by Rick Chew, CORR Board Secretary
On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, I was able to join a select group of people to assist ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) with their annual Lobby Day. This event enabled teams to speak to various California state legislators regarding laws and their impact on the sex offender registry.
In the past, being on the registry caused me to withdraw from most public events. The work that I had completed on my journey of recovery gave me the strength and moral fortitude to participate in this event.
I arrived at the Sacramento Hyatt Regency at 8:30 AM for the ACSOL briefing. Afterward, we were separated into teams. I was assigned to Team 12 with lead attorney Janice Bellucci, as well as another lady whose son was on the registry.
Our message to the legislators was relatively simple. CASOMB (the California Sex Offender Management Board) had sent the legislators a five-page recommendation of changes to the registry. ACSOL had distilled that into three bullet points.
- An illegal act with an older victim should not result in a stiffer sentence than the same act with a younger victim. PC 288(a) vs. PC 288(c)
- Possession of images of minors should be assigned to Tier 1 instead of Tier 3. PC 311.11
- A potential act should not be punishable the same as a completed act. PC 288.2, PC 288.3, and PC 288.4
ACSOL’s goal on Lobby Day was to educate legislators regarding the changes recommended by CASOMB and to find potential authors who would generate a bill to update the registry to reflect the recommendations. Two potential co-authors were identified by the various ACSOL teams that day.
I finished that day with a sense of accomplishment and increased confidence in myself.
For more additional information regarding ACSOL, you can go to their website at all4consolaws.org