticipating the passage of Senate Bill 1859 at the
Massachusetts State House.
If approved by the legislature and signed into law by the
governor, Senate Bill 1859 would effectively double the
fines for motorists who speed in designated school zones.
Current state law authorizes imposing double fines in
marked construction zones, as stipulated by Chapter 90,
Section 17.
Several constituents have approached me about excessive
speeding by motorists who have a blatant disregard for
obeying advertised speed limits in school zones.
Based upon my conversation with those residents, I
recommended the filing of legislation to double the
speeding fines in school zones.
This dangerous situation is a widespread occurrence, as
documented in a press release furnished by the National
Safe Kids Campaign.
This press release highlighted an analysis of drivers
traveling through school zones, two-thirds of whom
consistently exceeded the posted speed limit.
Cities and towns should be empowered by the commonwealth
to dispense double fines for such careless transgressions
committed in an area where a predominant number of
pedestrians are children.
Double fines already serve as a strong, proven deterrent
against extreme speeding in marked construction zones,
and therefore should be applied to school zones in our
community.
I wish to officially recognize the efforts of
Representative Arthur Broadhurst, Senator Steve Baddour
and Representative Babara L’Italien, who are working
diligently to secure final passage of Senate Bill 1859.
While I am not sure of the final fate of Senate Bill
1859, which has moved through many stages of the
legislative process, I am appreciative of their
involvement.
If we double the fines to protect workers at roadway
construction sites, should we not consider the same
discretion for local police to combat speeders in school
zones who potentially jeopardize the safety of children.
Stay tuned!
Level 3 Sex Offenders
I am also supportive of legislation designed to mandate
that every city and town in Massachusetts post
information on Level 3 sex offenders on their local
government access channels. The legislation would
increase the current community notification requirements
promoted in the Sex Offender Registry Law, by adding the
mandatory placement of detailed information on Level 3
sex offenders on local government access channels.
The Sex Offender Registry Law, as presently written, does
not require (or even reference) the utilization of a
local government access channel as a method to notify the
public of Level 3 sex offenders either residing or
working in a specific community. However, many states,
including Florida, have experienced significant success
in deterring criminal activity by posting photographs and
addresses on sex offenders on their local government
access channels.
While police departments exhibit information on Level 3
sex offenders on their official web sites, many families
and senior citizens cannot afford access to the Internet.
Since police departments already possess wide authority
to display information on Level 3 sex offenders in public
venues (libraries, schools, municipal buildings, etc.)
the exhibition of Level 3 sex offenders on a local
government access channel is a natural and more effective
extension of the public notification process.
Area residents view the local government access channel
to observe live coverage of official public meetings as
well as community notices on a variety of subjects.
The legislation should also provide seed money for local
police departments to purchase equipment designed to scan
official bulletins from the Sex Offender Registry Board,
empowering those local police departments to then email
the images to the local government entity (mayor,
manager) for placement on television.
The official bulletins already provide sufficient visual
and descriptive information for the public to
disseminate, which could potentially deter future
offenses. Indeed, information is power!
Ken Willette is an at Large City
Councilor in Methuen. You can email him at kennethwillette@comcast.net
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The August, 2006 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2006, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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Valley Patriot Archive
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Prior Lead Stories
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