Assemblyman David G. McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) joined his minority colleagues this week in alerting the full Assembly to legislative issues that must be addressed before the 2005 session ends in late June.

"We have seven weeks left in the legislative session. The budget is behind us, so it’s time to turn our focus to important legislation still pending," said McDonough. "My priorities for the remainder of the 2005 session are to provide increased protection for our communities and children by strengthening Megan’s Law, and addressing the issue of civil confinement for sexually violent predators."

Civil confinement, which is law in 16 other states, gives judges the option of ordering dangerous sexual predators held in secure mental health facilities after the completion of their prison terms if the offenders are deemed to pose a continuing threat to society. Final decisions would be made only after lengthy review processes culminating in unanimous jury verdicts.

The Assembly minority conference has introduced civil confinement legislation since 1993 that has been blocked by the majority even though the state Senate has passed similar measures on several occasions, and Gov. George Pataki has pledged his support. The Assembly majority last week blocked an effort by the Assembly minority conference to bring three major child protection bills to the floor for a vote by the full house.

"A family’s worst fear is the disappearance of their child, and recent tragic national events highlight the potential dangers our children face each day," said McDonough. "Violent sexual predators are released into our communities with little or no supervision. Will it take a tragedy in our community before we act on civil confinement legislation or strengthening Megan’s Law? I know I am not willing to take that chance.

"We must strengthen Megan’s Law, which requires sex offenders to register with the state after conviction or, if they serve time in prison, upon their release, and to notify the registry when they relocate.

"Over the past two years, as vice chair of the Assembly Minority Task Force on Sex Crimes Against Children and Women, I’ve gathered information from law enforcement officials, district attorneys, victims and advocacy groups on ways to strengthen Megan’s Law, and I will continue to fight for stricter laws for sexually violent predators."

The task force’s many proposals include:

• Lifetime registration of sex offenders to prevent convicted predators from going "off the books"
• Global positioning system tracking of sexual predators
• Mandatory community notification to help ensure parents know when a sex offender is living in their neighborhood
• Civil confinement of sexually violent predators after they’ve completed their prison sentences as a way to protect the public from criminals likely to commit repeated acts of sexual violence
• Posting of information for all levels of registered sex offenders on the Department of Criminal Justice Services Web site.

The public can find out about registered sex offenders by submitting inquiries to local police departments, or by calling the state Department of Criminal Justice Services toll-free at (800) 262-3257 or visiting its Web site at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us

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