Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/486484
ByFenitNirappil TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO A plan to pump $1 billion of water spending into drought- stricken California cleared the Legislature on Thurs- day and was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is ex- pected to sign the legisla- tion. The California Assem- bly voted unanimously, 74- 0, on AB91 a day after the Senate approved bills that would expedite infrastruc- ture spending; offer aid to communities hit hard by dry conditions; and autho- rize fines for illegal diver- sions of water that hurt fish. "The severity of the drought requires us to start now," said Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. "Delay for the sake of addressing every single outstanding issue or need would be irresponsible." The legislation includes $267 million to be provided in grants to water-recy- cling projects and expand drinking water supplies in small and poor cities. More immediate spend- ing includes $75 million in drought relief to aid com- munities with dry wells, fish in vanishing streams and other needs. However, nearly two- thirds of the money, or $660 million, is slated for flood protection instead of the ongoing drought, now in its fourth year without enough rain or snow to re- plenish reservoirs. "These proposals will not solve the drought," said Assemblyman Rich- ard Bloom, D-Santa Mon- ica. "You won't see any of us on this floor hanging 'Mis- sion Accomplished' ban- ners." Brown has said the flood protection spending is drought-related because climate change increases the risk of sudden storms overwhelming communi- ties, even in dry years. Lawmakers also face a summer 2016 deadline to allocate the flood-protec- tion money that came as part of a $4 billion bond measure approved by vot- ers a decade ago. Republicans supported the spending in the wa- ter package, but opposed a companion measure that authorized fines up to $8,000 for illegal diver- sions of water needed to safeguard fish. They said it gave too much power to state officials. Democratic legislators said that provision tar- gets water-guzzling mar- ijuana farms that are ille- gally draining rivers and streams, making drought conditions even worse along the North Coast. The companion bill, AB92, advanced on a 50 to 27 vote in the Assembly. Assembly Minority Leader Kristin Olsen called on lawmakers to deal with looming water shortages by speeding up construc- tion of new dams and res- ervoir projects. "It is way past time to move beyond these tempo- rary Band-Aid fixes," Olsen said. "We have to work to- gether to expedite projects that will increase long term supply." DROUGHT $1 B wa te r sp en di ng plan heads to Brown RICHPEDRONCELLI—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Nicolaus, spoke in support of a plan to pump $1billion of water spending into drought-stricken California at the Capitol in Sacramento on Thursday. By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California will alter its 8-year-old ban preventing all registered sex offenders from living near schools or parks, state officials announced Thurs- day, instead imposing the restriction only on pedo- philes and others whose sex crimes involved children. The state corrections de- partment said it is chang- ing its policy in response to a state Supreme Court ruling that found the blan- ket prohibition unconstitu- tional. The high court ruled this month that restrictions imposed by California vot- ers in 2006 go too far to limit where sex offenders can live. Parole agents can still force sex offenders to live more than 2,000 feet from schools and parks where children gather, as required by the ballot measure com- monly known as Jessica's Law. But they will have to make the decision for indi- vidual cases. The March 2 ruling ap- plied only to registered sex- offender parolees in San Di- ego County, but prison offi- cials will apply the ruling statewide. Some local gov- ernments outside San Diego County also have begun re- pealing their local residency restrictions in response to the high court's ruling. It will take about 60 days for the department to review the files of about 6,000 sex offender parolees to decide if the restriction should still apply, department spokes- man Luis Patino said. Exist- ing restrictions will stay in effect until then. About half of the sex of- fenders are considered child molesters, he said. "Some people who are not pedophiles ... will prob- ably be removed from the restriction," Patino said. "It will be tailored to people who need it the most." That will help the depart- ment by reducing the large number of sex offenders whose whereabouts must be monitored to determine if they are violating the res- idency law, he said. It also is expected to reduce the number of sex offenders who registered as transient because they could not find permanent housing that met the restrictions. "It will be easier to track the actual pedophiles," Pa- tino said, "the ones that we really need to track." The ruling, and the change in policy, do not affect a different law that will continue to bar cer- tain high-risk child mo- lesters from living within a half-mile of any K-12 public or private school. Patino said the depart- ment decided to make the changes statewide after it was advised by the state At- torney General's Office that applying the blanket man- datory residency restric- tions of Jessica's Law would be found to be unconstitu- tional in every county. It does not change other parts of the law, including a requirement that sex of- fenders' whereabouts be monitored with tracking devices. Registered sex of- fenders also still must tell local law enforcement agen- cies where they live. Jessica's Law supporters said the court substituted its judgment for the will of the 70 percent of voters who approved the restrictions. Critics of the law, includ- ing law enforcement and treatment professionals on the state's Sex Offender Management Board, have repeatedly recommended that the state narrow what the board called a "one- size-fits-all" restriction. The board said in a report to the Legislature last month that limiting where sex offend- ers can live increased the number of transient offend- ers from about 1 percent to nearly 10 percent, to nearly 6,700 statewide, making them more difficult to su- pervise. STATE CORRECTIONS California loosens residency restrictions for sex offenders By Gillian Flaccus, Kristin J. Bender, and Ellen Knickmeyer The Associated Press VALLEJO A lawyer dis- putes police claims that the kidnapping of a Cali- fornia woman was a hoax and says her boyfriend was bound and drugged during the abduction. Attorney Dan Russo says his client Aaron Quinn did not immediately call po- lice when his girlfriend Denise Huskins was ab- ducted early Monday be- cause at least two kidnap- pers "forced him to drink something" they said was a drug. Investigators said they were suspicious when Quinn took hours to report that strangers broke into his home and abducted Huskins for an $8,500 ransom. Police could not be reached for comment Thursday. Huskins turned up safe in Huntington Beach, Cal- ifornia, on Wednesday, the same day police revealed they had no proof of a kid- napping and believe it was a hoax. After the investigation turned to the couple, po- lice said they weren't able to contact either Huskins or her family members by Wednesday's end and do not know where she is now. Police questioned Quinn for 17 hours, Russo said. Huskins had indicated she would talk to detec- tives, and the FBI had ar- ranged to have her flown back to Northern Califor- nia, police said. She hired an attorney, but the law- yer's name was not re- leased. Jeff Kane, Huskins' un- cle, disputed that the fam- ily was avoiding calls from police. He said that be- cause he's a lawyer he has an ethical obligation to not reveal any discussion with Huskins. Mike Huskins said his daughter called him to say she had been dropped off at her mother's Hunting- ton Beach house. No one was there, so she said she walked the 12 blocks to his home, but he had traveled to Northern California to help with the search. "She wasn't crying at all. She just said, 'Daddy, I'm OK,' " an emotional Mike Huskins told The Associ- ated Press on Wednesday. "I feel very relieved. Can you imagine? You can't un- less you've experienced it." Quinn had told po- lice that Denise Huskins was taken forcefully from their Mare Island home in Vallejo early Monday. He called police around 2 p.m. to report she had been ab- ducted. Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park said the delay is part of what aroused suspicions. "It was such an incred- ible story, we initially had a hard time believing it," Park said. "Upon further investigation, we couldn't substantiate any of the things he was saying." It was not clear whether police have spoken with Quinn since they deter- mined the case was a hoax. Park said he was "free on his own" for now and would not say whether the two may had any accom- plices. Police expressed disgust at the resources squan- dered — saying over 40 detectives had worked on the case — and the fear the couple instilled in the community with a report of random violence. "Devoting all of our re- sources 24 hours a day in a wild goose chase, it's a tre- mendous loss," Park said. "It's disappointing. It's dis- heartening." MISSING WOMAN La wy er d is pu te s ho ax c la im i n ki dn ap pi ng GILLIAN FLACCUS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Members of the media gather Thursday outside the apartment of Mike Huskins, father of Denise Huskins, where Denise Huskins, reported missing on Monday from Vallejo, was found safe on Wednesday in Huntington Beach. The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO A federal appeals court has agreed to reconsider its decision to strike down a Califor- nia law that requires appli- cants for a concealed weap- ons permit to show "good cause" beyond self-defense. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Thursday an expanded 11-judge panel of the court will reconsider the Febru- ary 2014 decision. The court ruled 2-1 then that California's require- ment that an applicant demonstrate a real danger or other reason beyond sim- ple self-defense to receive a concealed-weapons permit violates the 2nd Amend- ment and runs afoul of a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed against the San Diego County sheriff by several people who were de- nied a permit. C.D. Michel, an attorney for the plain- tiffs, said the 9th Circuit's decision was anticipated and he was prepared to ap- peal to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. CALIFORNIA Federal appeals court to reconsider gun ruling 1921 ~ 2015 94 TH APRIL17,18,19,2015 Friday Family Packs $ 35 RODEO AMERICA'S ORIGINAL EXTREME SPORT! saturday, april 4th 11:00 am–8:00 pm r o l l i n g h i l l s cas i n o, c o r n i n g , ca tickets $30 tickets available at the casino box office, red bluff chamber, or online at www.rollinghillscasino.com m u s t b e 2 1 & ov e r t o at t e n d " L a i s s e z l e s b o n t e m p s r o u l e r " Live Music ∙ all-you-can-eat crawdads ∙ beer & wine tasting FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 7 A