Bastrop City Council approves sex offender restrictions

The Bastrop City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that restricts where registered sex offenders can live and how they can participate in community events.

Police Chief Vicky Steffanic said the ordinance is the city’s first to establish a policy on registered sex offenders within the city limits.

The Texas Legislature in 2017 passed House Bill 1111, which granted general law cities the right to prohibit how close registered sex offenders can go near places “where children commonly gather” or “child safety zones.” Though Bastrop is a home-rule city, Steffanic said the ordinance approved on Tuesday closely mirrors the language in HB 1111.

Registered sex offenders must register with the Bastrop Police Department when establishing a permanent or temporary residence within the city limits. Those residences must be 1,000 feet away from child safety zones, including city parks, schools, day cares and recreation centers. The ordinance also bans property owners from renting to registered sex offenders if their property is within the 1,000-foot limit.

“They can go to restaurants (within the 1,000-foot limit),” Steffanic said. “They just can’t participate in events. They can go to churches. Churches would not be considered a place where children commonly gather.”

The ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders from attending community events, such as cultural festivals or sporting events. Registered sex offenders also cannot leave their porch lights on the night of Halloween.

Steffanic also laid out the numerous exemptions the ordinance provides, which includes a grandfather clause for registered sex offenders who may already reside within 1,000 feet of a child safety zone.

Steffanic said that the Police Department has 18 registered sex offenders on its roster, of which 16 are child sex offenders. She said Bastrop County reports 303 sex offenders who live within the county lines, but that number often fluctuates.

“As far as the restrictions go, this is probably the least restrictive way to go about implementing an ordinance like this,” said Rezzin Pullum, filling in for City Attorney Alan Bojorquez. “There are cities out there who have applied broader restrictions.”

Steffanic said cities with broader restrictions prohibited registered sex offenders within 2,000 feet of child safety zones, effectively banning them from the city altogether.

Petition for marijuana decriminalization?

Desiree Venable, a resident and a candidate running for state House District 17, announced her plan to petition the city to decriminalize marijuana within the city limits by ballot referendum.

“By decriminalizing marijuana, we can foster a more just and efficient society here,” Venable said. “This approach will prioritize public health, respect individual autonomy and ensure that public resources are used to the best and most beneficial way possible here in the city.”

Venable said the Bastrop Police Department could reallocate its resources to bigger issues if the city passed a charter amendment decriminalizing marijuana. She said she’s canvassed throughout the city and met many law enforcement officers. She said all of the officers she’s spoken to have been in favor of the decriminalization petition.

“These amendments enhance individual contributions to the community,” Venable said. “For example, when we criminalize people for possession, it does often make it harder for them to eventually join the workforce or obtain higher education, leading to unnecessary social and economic consequences … that affect the broader community.”

Veneable said a referendum of this sort could also increase voter turnout, as voters often don’t see direct democracy on the ballot. Venable said she needs 5% of Bastrop’s registered voters, or approximately 400 voters, to sign the petition before getting the referendum on the ballot.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bastrop City Council approves sex offender restrictions