HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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MAJORITY LEADER URGES HOUSE TO CONSIDER TOUGHER LAWS FOR SEXUAL PREDATORS

Bill will Impose Toughest Penalties in the Nation

ATLANTA—Georgia House of Representatives Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons) today presented a bill calling for tougher penalties for sexual predators to the House Judiciary Non-Civil committee.  House Republicans issued a call this summer at the Georgia Republican Party State Convention in Savannah promising to consider tougher penalties for sexual predators during the upcoming legislative session. 

Based on Florida’s Jessica Lunsford Act, this legislation has a variety of provisions designed to strengthen Georgia’s current laws regarding sex offenders, including:

·         Minimum mandatory sentences for certain offenders;

·         Lifetime tracking for certain offenders;

·         Requiring sex offenders to register before they leave prison or go on parole, probation or supervised release; and

·          Disallowing sex offenders from being sentenced as first offenders.

“There is no place in our society for those who prey on innocent children,” said Keen.  “We want Georgia’s laws regarding sexual predators to be the toughest in the country, and today we took the first step towards accomplishing that goal.”

Today’s hearing was the first of several planned hearings on the legislation.  The committee will continue to meet throughout the interim on this issue before the next regular session of the General Assembly in January.

“This will be a priority issue in the next session of the legislature,” said Rep. David Ralston, Chairman of the Non-Civil Judiciary Committee. “It’s going to be the toughest law in the nation – we don’t want another Jessica Lunsford case.”

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Brent Cranfield

404-656-0305 bcranfield@legis.state.ga.us