Dann pledges to fix Montgomery's failure

MARC DANN FOR OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dann for Ohio

Monday, Friday, July 28, 2006

Contact: Leo Jennings III, 330-402-7595

Marc Dann vows to use to innovative measures to ensure full compliance with Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, will establish special section within AG's office to work with local jurisdictions and secure federal grants

Betty Montgomery's failure to fully implement Megan's law while she was AG cost Ohio millions in federal funding

State Senator Marc Dann, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General praised Congress for passing and President Bush for signing the "Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and vowed to establish a special section within the Attorney General's office to ensure that Ohio and local jurisdictions both fully comply with the law and are able to take advantage of the wide variety of grants established by the legislation.  The law was signed by the President yesterday on the 25^th anniversary of the disappearance of Adam Walsh.

"As a father of young children and as a state senator who has been devoted to strengthening the laws that protect Ohio's kids, I am glad that the federal government will become much more involved in helping the states and local jurisdictions deal with the frightening problem of child sexual abuse and sexual predators," Senator Dann said.  "But as was the case with both the Wetterling Act and Megan's Law, the first two substantive laws passed by Congress dealing with this issue, the states and the local jurisdictions will be responsible for implementing the lion's share of the provisions of this act."

"As Attorney General I will establish a special section within my office to ensure that the state and local jurisdictions fully implement the law so that Ohio's families are fully protected and so that the state is not penalized by the federal government for non-compliance, something that, unfortunately, has happened in the past." 

"I will also work to ensure that Ohio is a leader, not a follower, in protecting kids by doing everything possible to apply for and secure the wide variety of grants that are made available by Adam's Law," Senator Dann said.  "In the interim, I will introduce legislation directing the current attorney general to apply for the Jessica Lundford and Sarah Lund grants established in Section 621 of the law.  This section of the law establishes a pilot program that will provide funding for acquiring and outfitting sexual predators with GPS monitoring devices as well as for the law enforcement officers needed to monitor the offenders who are wearing them.  We must go after these funds immediately so we can put this cutting edge technology to work for Ohio's kids."

Senator Dann said he would also assist local jurisdictions and non-governmental agencies that are eligible for funding under the provisions of Adam's Law.  "I'll do more than simply notify local law enforcement agencies and community groups that these grants are available, my office will provide the technical assistance they need to design effective programs and write successful grants," he said.  "We must do everything possible to bring home as much money as possible to help our local police, prosecutors, and child advocates make and keep our neighborhoods safe from sexual predators and to prevent abuse."

Senator Dann noted that along with providing funding for implementing the legislation, the federal government has once again established penalties for states that do not comply with the law-penalties Ohio was subjected to when Betty Montgomery failed to fully implement the provisions of Megan's law while she was attorney general.  "Section 125 of Adam's Law imposes a stiff penalty on jurisdictions that do not implement the provisions of the act in a timely manner," he said.  "The state paid that price once by losing $2 million in federal funding, I will make sure we don't pay that price again."

Leo Jennings, Communications Director for the Dann campaign, said that the loss of federal funding came to light during deliberations over Senate Bill 5 in 2003.  The bill, which was introduced to implement recommendations made by Sex Offender Registration and Notification Task Force established by Governor Taft in 2002 in the wake of the murder of 14 year-old Kristen Jackson, contained provisions that upgraded the Ohio's sex offender registry and brought it into compliance with the law before additional penalties were levied against the state.

During hearings on that bill, as reported by the Gongwer Ohio Report, on February 5, 2003 then- State Senator Leigh Herington got Brent Walls of the Department of Criminal Justice Services to admit that the state had already lost $2 million in federal funds traditionally dedicated to law enforcement and crime victims for non-compliance with the federal standards.  In a subsequent hearing on February on February 12 of that year, Andrea Hill, director of legislative affairs for the attorney general's office, said in response to a question from Senator Dann that former Attorney General Betty Montgomery knew about the loss of grant funding because of non-compliance.

"Ohio needs an attorney general who is going to pay attention to the details and fully implement and comply with the new law," Mr. Jennings said.  "Both to take full advantage of the protections it offers to Ohio's kids and families and to ensure that Ohio is not penalized for meeting federal guidelines, something that has become a disturbingly common occurrence under Ms. Montgomery's tenures as attorney general and auditor."

For more information contact Leo Jennings III at 330-402-7595