A lot of people from Franklin fought very hard last year to get the bill to track sex offenders with GPS approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.
That's why they were extremely angry to learn that a provision in Governor Doyle's budget would gut the GPS law.
Not so fast!
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-La Crosse) says the Governor's attempt to gut GPS won't stand because neither party will allow that to happen. Read the story
here.Here's background on the issue from a blog I posted February 17:
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK
From Governor Doyle's May 22, 2006 press release:
Governor Doyle Signs Legislation to Better Monitor State's Most Dangerous Sex Offenders
MILWAUKEE - Governor Jim Doyle today signed legislation making Wisconsin the national leader in protecting our kids from dangerous sex predators.
"I understand that everyday when parents send their kids off to school, they worry that something could happen to them before they return home," Governor Doyle said. "And that's why as a prosecutor, Attorney General, and now as Governor I am doing everything I can to keep sex predators locked away and to make sure that those released by courts get the strictest supervision."
As part of this larger effort to protect our kids against sexual predators, today Governor Doyle signed Assembly Bill 591, which extends lifetime GPS monitoring beyond just Chapter 980 offenders to serious and repeat child sex predators, and to those who were found not guilty in court due to mental disease.
"This expanded GPS will help law enforcement know exactly where these people are every minute of every day," Governor Doyle said. "And if they go someplace where they put kids in danger and violate their probation, we'll know immediately - and we'll put them back behind bars."
This is from Governor Doyle's own campaign website:
"Governor Doyle has enacted legislation extending lifetime GPS monitoring beyond just Chapter 980 offenders to serious and repeat child sex predators, and to those who were found not guilty in court due to mental disease. This expanded GPS will help law enforcement know exactly where these people are every minute of every day, and if they go someplace where they put kids in danger or violate their probation, we'll know immediately - and we'll put them back behind bars."
This is an ad Governor Doyle ran during his campaign boasting about how tough he was on the issue of sex predators.
And this is from the La Crosse Tribune newspaper this past Wednesday, February 14:
Doyle backtracks on sex-offender tracking
MADISON - Electronic tracking for Wisconsin's worst sex offenders - required under a law signed by Gov. Jim Doyle less than a year ago - would be dramatically scaled back under his two-year budget proposal.
Doyle's budget, unveiled to lawmakers Tuesday night, would require child molesters and sexually violent offenders to wear global positioning bracelets only while they're on supervised release or parole.
That's a significant step back from the law Doyle, a Democrat, signed in May to set up GPS tracking until the offender died or was too feeble to pose a threat. The Republican-sponsored law is due to take effect in July.
THE VOTE IS NO APRIL 3
