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For Immediate Release
October 15, 2010
Contact: Tim Nyquist
(814) 726-7201
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Scarnati Amendment to Protect
Communities
WARREN - Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati amended
Senate Bill 1161 to require public hearings to be held in communities where
convicted murderers are being released into group homes. The Board of Probation
and Parole will be responsible for holding the aforementioned public hearings.
Yesterday, the Senate passed this measure with a 45-4 final vote. It now goes
to the Governor for his signature.
"As I have stated, this amendment is simply a public safety
measure in order to inform and alert the communities when a convicted murderer
will be released to a group home in their area," Scarnati stated. "Citizens
should also have the right to express themselves in a public forum on the
circumstances surrounding the location of the individual."
Scarnati mentioned that this amendment was prompted by the
lack of public information given to the residents in the Jefferson County area
when a convicted murderer was to be placed in a local group home.
"Without question, government has the responsibility to
ensure the health and safety of our residents," Scarnati added. "Quite frankly,
this is a common sense amendment that received the support of nearly every
member of the Senate."
The process by which the public hearing takes place
requires that the group-based home provider shall explain their operations and
allow the public to comment on this site and their actual procedures. In
addition, notice of the public hearing shall be put in newspapers on two
different dates prior to the hearing.
"Again, it goes without saying that the public should be
notified and given the ability to gain answers as to why a convicted murderer is
being located in their neighborhoods," Scarnati concluded. "When these
individuals are being placed in group homes near our families, friends and
children, it is vital that all the facts are being relayed to the concerned
members of that respective community."
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